"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.
Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck
Some nights, I call it a draw
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for, oh, oh, oh
What do I stand for? Oh, what do I stand for?
Most nights, I don't know anymore
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
This is it, boys, this is war, what are we waiting for?
Why don't we break the rules already?
I was never one to believe the hype
Save that for the black and white
Try twice as hard and I'm half as liked
But here they come again to jack my style
That's alright, I found a martyr in my bed tonight
Stops my bones from wondering
Just who I, who I, who I am, oh who am I, mm, mm
Well, some nights, I wish that this all would end
'Cause I could use some friends for a change
And some nights, I'm scared you'll forget me again
Some nights, I always win, I always win
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for, oh
What do I stand for?
What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don't know (oh, come on)
So this is it? I sold my soul for this?
Washed my hands of that for this?
I miss my mom and dad for this?
No, when I see stars, when I see, when I see stars, that's all they are
When I hear songs, they sound like a swan, so come on
Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh come on
Well, that is it, guys, that is all
Five minutes in and I'm bored again
Ten years of this, I'm not sure if anybody understands
This one is not for the folks at home
I'm sorry to leave, mom, I had to go
Who the fuck wants to die alone all dried up in the desert sun?
My heart is breaking for my sister and the con that she called, "Love"
And then I look into my nephew's eyes
Man, you wouldn't believe the most amazing things that can come from
Some terrible nights
(Alright, come on)
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
The other night, you wouldn't believe
The dream I just had about you and me
I called you up, but we both agreed
It's for the best you didn't listen
It's for the best we get our distance, oh
For the best you didn't listen
It's for the best we get our distance, oh
Some nights, I call it a draw
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for, oh, oh, oh
What do I stand for? Oh, what do I stand for?
Most nights, I don't know anymore
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
This is it, boys, this is war, what are we waiting for?
Why don't we break the rules already?
I was never one to believe the hype
Save that for the black and white
Try twice as hard and I'm half as liked
But here they come again to jack my style
That's alright, I found a martyr in my bed tonight
Stops my bones from wondering
Just who I, who I, who I am, oh who am I, mm, mm
Well, some nights, I wish that this all would end
'Cause I could use some friends for a change
And some nights, I'm scared you'll forget me again
Some nights, I always win, I always win
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for, oh
What do I stand for?
What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don't know (oh, come on)
So this is it? I sold my soul for this?
Washed my hands of that for this?
I miss my mom and dad for this?
No, when I see stars, when I see, when I see stars, that's all they are
When I hear songs, they sound like a swan, so come on
Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh come on
Well, that is it, guys, that is all
Five minutes in and I'm bored again
Ten years of this, I'm not sure if anybody understands
This one is not for the folks at home
I'm sorry to leave, mom, I had to go
Who the fuck wants to die alone all dried up in the desert sun?
My heart is breaking for my sister and the con that she called, "Love"
And then I look into my nephew's eyes
Man, you wouldn't believe the most amazing things that can come from
Some terrible nights
(Alright, come on)
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh
The other night, you wouldn't believe
The dream I just had about you and me
I called you up, but we both agreed
It's for the best you didn't listen
It's for the best we get our distance, oh
For the best you didn't listen
It's for the best we get our distance, oh
Lyrics submitted by tauntingthepavement, edited by Mellow_Harsher, elizebeth, brodec271, BBW!SH
Some Nights Lyrics as written by Jack Antonoff Andrew Dost
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Hipgnosis Songs Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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The Night We Met
Lord Huron
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
There are some nights I hold to every note I ever wrote Some nights, I say, "Fuck it all!" Stare at the calendar Waiting for catastrophes, imagining they'd scare me Into changing whatever it is I am changing into...
And you have every right to be scared.
'Cause there are some nights I hold you close, pushing you to hold me Or begging you to lock me up, never let me see the world Some nights, I live in horror of people on the radio Tea parties and Twitter, I've never been so bitter
And you, why you wanna stay? Oh my God! Have you listened to me lately? Lately, I've been going crazy...
And you, why you wanna stay? Oh my God! Have you listened to me lately? Lately, I've been fucking crazy...
There are some nights I wait for someone to save us But I never look inward, try not to look upward And some nights I pray a sign is gonna come to me But usually, I'm just trying to get some sleep...
Some nights!
OK NOW THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT SONG.....
I think it's pretty basic, these are things that keep Nate up all night, he thinks about the kind of person he is, wonders if he's crazy, and wonders why his significant other stays with him at all. when he refers to "the people on the radio"i think he's just pointing out what society has come to, he doesn't want to listen to the radio anymore because he is tired of hearing all these terrible things, and more upset no one is doing anything, just being self absorbed and tweeting, etc
im sorry if this wasn't the greatest...i mean, my interpretation is pretty loose, but i also think it's basic, i mean, the song is pretty easy to understand, it's mostly nate's night thoughts, and him thinking he's going crazy.