"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.
Well I built the world around me
Like a blueprint I've been studying for years
And I've been getting lost along the way
As I disconnect the past and present
Others have defined my biggest fears
Now I don't hear a single word they say
Open eyes
Clouded for a history
Walking blind
Believing what we think we believe
And no we won't stop
We won't stop building
In our invisible worlds
And when they fall
The clarity will kill us all
And it comes to us by nature
The confidence in how it all should be
Everyone's a criminal of pride
And we reach inside of one another
Vilify the past and let it speak
And whatever remains is cast aside
We build our walls and hope they never fade away, no
(We won't stop, we won't stop building)
And what feels like comfort ends up being our decay
(We won't stop, we won't stop building)
Until open eyes
Clouded from a history
Come to find
All the people underneath
Like a blueprint I've been studying for years
And I've been getting lost along the way
As I disconnect the past and present
Others have defined my biggest fears
Now I don't hear a single word they say
Open eyes
Clouded for a history
Walking blind
Believing what we think we believe
And no we won't stop
We won't stop building
In our invisible worlds
And when they fall
The clarity will kill us all
And it comes to us by nature
The confidence in how it all should be
Everyone's a criminal of pride
And we reach inside of one another
Vilify the past and let it speak
And whatever remains is cast aside
We build our walls and hope they never fade away, no
(We won't stop, we won't stop building)
And what feels like comfort ends up being our decay
(We won't stop, we won't stop building)
Until open eyes
Clouded from a history
Come to find
All the people underneath
Lyrics submitted by L-Kyne
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental 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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.