Fast Car

Agreed! :)

"Tracy is a MASTER" , same words I used to describe Tracy's artistry to my mother, yesterday.<br />

@meowowsyd It's not a circle though, in the end she is not where she started; she is in a much better place a better position in life. In the beginning, she was trapped and had to rely on the other person, the guy with a fast car, to get out of her situation. As you stated, she had the dreams, she got the jobs and the promotions, she made a better life for herself and her family. In the end though she found her own feet, she's telling the bum to either straighten up or get out. She has a job that pays all the bills and she doesn't have to put up with his bs any more.<br />

@meowowsyd I just re-read the song because of your beautiful insights and perspectives.<br /> <br /> I noted that it was she who states "Maybe we'll make something? Me (myself,) I got nothing to prove."<br /> <br /> She then uses "you" to refer to the owner of the car. It is never otherwise in this song.<br /> <br /> 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.<br /> <br /> 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.<br /> <br /> 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.<br /> <br /> 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. <br /> <br /> She hates her husband's relations with his children because of it. She hates how kids are affected. Kids don't understand alcohol. <br /> <br /> She had always hoped for better, despite her saying she had nothing to prove (at the start of the song.)<br /> <br /> She sends him on his way, but she remembers her ambitions - the tension in this song - !!! <br /> <br /> 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.<br /> <br /> Truly an inspired song by an artist who knows how to feel!

@Zygon I really don't want you to be right here, not saying you are are aren't. In the second to last verse, here's how I see it:<br /> <br /> "You got a fast car<br /> I got a job that pays all our bills"<br /> <br /> 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.<br /> <br /> "You stay out drinking late at the bar<br /> See more of your friends than you do of your kids<br /> I'd always hoped for better<br /> Thought maybe together you and me would find it"<br /> <br /> I always wanted a better life, but I wanted you in it. I thought of us as a team but you only saw yourself."<br /> <br /> "I got no plans I ain't going nowhere<br /> So take your fast car and keep on driving"<br /> <br /> 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.

@derf No one can be 'right' or 'wrong' about their own interpretation of a great song. We all see the images according to our own perspectives. There is grammatical correctness (for sure) and logical structure, so not just any interpretation fits... In the end, I saw the song through the experiences of my life, you through yours. That was Tracy's gift to us both, and to Tracy from the Muse?

@Derf <br /> <br /> I think meowowsyd got it right. Sure, she's more economically independent that she was. OTOH, she's repeating the actions of her mother. This isn't a song about individual in poverty. It's about the cycle of poverty.

Very insightful comments here. I agree that the song has strong elements which describe a cycle of poverty, alcoholism, desperation and single parenthood. I have tried to find out of Tracy says about the song, but she is notoriously tight-lipped about her work, and for good reason. It's very hard to be a critic or neutral observer of your own work, and doing so can interfere with the creative process. What stands out is a quote from a Q magazine interview in which she says, "Basically it's about a relationship that doesn't work out because it's starting from the wrong place." I think this says a lot. <br /> <br /> She (the protagonist in the song) is desperate to escape her situation. So much so that she latches onto a dream/fantasy/image of speeding off into the sunset with a man and his fast car leading to a better life. She holds on to this dream so tightly, that no matter how bad things get, she keeps believing that things will change for the better. She needs to believe this because her present situation so unbearable. It serves as both an escape and a source of motivation, but also blinds her to the reality that her partner lacks that motivation and is hampered by an alcohol addiction. When she finally pulls herself out of poverty, she realizes that she is in the same situation as her parents. Her partner is not an active participant in the relationship or the family. He is stuck in his own cycle of depression, addiction or what have you. For the benefit of herself and her family, she decides that he must either shape up or ship out. <br /> <br /> The relationship never had a solid foundation. It was not built upon mutual attraction and respect, rather, a need to escape and follow a dream of a better life. The car symbolizes this escape, but unfortunately, he wasn’t serious about working to accomplish the goals that she (not them collectively) formulated. He was just along for the proverbial ride.

I find myself reacting much stronger to the imagery of the latter section of the verse you quoted.<br /> "And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder<br /> I had a feeling that I belonged<br /> I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone"<br /> 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.<br /> As for the chance to make it, only to lose it all...well, they say the journey is always more important than the destination...

@ballzofsno That's funny because I thought of The River when I heard this. Same artist totally different song... situations you can't control and being unhappy with the result.

@Saraghina Not quite. She wants him to grow up. She wants him to be a man but if he wont then he needs to get lost.

According to Chapman herself, that is exactly what the song is about.

wow me to

Me too. I live in Virginia. Think about it.