"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.
200 fates entwined inside the plane
We watched as England dropped away from us again
I wasn't waiting, I wasn't sure what I would find
I was prepared to let it happen on its own this time
I had a feeling I was floating into time spent amongst friends
Reintroduced from other strange and wonderful weekends
As the seat belt signs announced the fall
I realised I'd been falling for a while
We'd been falling for some time into Montreal
I saw ice upon the river as the plane came in to land
I heard Joni Mitchell singin' her poems of isolation
The man at immigration said his friends all knew the band
Bizarre to come so far to an outstretched hand and easy conversation
We were welcomed through arrivals without the usual transatlantic fuss
And greeted by the fans who led us to the chilly street onto the bus
The snow had hung around on the corners of the vacant lots
And France was singing in the air of hi-rise North America
And as we made our way into the hotel hall
The man behind the desk broke a knowing smile, and said
"Hello sir, welcome back to Montreal."
We hid away for the day in our identical rooms
Like we usually do
Another new bed, upside down in our heads
And afternoon was morning
And night was afternoon
Only the jet-lagged know the way I sleep tonight..
So I Skyped home and said "It's me. How are you babe?
I can't be with you but I can see you on the screen
Technology is wonderful when it isn't in the way
The little one seems older now with every passing day
I hope the vibes are good. I'm behavin' as I should
Going down to breakfast ..What time is it now there?
I'll go shopping for shoes ..or whatever ensues
Je t'aime my darling, Je t'aime my darling
See you soon.."
We were invited to the circus - guests of honour if you please - by a girl with an eskimo name
And in the cafe of the Cirque 'Soleil
We bought Easter-eggs from outer-space
40 different languages are spoken in this place
And inside the steel-glass building I gazed up at the trapeze
The building 30 metres tall - we watched the acrobat fall
He was quite safe
He was falling into Montreal
Down at the sports-bar the ice-hockey never ends..
Down at the sports-bar the ice-hockey never ends..
So up in my room I discovered Leonard Cohen on TV
Live in London. Aint that perfect symmetry?!
It warmed the heart to watch him float around the hall
Soaking up, reflecting, radiating
Just as I would, tomorrow night
On the outstretched tender hands, tender hands
Tender hands of Montreal
The fleur de lis was always kind to me
I'll make the time if ever you should call
The fleur de lis was always kind to me
I'll make the time if ever you should call
And so I shall...
Je t'aime my darling, Je t'aime my darling
Montreal
We watched as England dropped away from us again
I wasn't waiting, I wasn't sure what I would find
I was prepared to let it happen on its own this time
I had a feeling I was floating into time spent amongst friends
Reintroduced from other strange and wonderful weekends
As the seat belt signs announced the fall
I realised I'd been falling for a while
We'd been falling for some time into Montreal
I saw ice upon the river as the plane came in to land
I heard Joni Mitchell singin' her poems of isolation
The man at immigration said his friends all knew the band
Bizarre to come so far to an outstretched hand and easy conversation
We were welcomed through arrivals without the usual transatlantic fuss
And greeted by the fans who led us to the chilly street onto the bus
The snow had hung around on the corners of the vacant lots
And France was singing in the air of hi-rise North America
And as we made our way into the hotel hall
The man behind the desk broke a knowing smile, and said
"Hello sir, welcome back to Montreal."
We hid away for the day in our identical rooms
Like we usually do
Another new bed, upside down in our heads
And afternoon was morning
And night was afternoon
Only the jet-lagged know the way I sleep tonight..
So I Skyped home and said "It's me. How are you babe?
I can't be with you but I can see you on the screen
Technology is wonderful when it isn't in the way
The little one seems older now with every passing day
I hope the vibes are good. I'm behavin' as I should
Going down to breakfast ..What time is it now there?
I'll go shopping for shoes ..or whatever ensues
Je t'aime my darling, Je t'aime my darling
See you soon.."
We were invited to the circus - guests of honour if you please - by a girl with an eskimo name
And in the cafe of the Cirque 'Soleil
We bought Easter-eggs from outer-space
40 different languages are spoken in this place
And inside the steel-glass building I gazed up at the trapeze
The building 30 metres tall - we watched the acrobat fall
He was quite safe
He was falling into Montreal
Down at the sports-bar the ice-hockey never ends..
Down at the sports-bar the ice-hockey never ends..
So up in my room I discovered Leonard Cohen on TV
Live in London. Aint that perfect symmetry?!
It warmed the heart to watch him float around the hall
Soaking up, reflecting, radiating
Just as I would, tomorrow night
On the outstretched tender hands, tender hands
Tender hands of Montreal
The fleur de lis was always kind to me
I'll make the time if ever you should call
The fleur de lis was always kind to me
I'll make the time if ever you should call
And so I shall...
Je t'aime my darling, Je t'aime my darling
Montreal
Lyrics submitted by BitterBosh
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
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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.
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.