"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.
Mystery achievement
Don't breathe down my neck no
I got no trophies on display
I sign them away
I mean what the heck
All of your promises
Don't fill me with pride no
I just wanna get out on the floor
And do the Cuban slide, slide, slide, slide
But every day, every nighttime I find
Mystery achievement
You're on my mind
And every day, every nighttime I feel
Mystery achievement you're so unreal
Mystery achievement
Where's my sandy beach? Yeah
I had my dreams like everybody else
But they're out of reach
I said right out of reach
I could ignore you
Your demands are unending
I got no tears on my ice cream but you know me
I love pretending
But every day, every nighttime I find
Mystery achievement
You're on my mind
And every day, every nighttime I feel
Mystery achievement you're so unreal
Don't breathe down my neck no
I got no trophies on display
I sign them away
I mean what the heck
All of your promises
Don't fill me with pride no
I just wanna get out on the floor
And do the Cuban slide, slide, slide, slide
But every day, every nighttime I find
Mystery achievement
You're on my mind
And every day, every nighttime I feel
Mystery achievement you're so unreal
Mystery achievement
Where's my sandy beach? Yeah
I had my dreams like everybody else
But they're out of reach
I said right out of reach
I could ignore you
Your demands are unending
I got no tears on my ice cream but you know me
I love pretending
But every day, every nighttime I find
Mystery achievement
You're on my mind
And every day, every nighttime I feel
Mystery achievement you're so unreal
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
Mystery Achievement Lyrics as written by Christine Hynde
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Punchline
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
I have no idea what the "Cuban slide" reference is, so I googled it and apparently there is another Pretenders songed titled - "Cuban slide." No other major references to this phrase, but there is no such song in the songmeanings lyrics collection right now. Does anyone know what the "Cuban slide" thing means? Or what this song is about? Drugs?
@stoolhardy It's a line type of dance. Sometimes called the Cuban Shuffle.
@stoolhardy Cuban Slide Is just another silly pop dance which the least athletic/artistic/intellectual girl in your high school, or your old Granny, can learn to do, with a few minutes worth of lessons and a little practice. That's why they (human females) all love silly popular dances - any enthusiastic idiot can learn to do them with a minimal amount of lessons and practice, while the world's greatest athletes would have no idea how to do them without lessons, practice. Makes them (even the most mediocre human females) feel that they are therefore very artistic, athletic - if they lie to themselves non-stop. Which they do.
@stoolhardy The Cuban Slide is a variation of a Salsa Dance - been around a long time. Not to be confused with the Cuban Shuffle line dance which came around after their song