"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.
Like pebbles on a beach
Kicked around, displaced by feet
Oh, like broken stones
They're all trying to get home
Like a loser's reach
Too slow and short to hit the peaks
Yeah, so lost and alone
Yeah, trying to get home
As another pitch shatters
Another little bit gets lost
What else really matters?
Oh, at such a cost
Like a loser's reach
Too slow and short to hit the peaks
Yeah, he's lost and alone
Yeah, a lot of folks stay home
(Yeah, now you go home)
(Yeah, now you go home)
And another pitch shatters
Another little bit gets lost
Tell me what else really matters
Oh, at such a cost
Like pebbles on a beach
Kicked around, displaced by feet
Oh, like broken stones
They're all trying to get home
Like a loser's reach
Too slow and short to hit the peaks
Yeah, he's lost and alone
Yeah, trying to get home
Trying to get home
Trying to get home
Like broken stones
Oh, trying to get home
Trying to get home
Like broken stones
Kicked around, displaced by feet
Oh, like broken stones
They're all trying to get home
Like a loser's reach
Too slow and short to hit the peaks
Yeah, so lost and alone
Yeah, trying to get home
As another pitch shatters
Another little bit gets lost
What else really matters?
Oh, at such a cost
Like a loser's reach
Too slow and short to hit the peaks
Yeah, he's lost and alone
Yeah, a lot of folks stay home
(Yeah, now you go home)
(Yeah, now you go home)
And another pitch shatters
Another little bit gets lost
Tell me what else really matters
Oh, at such a cost
Like pebbles on a beach
Kicked around, displaced by feet
Oh, like broken stones
They're all trying to get home
Like a loser's reach
Too slow and short to hit the peaks
Yeah, he's lost and alone
Yeah, trying to get home
Trying to get home
Trying to get home
Like broken stones
Oh, trying to get home
Trying to get home
Like broken stones
Lyrics submitted by onearmedscissor
Broken Stones Lyrics as written by Paul John Weller
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Can't believe nobody's commented on this! It's one of my faves by Weller.
The way I interperet it is the way we try so hard to complete some things but sometimes everything we can do is ever enough and we get kicked down
my favourite weller solo track
The essence of this song is people's lives and people never actually achieving what they want to.
A song for lost souls