"Fast Car" as written by and Tracy L Chapman....
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 to 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'.
You see, my old man's got a problem,
Lives with the bottle, that's the way it is
He says 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,
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,
Leave tonight or live an' die this way.
CHORUS:
So 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' to entertain ourselves,
You still ain't got a job,
And I work in the market as a checkout girl,
I know things will 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 so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision,
Leave tonight or live and die this way.
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 to 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'.
You see, my old man's got a problem,
Lives with the bottle, that's the way it is
He says 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,
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,
Leave tonight or live an' die this way.
CHORUS:
So 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' to entertain ourselves,
You still ain't got a job,
And I work in the market as a checkout girl,
I know things will 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 so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision,
Leave tonight or live and die this way.
Lyrics submitted by mrdave2001
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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!!!
I noted that it was she who states "Maybe we'll make something? Me (myself,) I got nothing to prove."
She then uses "you" to refer to the owner of the car. It is never otherwise in this song.
She lulls him into the city, a life he may not have been able to afford.. Then she remembers her father. His wife left him, and left our main character with that father. She would never become the woman who left her man.
She then speaks to the owner of the car, her husband. She says "do we leave tonight or live and die this way?" The images created in the first verse were a dream about how they would live, as imagined by her.
As illustrated by the new scenario, that of cruising along the boulevard. This is exposed as a dream too, by the line "we'll move out of the shelter". Together they never left the ghetto.
She still has her ambitions. Clearly a dream. The next two verses are how it really happened for our couple: She's with a drunk, however she feels just like she did when she was a little girl.
She hates her husband's relations with his children because of it. She hates how kids are affected. Kids don't understand alcohol.
She had always hoped for better, despite her saying she had nothing to prove (at the start of the song.)
She sends him on his way, but she remembers her ambitions - the tension in this song - !!!
It ends on the resolve: She is talking to herself, and asking her once again: You gotta leave or take hold, but either way, you gotta decide.
Truly an inspired song by an artist who knows how to feel!
"You got a fast car
I got a job that pays all our bills"
You have a fast car, that's all you have, that's all you've ever had. I have a decent job, I've grown from the put upon kid at the start of the song.
"You stay out drinking 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 would find it"
I always wanted a better life, but I wanted you in it. I thought of us as a team but you only saw yourself."
"I got no plans I ain't going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving"
I'm where I want to be in life. You, you are the same immature kid that you were when we first met. I'm not leaving, I'm not moving around, you can take that car and get out of my life.
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.
"And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone"
To me, that latter part sums up all the bittersweet hope and energy present in the song, and is complemented by the first 3 lines (your quotes) that serve to build-up that last three lines.
As for the chance to make it, only to lose it all...well, they say the journey is always more important than the destination...
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.
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.
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.
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