"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.
The suExplainn and the moon never change
They just rearrange, but not in the new day
Gold exchanges for silver
And a light on the river gets carried away
[Hook]
On and on, on and on
On and on, on and on
I lift up my head and I wonder
Just who it is calming, calming the moon now
I trip on my way and I blunder
My head hiding under a blanket of shame
[Hook]
I, alone may I go
Where God only knows just where I am going
High, alone may I go
But God only knows just where I am going
The people around me won't let me
Become what I need to, they want me the same
I look at myself and I want to
Just cover my eyes and give myself a new name
Stones in the sky never worry
They don't have to hurry, they move in their own way
But I have to choose what to do
How to act, what to think, how to talk, what to say
[Hook x3]
They just rearrange, but not in the new day
Gold exchanges for silver
And a light on the river gets carried away
[Hook]
On and on, on and on
On and on, on and on
I lift up my head and I wonder
Just who it is calming, calming the moon now
I trip on my way and I blunder
My head hiding under a blanket of shame
[Hook]
I, alone may I go
Where God only knows just where I am going
High, alone may I go
But God only knows just where I am going
The people around me won't let me
Become what I need to, they want me the same
I look at myself and I want to
Just cover my eyes and give myself a new name
Stones in the sky never worry
They don't have to hurry, they move in their own way
But I have to choose what to do
How to act, what to think, how to talk, what to say
[Hook x3]
Lyrics submitted by mike
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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"
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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.
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.
The sun and the moon never change They just rearrange The night and the new day Gold exchanges for silver And the light on a river Gets carried away
On and on, on and on
I lift my head up and I wonder Just who is it Calling my name now I trip on my way and I blunder My head falling under A blanket of shame
On and on, on and on
High and low may I go But God only knows Just where I am going
The people around me Wont let me become what I need to They want me the same I look at myself and I want to Just cover my eyes and Give myself a new name
The stones in the sky never worry They don't have to hurry They move in their own way But I have to choose what to do How to act, what to think How to talk, what to say
On and on, on and on