"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.
Ice
Your only rivers run cold
These city lights
They shine as silver and gold
Dug from the night
Your eyes as black as coal
Walk on by
Walk on through
Walk 'til you run
And don't look back
For here I am
Carnival
The wheels fly and the colors spin
Through alcohol
Red wine that punctures the skin
Face to face
In a dry and water less place
Walk on by
Walk on through
So sad to besiege your love so head on
Stay this time
Stay tonight in a lie
I'm only asking but I
I think you know
Come on take me away
Come on take me away
Come on take me home
Home again
And if the mountain should crumble
Or disappear into the sea
Not a tear, no not I
Stay in this time
Stay tonight in
Ever after, this love in time
And if you save your love
Save it all
Don't push me too far
Don't push me too far
Tonight
Tonight
Tonight
Your only rivers run cold
These city lights
They shine as silver and gold
Dug from the night
Your eyes as black as coal
Walk on by
Walk on through
Walk 'til you run
And don't look back
For here I am
Carnival
The wheels fly and the colors spin
Through alcohol
Red wine that punctures the skin
Face to face
In a dry and water less place
Walk on by
Walk on through
So sad to besiege your love so head on
Stay this time
Stay tonight in a lie
I'm only asking but I
I think you know
Come on take me away
Come on take me away
Come on take me home
Home again
And if the mountain should crumble
Or disappear into the sea
Not a tear, no not I
Stay in this time
Stay tonight in
Ever after, this love in time
And if you save your love
Save it all
Don't push me too far
Don't push me too far
Tonight
Tonight
Tonight
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira
The Unforgettable Fire Lyrics as written by David Evans Adam Clayton
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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
This is my all-time favorite U2 song. I knew it was inspired by the bombing of Hiroshima. For years I've wondered what the lyrics meant in that context. It's only recently I've come up with an idea, but it's vastly different from the other interpretations posted here.
I think this song is about the judgment of God.
The Unforgettable Fire was the name given the atomic blast at Hiroshima. Fire from heaven. The lines "Walk on by, walk on through, walk 'til you run and don't look back for here I am" sound like God's command to Lot when he told Lot to leave the city and not look back.
This song is a conversation between God and the believer about God's judgment of the world. God declares the world wicked: "Ice. Your only rivers run cold. These city lights, they shine in silver and gold dug from the night. Your eyes as black as coal". And later, "Carnival, the wheels fly and the colors spin through alcohol, red wine that punctures the skin". He tells the believer (as he told Lot) "walk on by, walk on through, walk 'til you run and don't look back".
The believer asks (just as Abraham begged God, for the sake of his nephew Lot) that he spare the city the fire judgment, to "stay" his hand of judgment. But the believer also begs God to "Come on take me away, Come on take me home, home again" because of his weariness of trying to live for God in an ungodly word. And just as Abraham begged God to save the city, the believer in this song asks God, "If you save your love (meaning: the believer), then save it all (all of it)."
God's response is "Don't push me too far."
I think there is a lot of passion in the lyrics of this song, and it is the passion and hurt of a scorned lover. But it's not the passion between humans. It's the passion of God for his creation, and the hurt of God having been scorned by his creation and turning their backs on him.
It's easy to think of a loving God, but no one wants to think of a God who's had enough and is ready to put an end to evil. When will he stop staying his hand of judgment for the sake of the believer? It's haunting.
Thank you QuirkyGirl,<br /> before i read your post i had no idea what this song was about.<br /> Yet thanks to you i have fully comprehended it.<br /> I do believe it is about Judgment Day.<br /> Bono talks alot about the world's problems, about how religions fight when they started from the same people. Just stuff like that, and Bono is trying to let his fans understand that some day when only God knows that Jesus is coming back and we will have to stand up to our mistakes. We need to be ready for Judgment Day instead of fearing it.<br /> I love your POV on this and you truly understand how deep this song is.<br /> <br /> <333
I know it has been several years since you wrote your comment, but I wanted to thank you nevertheless for such a penetrating and thoughtful analysis. No matter what U2 comes up with, they have left us many great songs that can be enjoyed for their "pop" value as well as occasional food for the soul.<br />
@QuirkyGirl What an amazing analysis of the song, and I think you hit it head on. There is a live HD version on Youtube where, when Bono sings the part "home again, home again" he tacks on at the end "to the palace" which completely supports this interpretation. The live version is much more inspiring than the album version as the song is mature at that point and the energy more balanced. I think U2 is one of the few bands who are always better live; to me they weren't concerts they were religious experiences. youtube.com/watch
@QuirkyGirl @QuirkyGirl Wow. I first listened to this song when I was a high school student, I completely had no idea about song's menacing. Now I am I think this is a very good interpretation and I like the way you analyze the song. But there's still some part of the lyrics I don't quite understand. Why says " stay tonight in a lie". The atomic bomb was dropped at around 8.00am(perhaps Bono got the time wrong? or there's another explanation?) and why it mentions "lie", what does "lie" refer to?
@QuirkyGirl Right on quirky girl... perfectly said!!! This is my all-time fav song ever!!! Primarily because of that description and the beautiful arrangement. <3 ... and if you save your love... save it all <3
@QuirkyGirl this is years old but in case people come across this - you have failed to account for something Bono has publicly stated more than once. Aside from the obvious, being Hiroshima/Nagasaki, this song is about a fight he and his wife had while in Japan. Much of your religious attribution is mistaken, and is about something else entirely. Careful, your bias is showing.