"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.
I've often wondered about the demons coming in the pale skirts of midnight,
I never really paid much attention to them though.
I knew they were coming (and they came).
And it made me sick to see myself all broken down,
Couldn't get a grip,
On my dour self,
As I slipped into a state of disbelief...
Don't even think for a second,
Don't you put your filth and guilt on me,
Don't you put your filthy hands on me,
Don't you say you ever believed in me when you did nothing but lead me....
Into a forest of nothing but darkness
With no thought regardless of my heart relentless,
Processed...
Something is broken and I can't recover,
I saw the waves were crashing,
My arms were bleeding,
My eyes deceived me,
My eyes will bleed...
To trust and to sleep,
To trust,
To deceive,
Never in my life have I ever felt such,
Desperation...
Progressed...
Never felt so alone,
I couldn't face tomorrow,
Because the sting of today,
Has left me here in dismay.
Under the sheets of green,
Just recollecting,
I told myself,
Never shed a tear for you and those who are alike,
And so I turned away.
And I never look back...
Something is broken and I can't recover...
So I saved myself from your fuckin' misery,
That lingers reputed relation,
I'm falling to function,
Because of temptation,
We should fuck ourselves...
Don't talk to me about your love....
I never really paid much attention to them though.
I knew they were coming (and they came).
And it made me sick to see myself all broken down,
Couldn't get a grip,
On my dour self,
As I slipped into a state of disbelief...
Don't even think for a second,
Don't you put your filth and guilt on me,
Don't you put your filthy hands on me,
Don't you say you ever believed in me when you did nothing but lead me....
Into a forest of nothing but darkness
With no thought regardless of my heart relentless,
Processed...
Something is broken and I can't recover,
I saw the waves were crashing,
My arms were bleeding,
My eyes deceived me,
My eyes will bleed...
To trust and to sleep,
To trust,
To deceive,
Never in my life have I ever felt such,
Desperation...
Progressed...
Never felt so alone,
I couldn't face tomorrow,
Because the sting of today,
Has left me here in dismay.
Under the sheets of green,
Just recollecting,
I told myself,
Never shed a tear for you and those who are alike,
And so I turned away.
And I never look back...
Something is broken and I can't recover...
So I saved myself from your fuckin' misery,
That lingers reputed relation,
I'm falling to function,
Because of temptation,
We should fuck ourselves...
Don't talk to me about your love....
Lyrics submitted by HoldURBreath
Beneath the Green Lyrics as written by Cohen Baumbach
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.