"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.
In my day I could hear them say
Mr. K was awfully close
Now we take that bow you know
'Cause it's time to meet your ghost
And I don't understand
Minotaurs and jaguars
Are at my finger's tip
Falling up through the mustard gates
And I think I broke my hip
And I don't understand
I do not understand
Nine o'clock I turn my heels and sigh
For one last time
Ten-thirty I tied my chi
And died up on the vine
Send me out to the pasture, love
With a closet full of whips
The coroner spins with his bag of grins
As he's sewing up my lips
And I don't understand
Nine o'clock I turn my heels and sigh
For one last time
Ten-thirty I tied my chi
And died up on the vine
I died up on the vine
Suddenly when the moment comes
And it's harmony or rage
Flowers cry on the corpse of love
And it's time to turn your page
Mr. and Mrs. Au Contraire
I think they'll soon arrive
All the treasures you have saved
Your children now divide
And I don't understand
I do not understand
Nine o'clock I turn my heels and
Suddenly when the moment comes
And it's harmony or rage
Flowers cry on the corpse of love
And it's time to turn your page
I am somewhere else, my love
And I think you'll know just where to find me
Out in an interstellar place
And there's nothing left here to define me
You are somewhere else, good love
And this life of crime that's all behind me
We are all just space and love
And I think you'll know that's who designed me, yeah
I am somewhere else, my love
And I think you'll know just where to find me
Out in an interstellar place
And there's nothing left here to define me
You are somewhere else, good love
And this life of crime is all behind me
We are all just space and love
And I think you'll know that's who designed
Me
Mr. K was awfully close
Now we take that bow you know
'Cause it's time to meet your ghost
And I don't understand
Minotaurs and jaguars
Are at my finger's tip
Falling up through the mustard gates
And I think I broke my hip
And I don't understand
I do not understand
Nine o'clock I turn my heels and sigh
For one last time
Ten-thirty I tied my chi
And died up on the vine
Send me out to the pasture, love
With a closet full of whips
The coroner spins with his bag of grins
As he's sewing up my lips
And I don't understand
Nine o'clock I turn my heels and sigh
For one last time
Ten-thirty I tied my chi
And died up on the vine
I died up on the vine
Suddenly when the moment comes
And it's harmony or rage
Flowers cry on the corpse of love
And it's time to turn your page
Mr. and Mrs. Au Contraire
I think they'll soon arrive
All the treasures you have saved
Your children now divide
And I don't understand
I do not understand
Nine o'clock I turn my heels and
Suddenly when the moment comes
And it's harmony or rage
Flowers cry on the corpse of love
And it's time to turn your page
I am somewhere else, my love
And I think you'll know just where to find me
Out in an interstellar place
And there's nothing left here to define me
You are somewhere else, good love
And this life of crime that's all behind me
We are all just space and love
And I think you'll know that's who designed me, yeah
I am somewhere else, my love
And I think you'll know just where to find me
Out in an interstellar place
And there's nothing left here to define me
You are somewhere else, good love
And this life of crime is all behind me
We are all just space and love
And I think you'll know that's who designed
Me
Lyrics submitted by ScamRansom
Bag of Grins Lyrics as written by Chad Gaylord Smith Anthony Kiedis
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.