"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.
Uhh
Yeah, yeah
[whispered:] "Oh my God"
Uhh (he's back) success (he's back)
[whispered:] "They love success!"
(Where you been?)
Right here baby
[LL Cool J]
Look in the mirror while I tell you a tale
About a mogul named Uncle L
Sit on eight figures, man with a vision, move with precision
(He excels, they all fail)
Undisputed, the game got so polluted
that he turned his +Radio+ off
He +Needed a Beat+ so he could +Jingle+ them bells again
Watchin the plasma TV in the loft (with somethin soft)
with a leapord print outfit on
Cause he known to flood any mic he spit on
He's a (uhh uhh, +Phenomenon+)
Ice glistenin, listenin to +Break of Dawn+
He went from.. +Hollis to Hollywood+ in fact
Owned the Dow Jones and stacked the NASDAQ
Conference call with his broker, 'What's the yield on that?'
"Exotic Motorcars," we want a deal on that
[Chorus: sung + (LL)]
Mirror mirror (you go baby) speak to me (you flow baby)
What's this image that I see before me (you know baby)
It's a winner (you go baby) please believe it (you go baby)
I can see it so I can achieve it (you flow baby, you go baby)
[LL Cool J]
+Around the Way Girls+ be +Doin' It+ well
They love the way that man look on the (XXL)
On the Money magazine covers
When he stop at the light, it's like his Benz hovers
Smoke blowin from the chrome exhaust, of his Boxer Porsche
(Look at him, lickin his lips when his joint pull off)
Ever since +Boomin' System+, damn she missed him
She, couldn't resist him, dreamt she kissed him
In a, warm jacuzzi full of +Milky Cereal+
She said (I need love from the grand imperial)
I been his biggest fan since five years old
And now I'm 22, I love money (oooh)
+Backseat of the Jeep+, you need that
(Who do you love?) Baby repeat that
(Who do you love?) You need to keep back
Milk and +Pink Cookies+ he known to eat that
[Chorus]
[LL Cool J]
Tryin to get as much money as possible, no negative consequences
Knahmsayin baby? I'm goin long, feel me..
+Hey Lover+, I'm +Loungin'+
+Goin' Back to Cali+, cop a crib on the mountain
Strobelights jumpin off, birdies is bouncin
+(4)-to-the-3-2-1+, he stopped countin
Eliminated competition quickly
Phantom of the Opera on the low where your clique be
He feel his flow deep down in your artery
Peep her man's checkbook (uh) that's where his heart'll be
+6 Minutes of Pleasure+ for +Jack the Ripper+
Young players fall quicker from chicks and hard liquor (ahahah)
But uhh, he's +Bad+, he got +The Power of God+
In the Four Seasons, laughin at the L'urmitage(?)
He been there, mini-bars, R&B stars
Young groupies in the lobby on the search for (Bobby)
Young tycoon in the Steve Wynn suite
Readin e-mails with ten on repeat, I seen it
[Chorus + (LL speaking over, can't be heard clearly)]
[LL Cool J]
Yeah, 10, faith, power of God
Yeah, c'mon, work it with me baby
Work with me ma, uhh, it's been too long, 10
Yeah, yeah
[whispered:] "Oh my God"
Uhh (he's back) success (he's back)
[whispered:] "They love success!"
(Where you been?)
Right here baby
[LL Cool J]
Look in the mirror while I tell you a tale
About a mogul named Uncle L
Sit on eight figures, man with a vision, move with precision
(He excels, they all fail)
Undisputed, the game got so polluted
that he turned his +Radio+ off
He +Needed a Beat+ so he could +Jingle+ them bells again
Watchin the plasma TV in the loft (with somethin soft)
with a leapord print outfit on
Cause he known to flood any mic he spit on
He's a (uhh uhh, +Phenomenon+)
Ice glistenin, listenin to +Break of Dawn+
He went from.. +Hollis to Hollywood+ in fact
Owned the Dow Jones and stacked the NASDAQ
Conference call with his broker, 'What's the yield on that?'
"Exotic Motorcars," we want a deal on that
[Chorus: sung + (LL)]
Mirror mirror (you go baby) speak to me (you flow baby)
What's this image that I see before me (you know baby)
It's a winner (you go baby) please believe it (you go baby)
I can see it so I can achieve it (you flow baby, you go baby)
[LL Cool J]
+Around the Way Girls+ be +Doin' It+ well
They love the way that man look on the (XXL)
On the Money magazine covers
When he stop at the light, it's like his Benz hovers
Smoke blowin from the chrome exhaust, of his Boxer Porsche
(Look at him, lickin his lips when his joint pull off)
Ever since +Boomin' System+, damn she missed him
She, couldn't resist him, dreamt she kissed him
In a, warm jacuzzi full of +Milky Cereal+
She said (I need love from the grand imperial)
I been his biggest fan since five years old
And now I'm 22, I love money (oooh)
+Backseat of the Jeep+, you need that
(Who do you love?) Baby repeat that
(Who do you love?) You need to keep back
Milk and +Pink Cookies+ he known to eat that
[Chorus]
[LL Cool J]
Tryin to get as much money as possible, no negative consequences
Knahmsayin baby? I'm goin long, feel me..
+Hey Lover+, I'm +Loungin'+
+Goin' Back to Cali+, cop a crib on the mountain
Strobelights jumpin off, birdies is bouncin
+(4)-to-the-3-2-1+, he stopped countin
Eliminated competition quickly
Phantom of the Opera on the low where your clique be
He feel his flow deep down in your artery
Peep her man's checkbook (uh) that's where his heart'll be
+6 Minutes of Pleasure+ for +Jack the Ripper+
Young players fall quicker from chicks and hard liquor (ahahah)
But uhh, he's +Bad+, he got +The Power of God+
In the Four Seasons, laughin at the L'urmitage(?)
He been there, mini-bars, R&B stars
Young groupies in the lobby on the search for (Bobby)
Young tycoon in the Steve Wynn suite
Readin e-mails with ten on repeat, I seen it
[Chorus + (LL speaking over, can't be heard clearly)]
[LL Cool J]
Yeah, 10, faith, power of God
Yeah, c'mon, work it with me baby
Work with me ma, uhh, it's been too long, 10
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Mirror Mirror Lyrics as written by Bill Smith Marvin Montgomery
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, O/B/O DistroKid, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
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.
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,
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.