"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 used to wanna be a cowboy
A shadow in the sunset
That's why I started smokin' cigarettes
I used to wanna be a cowboy
I used to wanna be Elvis
And drive a pink Cadillac car
That's why I learned to play the guitar
I used to wanna be Elvis
There's a lotta things I used to wanna do
'Til I met you
Now I wanna be honest, now I wanna be better
Now I wanna be the me I should've been when we were together
I wanna be at least almost close to worth your love
I wanna be who you thought I was
Used to wanna join the circus
And hang around with the freak show
Wish I'd learned to walk a tightrope
I used to wanna join the circus
Used to wanna stay eighteen
I used to want an Airstream
With a lawn chair tumbleweed view
Now I just want you
And I wanna be honest, now I wanna be better
I wanna be the me I should've been when we were together
I wanna be at least almost close to worth your love
I wanna be who you thought I was
There's a lot of things I used to wanna be
'Til you stopped lovin' me
Now I wanna be steady, wanna be forever
Now I wanna be the me I could've been when we were together
I wanna be at least almost close to worth your love
I wanna be who you thought I was
Yeah, I wanna be who you thought I was
A shadow in the sunset
That's why I started smokin' cigarettes
I used to wanna be a cowboy
I used to wanna be Elvis
And drive a pink Cadillac car
That's why I learned to play the guitar
I used to wanna be Elvis
There's a lotta things I used to wanna do
'Til I met you
Now I wanna be honest, now I wanna be better
Now I wanna be the me I should've been when we were together
I wanna be at least almost close to worth your love
I wanna be who you thought I was
Used to wanna join the circus
And hang around with the freak show
Wish I'd learned to walk a tightrope
I used to wanna join the circus
Used to wanna stay eighteen
I used to want an Airstream
With a lawn chair tumbleweed view
Now I just want you
And I wanna be honest, now I wanna be better
I wanna be the me I should've been when we were together
I wanna be at least almost close to worth your love
I wanna be who you thought I was
There's a lot of things I used to wanna be
'Til you stopped lovin' me
Now I wanna be steady, wanna be forever
Now I wanna be the me I could've been when we were together
I wanna be at least almost close to worth your love
I wanna be who you thought I was
Yeah, I wanna be who you thought I was
Lyrics submitted by gogogadget34
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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,
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.
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.