"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 felt like Travis Bickle, tyrannical, lonely and blue
I don't know why I went to Botanical but there I met you
You made me go from blue to green just in time before I got a mohawk
When we're together I'd say we look like brooklime
And you can't talk or walk but I love your leafstalks
All I want to do
Is live my life with you
Tall you've gotta grow
I'll give you H2O
All I want to do
Is live a simple live here with you
You're way! I'll send no billet-doux!
If you rather want me to I'll buy a green house for you
You'll always be on the sunny side of my heart
I hope you don't dry out when we're apart
Hope you don't leave me in the cart!
As I said
I really hope that you don't leave me in the cart
Coz if you do dry out then that will truly break my heart
And I'll feel like Bickle once more
And maybe I will lose it,
go insane and start a gun war?!
I don't know why I went to Botanical but there I met you
You made me go from blue to green just in time before I got a mohawk
When we're together I'd say we look like brooklime
And you can't talk or walk but I love your leafstalks
All I want to do
Is live my life with you
Tall you've gotta grow
I'll give you H2O
All I want to do
Is live a simple live here with you
You're way! I'll send no billet-doux!
If you rather want me to I'll buy a green house for you
You'll always be on the sunny side of my heart
I hope you don't dry out when we're apart
Hope you don't leave me in the cart!
As I said
I really hope that you don't leave me in the cart
Coz if you do dry out then that will truly break my heart
And I'll feel like Bickle once more
And maybe I will lose it,
go insane and start a gun war?!
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
is this about a plant?
Hahaha, it seems like it! Who hasn't fallen in love with a plant? I know I have... Oh wait-I think that was my cat, actually. :) Jks.
a song about a plant...millencolin is genius
Yes, about a plant.
NIKOLA: "Botanic Mistress speaks about my new passion: the plants.I've got a mini cactus in my apartment.This song is the same as Fox in the other album...everyone thought that Fox was referred to a girl, but I was only singing about my vespa!When I wrote Botanic Mistress I had just finish to watch Taxi Driver, that's why I wrote about Trevis Bickle"
i got the hint from "tall you've gotta grow, i'll give you h20"
always thougth it was about cannabis, ushasuhauhsuahushauhsuha =]
I thought it was about pot, too. But then I looked at my cactus's corpse (cries) and then I realized...it's about a normal plant. haha.