"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.
From the beginning
Small lifeforms
They can kill without warning
So you don't explode
Stop you growing limbs and thinking
That you love them now you're blinking
And reminding her of him
Oh you steal his features
And your mother is a bleacher
She don't even feel the heat no
She don't even want to speak to you
But you, you'll always find another place to go
(Oh you) you'll always find another womb to grow, to grow, to grow
Well you can try to sink down deeply
And find the children lost at sea
Find the children who discretely
Were killed in infancy
To stop them holding you and screaming
That you'll lose your wildest dreaming
Still reminding you of him
How he left without reasons
But you, you'll always find another place to go
(Oh you) you'll always find another womb to grow, to grow, to grow
You can try to forget me but I won't let you easily
You can try to forget me but I won't let you easily
I'm floating out in the water, washed out to sea
Drifting away with time you'll regret you conceived it
Clean up the dead you leave behind
Just like insects
Clean up the dead you leave behind
Small lifeforms
They can kill without warning
So you don't explode
Stop you growing limbs and thinking
That you love them now you're blinking
And reminding her of him
Oh you steal his features
And your mother is a bleacher
She don't even feel the heat no
She don't even want to speak to you
But you, you'll always find another place to go
(Oh you) you'll always find another womb to grow, to grow, to grow
Well you can try to sink down deeply
And find the children lost at sea
Find the children who discretely
Were killed in infancy
To stop them holding you and screaming
That you'll lose your wildest dreaming
Still reminding you of him
How he left without reasons
But you, you'll always find another place to go
(Oh you) you'll always find another womb to grow, to grow, to grow
You can try to forget me but I won't let you easily
You can try to forget me but I won't let you easily
I'm floating out in the water, washed out to sea
Drifting away with time you'll regret you conceived it
Clean up the dead you leave behind
Just like insects
Clean up the dead you leave behind
Lyrics submitted by cavador, edited by Belgica, winteronmercury, BenFiddick, PJonny, hokealogenous, damian1025, BrainDamage37
Lifeforms Lyrics as written by Elena Veronica Tonra
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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Just A Little Lovin'
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Punchline
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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.
"From the beginning Small lifeforms They can kill without warning So you don't explode"
From the beginning (first part of the baby's life) the baby is making the mother take care of it (killing her) where otherwise she would be exploding emotionally and probably be doing some very dramatic things.
"Stop your growing limps and thinking And you've loved them now you're blinking And reminding her of him"
This is talking out the baby, the baby has stopped for a moment and realized that it's mother is not looking at it properly (because she is reminded of the father) and so it blinks trying to make sure if it's seeing correctly because the baby has loved her and doesn't understand why she wouldn't love it back.
"Oh you steal his features And your mother is a bleacher She don't even feel the heat no She don't even want to speak to you"
The baby steals the father's features (biggest point). It's mother try's to make everything seem alright (like bleaching stains) where it isn't. The mother doesn't feel the warmth of when you love a child (so she doesn't love it). She wants to stay away from the child and not care for it.
"But you, you always find another place to go (Oh you) you always find another womb to grow to grow a new home"
This is suggesting that the baby is being put up for adoption and the baby will have a new life and real loving home.
"Well you can try to sink down deeply And find the children lost at sea Find the children who discretely Be killed in infancy
To stop them holding you and screaming That you'll lose your wildest dreaming Still reminding you of him How he left without reasons"
Now it's talking about the mother. This is not about her murdering the child, it's about her going very low and giving her up for adoption like all the other children who were put up for adoption and were "lost at sea". "Being killed in infancy" is what it feels like when you lose your parents, that were you died. She doesn't want to care for it so she can chase her dreams (the father). And the baby is still reminding her of him.
"You can try to forget but I won't let you easy You can try to forget but I won't let you easy I'm flooding out and more I'm too washed out to see Drifting away this time you'll regret you've conceived it Clean up the dead you leave behind Just like insects
Clean up the dead you leave behind"
Now with the baby gone and adopted the mother can't stop thinking about her child and the child keeps on going further and further away. Her conscious is making her feel guilt and she wishes the baby was never born so the guilt goes away.
This whole story probably takes place when the child is older and feels like her mother just killed her and left her like it was nothing (like she was an insect).
Great song, but I love every song Daughter anyways.