"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.
Well I'm finally gettin' used to the water
The way the tarantulas bite
Those federals didn't believe
I only came here to watch the bulls fight
Tell my mother, "I need a good lawyer"
Tell my father, "I'm getting a tan"
My sleepy siesta down south of the border
Is taking more time than I planned
Oh Juanita somebody betrayed me
They've given me ten years to life
Juanita I need you to save me
I promise I'll make you my wife
I got a big house in Milwaukee
With a color TV and a pool
A Naugahyde bar and a Cadillac car
Juanita they're waiting for you
Tie the burro up down in the courtyard
To keep the guard busy tonight
When you bring my dinner make sure the tortilla
Is filled with a gun or a knife
Hey Juanita somebody betrayed me
They've given me ten years to life
Juanita I need you to save me
I promise I'll make you my wife
Juanita you'll love Wisconsin
Wisconsin is gonna love you
Yes, all of Milwaukee speaks Spanish
Of course you're gonna wear American shoes
Lake Michigan tastes like tequila
Frijoles why they grow there on trees
You can say adios to the pigs and the goats
If you'll just do this one thing for me
But Juanita somebody betrayed me
They've given me ten years to life
Juanita I need you to save me
I promise I'll make you my wife
Juanita, I, I swear it was all a mistake
You see I was drowning out there in the ocean
And I saw this bale coming by man
So I grabbed it and I climbed up on top of it
And I found this stick and I rowed myself into shore
And when I got there
The border patrol was waiting for me
At the I didn't know what it was
I promise you if you'll just marry me
So I can become a citizen of Mexico
I'll take you to Milwaukee
You can meet all my friends
They got these big shiny motorcycles
And you can ride on the back of 'em with 'em
Really, Juanita would I lie to you?
The way the tarantulas bite
Those federals didn't believe
I only came here to watch the bulls fight
Tell my mother, "I need a good lawyer"
Tell my father, "I'm getting a tan"
My sleepy siesta down south of the border
Is taking more time than I planned
Oh Juanita somebody betrayed me
They've given me ten years to life
Juanita I need you to save me
I promise I'll make you my wife
I got a big house in Milwaukee
With a color TV and a pool
A Naugahyde bar and a Cadillac car
Juanita they're waiting for you
Tie the burro up down in the courtyard
To keep the guard busy tonight
When you bring my dinner make sure the tortilla
Is filled with a gun or a knife
Hey Juanita somebody betrayed me
They've given me ten years to life
Juanita I need you to save me
I promise I'll make you my wife
Juanita you'll love Wisconsin
Wisconsin is gonna love you
Yes, all of Milwaukee speaks Spanish
Of course you're gonna wear American shoes
Lake Michigan tastes like tequila
Frijoles why they grow there on trees
You can say adios to the pigs and the goats
If you'll just do this one thing for me
But Juanita somebody betrayed me
They've given me ten years to life
Juanita I need you to save me
I promise I'll make you my wife
Juanita, I, I swear it was all a mistake
You see I was drowning out there in the ocean
And I saw this bale coming by man
So I grabbed it and I climbed up on top of it
And I found this stick and I rowed myself into shore
And when I got there
The border patrol was waiting for me
At the I didn't know what it was
I promise you if you'll just marry me
So I can become a citizen of Mexico
I'll take you to Milwaukee
You can meet all my friends
They got these big shiny motorcycles
And you can ride on the back of 'em with 'em
Really, Juanita would I lie to you?
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
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.