"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.
You'll hear me calling in your sweet dream,
Can't hear your daddy's warning cry.
You're going back to be all the things you want to be
While in sweet dreams you softly sigh.
You hear my voice is calling to be mine again,
Live the rest of your life in a day.
Get out and get what you can
While your mummy's at home a-sleeping.
No time to understand
'Cause they've lost what they thought they were keeping.
No one can hear us in your sweet dream,
Don't hear you leave to start the car.
All wrapped up tightly in the coat you borrowed from me,
Your place of resting is not far.
You hear my voice is calling to be mine again,
Live the rest of your life in a day.
Get out and get what you can
While your mummy's at home a-sleeping.
No time to understand
'Cause they've lost what they thought they were keeping.
Can't hear your daddy's warning cry.
You're going back to be all the things you want to be
While in sweet dreams you softly sigh.
You hear my voice is calling to be mine again,
Live the rest of your life in a day.
Get out and get what you can
While your mummy's at home a-sleeping.
No time to understand
'Cause they've lost what they thought they were keeping.
No one can hear us in your sweet dream,
Don't hear you leave to start the car.
All wrapped up tightly in the coat you borrowed from me,
Your place of resting is not far.
You hear my voice is calling to be mine again,
Live the rest of your life in a day.
Get out and get what you can
While your mummy's at home a-sleeping.
No time to understand
'Cause they've lost what they thought they were keeping.
Lyrics submitted by knate15, edited by hans peter
Sweet Dream Lyrics as written by Ian Anderson
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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The message of the songs seems to be that no matter how much parents try to control their children (most likely a daughter in the case of this song), they can't control their child's dreams. Also, all the attempts at control will likely cause said child to rebel anyway.
@Krendall2006 It could be a teenager boy or girl,because no mention of he or she.Sweet dreams could also be about opiate addiction,because living a life in a day and tied up in some coat(addiction) and a resting place,is all in a sweet dream only. <br /> That issaid very well by NIN in there song:Hurt:....You Are Someone Else,I Am Still Right Here...
This could be about a girl (I'm guessing) who sneaks out of the house to have fun with the wrong crowd and dies in the process (she is lured out and takes the parents car). After all her daddy warned her not to hang out with them!--or perhaps it is about an ex-lover who gets her to come out of the house and then kills her. Then he later buries the corpse in an old coat as a shroud as suggested by another poster. Guess only Ian Anderson knows.
@ScribbledInk1975 Read first comment/reply
Well, I\'ve always taken this as a nod to England\'s Hammer Horror and Mr Ian Anderson playing Dracula. He was Dracula in the song\'s film clip after all.
Wow, I'm the first to comment on this song, Jethro Tull is an extreamly underrated/underheard band, almost all of my friends had never heard of them before I made them listen to them
Last line is really good.
Sounds to me that this is a song about an ex lover (or at least friend an admirerer) murdering a sweet young girl "you hear my voice calling to be mine again, live the rest of your life in a day" in other words you left me and now im back and this is the last day of your life. I am going to kill you. "your place of resting is not far" a grave no doubt..."wrapped up tightly in the coat you borrowed from me"...a gift from better days..now a death shroud. The parents "lost what they thought they were keeping"...the life of their child.
@steely88 Read first comment!
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