"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.
I can beat the night, I'm not afraid of thunder
I am full of light, I am full of wonder
Whoa, oh I ain't falling under
Whoa, oh I am full of wonder
Though our feet might ache, the world's upon our shoulders
No way we goin' break, 'cause we are full of wonder
Whoa, oh we ain't falling under
Whoa, oh we are full of wonder
This light is contagious, go, go tell your neighbors
Just reach out and pass it on, ooh yeah
This light is contagious, go, go tell your neighbors
Just reach out and pass it on, ooh yeah
This light is contagious, go, go tell your neighbors
Just reach out and pass it on, ooh yeah
This light is contagious, go, go tell your neighbors
Just reach out and pass it on, yeah
Whoa, oh we ain't falling under
Whoa, oh we are full of wonder
When everything feels wrong, and darkness falls upon ya
Just try sing along, this is a message from Cabana
If your heart turns blue, I want you to remember
This song is for you, and you are full of wonder
Whoa, oh we ain't falling under
Whoa, oh we are full of wonder
Whoa, oh we ain't falling under
Whoa, oh we are full of wonder
I am full of light, I am full of wonder
Whoa, oh I ain't falling under
Whoa, oh I am full of wonder
Though our feet might ache, the world's upon our shoulders
No way we goin' break, 'cause we are full of wonder
Whoa, oh we ain't falling under
Whoa, oh we are full of wonder
This light is contagious, go, go tell your neighbors
Just reach out and pass it on, ooh yeah
This light is contagious, go, go tell your neighbors
Just reach out and pass it on, ooh yeah
This light is contagious, go, go tell your neighbors
Just reach out and pass it on, ooh yeah
This light is contagious, go, go tell your neighbors
Just reach out and pass it on, yeah
Whoa, oh we ain't falling under
Whoa, oh we are full of wonder
When everything feels wrong, and darkness falls upon ya
Just try sing along, this is a message from Cabana
If your heart turns blue, I want you to remember
This song is for you, and you are full of wonder
Whoa, oh we ain't falling under
Whoa, oh we are full of wonder
Whoa, oh we ain't falling under
Whoa, oh we are full of wonder
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
This song is about how we are all full of beauty, every single human being. We all have different stories, experiences, beliefs, which is a beautiful thing that people should recognize more. If you want beauty, go out and talk to people.