"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.
Taking a ride to my old haunt
She's in my blood, I reside in my nightlife
My favorite color's candy apple, girl
And she resides in my mind and my nightlife
What's that I hear? You wanna go for a ride?
Don't be afraid, boy, to come inside
I got the thing that you want, the fix that you need
Chase this with a little lust and greed
I'll be the devil on your shoulder saying, hey boy, come on
My black heart beats crimson and clover?
Operator, operator patch my boy in
This is nightlife and I'll get under your skin
Taking a ride to my old haunt
She's in my blood, I reside in my nightlife
My favorite color's candy apple, girl
And she resides in my mind and my nightlife
What a thrill, heart beats fast
Sounds like love but you know it won't last
Cheap champagne stain on an even cheaper suit
Hope there's more in your pants than a bus route
Red velvet walls
Line the sugar-coated halls
Girls on your bar stools from late last calls
This town is filled with snakes, mistakes and whiskey shakes
It's too late I already cut the brakes
I'm rollin', strollin' into town
Is it me or am I going crazy?
This dirty city is my sugar town
My little angel of death is my nightlife
You better make a move before I get bored
If you wanna explore my vocal chord
Leave the girl a go-go dance in the cooch
One hand on my knee one hand on the hooch
Why don't you stick around for one more round?
This place is a circus and I know you'll be my clown
'Cause I'm a ring leader
I run the show
And only when I tell ya
Will it be time to go
Taking a ride to my old haunt
She's in my blood, I reside in my nightlife
My favorite color's candy apple, girl
And she resides in my mind and my nightlife
(Hey boy) She is my night life
(hey boy) She is my night life
(Haha hey boy) She is my night life
(See you later) She is my night life
She's in my blood, I reside in my nightlife
My favorite color's candy apple, girl
And she resides in my mind and my nightlife
What's that I hear? You wanna go for a ride?
Don't be afraid, boy, to come inside
I got the thing that you want, the fix that you need
Chase this with a little lust and greed
I'll be the devil on your shoulder saying, hey boy, come on
My black heart beats crimson and clover?
Operator, operator patch my boy in
This is nightlife and I'll get under your skin
Taking a ride to my old haunt
She's in my blood, I reside in my nightlife
My favorite color's candy apple, girl
And she resides in my mind and my nightlife
What a thrill, heart beats fast
Sounds like love but you know it won't last
Cheap champagne stain on an even cheaper suit
Hope there's more in your pants than a bus route
Red velvet walls
Line the sugar-coated halls
Girls on your bar stools from late last calls
This town is filled with snakes, mistakes and whiskey shakes
It's too late I already cut the brakes
I'm rollin', strollin' into town
Is it me or am I going crazy?
This dirty city is my sugar town
My little angel of death is my nightlife
You better make a move before I get bored
If you wanna explore my vocal chord
Leave the girl a go-go dance in the cooch
One hand on my knee one hand on the hooch
Why don't you stick around for one more round?
This place is a circus and I know you'll be my clown
'Cause I'm a ring leader
I run the show
And only when I tell ya
Will it be time to go
Taking a ride to my old haunt
She's in my blood, I reside in my nightlife
My favorite color's candy apple, girl
And she resides in my mind and my nightlife
(Hey boy) She is my night life
(hey boy) She is my night life
(Haha hey boy) She is my night life
(See you later) She is my night life
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by ilikecatss
Nightlife Lyrics as written by Monica Painter Billie Joe Armstrong
Lyrics © 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
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."
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
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 basically having a sexual relationship in which the male falls in love with the woman and she gets him drunk then has sex with him. He needs to get out before she kills him but she keeps seducing him every night.