"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.
People I know, places I go
Make me feel tongue tied
But I can see how people look down
They're on the inside
Here's where the story ends
People I see, weary of me
Showing my good side
I can see how people look down
I'm on the outside
Here's where the story ends
Ooh, here's where the story ends
It's that little souvenir of a terrible year
Which makes my eyes feel sore
Oh, I never should have said the books that you read
Were all I loved you for
It's that little souvenir of a terrible year
Which makes me wonder why
It's the memories of your shed that make me turn red
Surprise, surprise, surprise
Crazy I know, places I go
Make me feel so tired
And I can see how people look down
I'm on the outside
Oh, here's where the story ends
Ooh, here's where the story ends
It's that little souvenir of a terrible year
Which makes my eyes feel sore
And who ever would've thought the books that you brought
Were all I loved you for
Oh, the devil in me said, "Go down to the shed"
I know where I belong
But the only thing I ever really wanted to say
Was wrong, was wrong, was wrong
It's that little souvenir of a colorful year
Which makes me smile inside
So I cynically, cynically say the world is that way
Surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise
Here's where the story ends
Ooh, here's where the story ends
Make me feel tongue tied
But I can see how people look down
They're on the inside
Here's where the story ends
People I see, weary of me
Showing my good side
I can see how people look down
I'm on the outside
Here's where the story ends
Ooh, here's where the story ends
It's that little souvenir of a terrible year
Which makes my eyes feel sore
Oh, I never should have said the books that you read
Were all I loved you for
It's that little souvenir of a terrible year
Which makes me wonder why
It's the memories of your shed that make me turn red
Surprise, surprise, surprise
Crazy I know, places I go
Make me feel so tired
And I can see how people look down
I'm on the outside
Oh, here's where the story ends
Ooh, here's where the story ends
It's that little souvenir of a terrible year
Which makes my eyes feel sore
And who ever would've thought the books that you brought
Were all I loved you for
Oh, the devil in me said, "Go down to the shed"
I know where I belong
But the only thing I ever really wanted to say
Was wrong, was wrong, was wrong
It's that little souvenir of a colorful year
Which makes me smile inside
So I cynically, cynically say the world is that way
Surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise
Here's where the story ends
Ooh, here's where the story ends
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
Here's Where the Story Ends Lyrics as written by Harriet Ella Wheeler David Richard Gavurin
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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I see it as meaning the following;
A girl is in a relationship with a boy, but ends it thinking there was nothing strong between them. She looks back on the year they had, and realises that it's only after she's ended the relationship she's realised just how much she loved being part of it. Little things around her make her remember what happened (souvenirs), things reminding her of the 'time in the shed' (a private event between them, perhaps the first time they kissed or had sex) and the time spent with him, things she took with her without realising how much they would remind her of him.
Now as she walks down the street she sees people together, people with purpose all seeming to look down on her, and she feels as though she has no real connection, as though they are part of an exclusive club of which she is not a part. But when she remembers the time spent with the boy, it was their own little exclusive club, and she smiles, and realises she ended it to try and find some relationship more akin to what she sees in the people around her, and yet because she ended it feels more alone and distant than she ever did. And now all she is left with is a cynical view of the world, and the time she spent with him is over, and that's where the story ends, and reality returns.
Just how I see it :) It's a beautiful song that captures moments between friends and lovers perfectly, those memories you don't see as golden until you lose what it was that made you the way you were, and look back and smile, yet realise it's lost. Ah :)
@deliciousleep Boy you wrote this back in 07 and its now 2022! Just wanted to say thank you for this!