Motor's Too Fast

I love the song and the lyrics are typical of the quirkiness of JR's songs.

I think it's about a boy who is neglected by his parents. The kid could be living with both parents and the father is abusive OR he could be just living with his mum who seems to constantly find abusive boyfriends (the last line - "picking up the old man, rolling him round in her room" could be the father or some random bloke)

But, I think it is more about a single mother who has a knack of finding bad relationships. The facade of a normal life for the boy is in the first two lines,but - "things are never quite as they seem".

The kid is giving material things that a kid gets, but his mother is in an abusive relationship - "Mama's grabbed her jewelery, Hidden in the bathroom, Calling the cops"..

He is tired of the cycle of he and his mother leaving a house abruptly and he laments having no where to go and for a change, wants a good reason to travel somewhere. He feels as though his mother nor his father loves him.

But, like most abusive relationships, the cycle repeats itself and after a few drinks, his mother shacks up with another man.

The last line - "Picking up the old man, rolling him round in her room". If she is a single mother, she is picking up some random man. If you interpret "the old man" as his father, then the whole song is about an abusive husband (not boyfriends) and the mother keeps repeating the cycle and family life is "never quite as they seem".

This is about a runaway kid. Terrible home life, but not helping the scenario since he rolls with his nunchucks and throwing stars. He's well off, although doesn't follow societal rules. Give me somewhere to go don't give me train rides is a giveaway and mummy and daddy don't want you. I feel it ended badly like this is the kids eulogy. Never gave anyone the slightest notion... perhaps of what he was capable of. Maybe he killed his parents?

I always thought the song is about a kid growing up with ADHD.

I believe, seeing as I heavily relate to this song.

I get the feeling JR’s father was extremely abusive, his mother was constantly linking up with men either for money or to spite his father. I get the feeling that JR’s father was an abusive alcoholic and back then, A LOT of child abuse was happening (sexual) that’s where I think the lyrics derived from “I never gave anyone the slightest notion” that either, he and his mother were being sexually abused and beaten perhaps? “Mums grabbing her jewellery hidden in the bathroom calling the cops.” Hiding herself away from JRs father? And a lot of my teen years I spent homeless sleeping from my town to the city and constantly changing trains so I had somewhere warm and safe to sleep, I feel as if JR’s saying he wants to come home, he wants somewhere safe to rest his head instead of riding trains sleeping on them.

Interview with James Reyne “Motor’s Too Fast” (James Reyne, 1987) “There was a magazine I was reading and there was an article about some young guy that had gone off the rails and he’d stolen his mum’s jewellery. And he saw a psychologist and the psychologist said his motor was always running a bit too fast. So the first verse is basically from the article. https://jaxsta.com/news-article/45286

It loosely appears to be about a teenager whose parents have split and aren't paying any attention to their child. The kid wants somewhere to belong, not constant trips (train rides) between the two. This isn't a great lyric from James and there are lyrics that better depict this kind of situation.