"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Not you again, I thought you died
I thought you were killed on your wedding night
Not you again, hypocrite
You've come to ask me to kill you again, is that it?
Not you again, I'm no fool twice
I've heard the wolf tracking in the ice
Peel off the latex, fair-weather friend
Is that supposed to be a nose? No, not you again
Oh, Mary
Don't weep down on me
“I don't need a host to live”
Oh, Mary
I'm just too much to carry
Mary
Not you again, my grandmother's Lord
Another friend like that, I can't afford
California makes me sick
Like trying with a rattlesnake your teeth to pick
Everyone I know gossips endlessly
Everyone I know suffers just like me
Have you come back for your saddle, to squat like a hen?
Why are you even here? No, not you again
Oh, Mary
Don't weep down on me
“I don't need a host to live”
Oh, Mary
I'm just too much to carry
Mary
The wind knocked down the chicken coop
The cat left a rat's carcass on my front stoop
Once again, I've been seduced
Now it looks like my chickens have come home to roost
I thought you were killed on your wedding night
Not you again, hypocrite
You've come to ask me to kill you again, is that it?
Not you again, I'm no fool twice
I've heard the wolf tracking in the ice
Peel off the latex, fair-weather friend
Is that supposed to be a nose? No, not you again
Oh, Mary
Don't weep down on me
“I don't need a host to live”
Oh, Mary
I'm just too much to carry
Mary
Not you again, my grandmother's Lord
Another friend like that, I can't afford
California makes me sick
Like trying with a rattlesnake your teeth to pick
Everyone I know gossips endlessly
Everyone I know suffers just like me
Have you come back for your saddle, to squat like a hen?
Why are you even here? No, not you again
Oh, Mary
Don't weep down on me
“I don't need a host to live”
Oh, Mary
I'm just too much to carry
Mary
The wind knocked down the chicken coop
The cat left a rat's carcass on my front stoop
Once again, I've been seduced
Now it looks like my chickens have come home to roost
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
same title as a Baudelaire short story about watching men carry huge burdens. Story appears in the "Paris Spleen".