You got a fast car,
I wanna ticket to anywhere,
Maybe we can make a deal,
Maybe together we can get somewhere,
Any place is better,
Startin' from zero, got nothin' to lose,
Maybe we'll make somethin',
Me myself I've got nothin' to prove.

You got a fast car,
I got a plan to get us outta here,
Been working at a convenience store,
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far,
Just 'cross the border and into the city,
You and I can both get jobs,
And finally see what it means to be livin'.

See, my old man's got a problem,
He live with the bottle, that's the way it is
He say his body's too old for workin',
I say his body's too young to look like his,
My mama went off and left him,
She wanted more from life than he could give,
I said, somebody's got to take care of him,
So I quit school, and that's what I did.

You got a fast car,
Is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta make a decision,
We leave tonight or live an' die this way.

CHORUS
'cause I remember when we were drivin',
Drivin' in your car,
Speeds so fast I felt like I was drunk,
City lights lay out before us,
And your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulder,
And I, I had a feelin' that I belonged,
And I, I had a feelin' I could be someone,
Be someone,
Be someone.

You got a fast car,
We go cruisin', entertain ourselves,
You still ain't got a job,
Now I work in the market as a checkout girl,
I know things'll get better,
You'll find work and I'll get promoted,
And we'll move out of the shelter,
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs.

CHORUS

You got a fast car,
I got a job that pays all our bills,
You stay out drinkin' late at the bar,
See more of your friends than you do of your kids,
I'd always hoped for better,
Thought maybe together, you and me'd find it,
I got no plans, I ain't goin' nowhere,
So take your fast car and keep on drivin'.

CHORUS

You got a fast car,
Is it fast enough, so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision,
You leave tonight or live and die this way.


Lyrics submitted by mrdave2001, edited by LeMarkyDussod

Fast Car song meanings
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144 Comments

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  • +13
    My Opinion

    Tracy is a MASTER...few words, repeated initial "refrains"....powerful evocative images, a classic novel and timeless "moral" packed into this blues/traditional ballad of seven verses alternating with "chorus". Glitzy material possessions never could substitute for true character and those who rely on them will only drag down those who know better.

    Allears12on May 26, 2012   Link
  • +12
    General Comment

    I agree with everyone's opinion about this song being about chasing a dream. At the end she's right back where she started despite her perseverance and hope that she could change her life for the better. The song lyrics go in a circle, and at the end she is older and in a different place, but she sees the same cycle beginning to repeat itself.

    I also think it's important to notice how throughout the song, she is the one who keeps getting jobs, and keeps trying to get promoted. She says things about the person she's with hopefully eventually getting a job, but they never do, it's always her. It makes it seem like she is the only one trying in the relationship, and maybe all this person has to offer is a fast car. Maybe in the end, she finally realizes that a fast car is all this person is good for, and that she needs a lot more than that to change her life.

    I do think this song is more about self growth / hope / realization than a relationship, but it's still an interesting perspective to look at. Beautiful, amazing, wonderful song!!!

    meowowsydon April 18, 2014   Link
  • +9
    General Comment

    I think the fact that this page has 115 comments speaks to the range and richness of this song. It touches upon so much like dreamy escapism, the blindness of love, the heartbreaking disappointment of dreams and so much more that others have mentioned. You can even entertain the interpretation made by someone that the whole song is a daydream that is crushed by reality at the end of the song. Top it off with the fact that the music is beautiful and now it's one of the greatest songs ever.

    martin489on June 27, 2011   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    "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.

    ballzofsnoon April 27, 2002   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    This song is so powerful and every time I hear it I have to stop and listen to it. If you notice, it first says "Is it fast enough so WE can fly away?" Then at the end it says "Is it fast so YOU can fly away?" Thus saying, in the end, she wants him to leave her.

    Saraghinaon June 18, 2002   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    A mother living below the poverty line because of the environment that she was forced to live in, wants to go anywhere else, which she thinks would be better than where she's at. Problem is, people who live below the poverty line are a part of the vicious circle. Low paying, menial jobs foster apathy, alcoholism, crime in most who are a part of her world that she comes to find out about. She thinks that love is the answer to her problems, seeing that there is that chance at a different life.

    Eventually, her partner is a part of the "vicious circle", has no real ambition or cannot get the breaks and turns to other diversions that commonly cause strife within a domestic situation.

    The song leaves with a hint of despair. The "Fast Car" that was supposed to come to bring her to a better place is now a symbol of escape for the "love" she thought she had to leave her in her place to get on with her life... Unfortunately, this last message seems to portend to the poor's plight in general.

    A dark, disturbing, yet beautiful and bluesy song. Hearkens back to the old days of the "blues man"(apologies to Tracy) sitting and playing the guitar and rapping about the troubles in life.

    Hawkgoldon February 07, 2005   Link
  • +5
    Song Meaning

    This song is about the vicious cycle of life. The vicious cycle of poverty, of alcoholism, of single parenthood. The fast car symbolizes her dreams of making it out of this cycle.

    Sadly it never happens. She ends up back in the same position she started, with nothing; the same job, poor, taking care of an alcoholic partner. She realizes that her dreams of getting out of this lifestyle are never going to happen and now she wants him to leave and take his fast car (all the broken promises and dreams) with him.

    dontwaitformeon February 17, 2014   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    This is how i feel about where i live and the people around me,I just wanna get out of here. Go anywhere.

    Roseon June 09, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    This song is so beautiful and powerful. i totally feel how tracy does. i know what she means when "You gotta make a decision, Leave tonight or live and die this way." i live in a small town and i am going to get out of here as soon as I can. i think my life would be a waste and pointless if i didnt make somehting of my life and get the hell out of here. this song gives me the feeling of being spontanious and just leaving just like im going to do someday. im going to jump in my car and never look back.i also know what she means when she talks about her father and how he needs her help. she wants to leave but shes got reality holding her back.this song gives me hope

    punkiebruster21on March 10, 2003   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    this song is what perfection really is. it makes me feel emotional everytime i listen to it, it's the kind of song that gives you goosebumps.

    it's basically about running away from your problems in the hope for a better life. when infact, the grass really isn't greener on the other side.

    x

    gracemaexoon December 02, 2006   Link

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