"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.
Yes I walk the righteous
Many men have walked before
And this pain's held
A broken shell
Straight shackled onto the floor
So welcome to the world
That I lived in
Puking up bile and hate
My world has turned
To false inclusion
Sickening broken state
But then I'll see
There's things in me
That make you want it
More than you
But I deny all this
Cause pain was my bliss
Get wasted on self destruct
Just hold on to the edge
It's all about
The blood, the sweat, the tears
Attribute to the strength
Built through the years
Yes I walk the path
That gives me
Confidence strong and pure
Now I realize
That freedom rises
From confronting the source
I built these walls around me
And I can break them all away
I'll focus all the strength I call
Into unstoppable energy
So hold on to the edge
It's all about
The blood, the sweat, the tears
Attribute to the strength
Built through the years
Hold on
I'm not falling
Not falling down again
It's all about
The blood, the sweat, the tears
Attribute to the strength
Built through the years
Believe me that
Time will sear the wound
Time will sear the wound
Time will seal the wound
Many men have walked before
And this pain's held
A broken shell
Straight shackled onto the floor
So welcome to the world
That I lived in
Puking up bile and hate
My world has turned
To false inclusion
Sickening broken state
But then I'll see
There's things in me
That make you want it
More than you
But I deny all this
Cause pain was my bliss
Get wasted on self destruct
Just hold on to the edge
It's all about
The blood, the sweat, the tears
Attribute to the strength
Built through the years
Yes I walk the path
That gives me
Confidence strong and pure
Now I realize
That freedom rises
From confronting the source
I built these walls around me
And I can break them all away
I'll focus all the strength I call
Into unstoppable energy
So hold on to the edge
It's all about
The blood, the sweat, the tears
Attribute to the strength
Built through the years
Hold on
I'm not falling
Not falling down again
It's all about
The blood, the sweat, the tears
Attribute to the strength
Built through the years
Believe me that
Time will sear the wound
Time will sear the wound
Time will seal the wound
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
I was looking for another band when I stumbled onto this song. Machine Head has been a favourite ever since.