"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.
When I see you sky as a kite
As high as I might, I can't get that high
The how you move, the way you burst the clouds
It makes me want to try
And when I see you sticky as lips
As licky as trips, I can't lick that far
But when you pout, the way you shout out loud
It makes me want to start
And when I see you happy as a girl
That swims in a world of a magic show
It makes me bite my fingers through
To think I could've let you go
And when I see you take the same sweet steps
You used to take, I say
"I'll keep on holding you in my arms so tight
I'll never let you slip away"
And when I see you kitten as a cat
Yeah, as smitten as that, I can't get that small
The way you fur, the how you purr
It makes me want to paw you all
And when I see you happy as a girl
That lives in a world of make-believe
It makes me pull my hair all out
To think I could've let you leave
And when I see you take the same sweet steps
You used to take, I know
I'll keep on holding you in my arms so tight
They'll never let you go (never let you go)
As high as I might, I can't get that high
The how you move, the way you burst the clouds
It makes me want to try
And when I see you sticky as lips
As licky as trips, I can't lick that far
But when you pout, the way you shout out loud
It makes me want to start
And when I see you happy as a girl
That swims in a world of a magic show
It makes me bite my fingers through
To think I could've let you go
And when I see you take the same sweet steps
You used to take, I say
"I'll keep on holding you in my arms so tight
I'll never let you slip away"
And when I see you kitten as a cat
Yeah, as smitten as that, I can't get that small
The way you fur, the how you purr
It makes me want to paw you all
And when I see you happy as a girl
That lives in a world of make-believe
It makes me pull my hair all out
To think I could've let you leave
And when I see you take the same sweet steps
You used to take, I know
I'll keep on holding you in my arms so tight
They'll never let you go (never let you go)
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
i think its simple ... he let some girl go who meant a lot to him, but he never knew it then. now he sees her again, and he realizes that he still loves her. but she's moved on. she's happy, free without him. he keeps on holding on (to her, to hope) and will never ever let her go again.
The way he views the "girl" in this song makes me think he realizes how special she is, how every step she takes, every breath, every touch she throws his way he will not take for granted. He found the one that makes him complete. It is true when guys fall in love they see the women as a girl..and all they want too do is please and make her happy, like when she was younger and didnt realize how cruel and unjust the world is.
i said to myself many years ago that when i found someone like the girl in this song i would never let her go...Over the years as i watched myself grow older and the sand of time in my hour glass of life fall before me, i didnt think i would ever find this person... till a few weeks ago. Kristy. She is just like this girl to me... she has soo many levels i could never explore them all....she makes me wonder all the time... i can never reach her, and never make her as happy as she should be. Ill never make her see how much i care for her.
She makes me feel so young and happy, i could just sit for hours and listen to her voice, watch her paint, or just be near her for hours. Shes the person i want to grow even older with, she makes me complete. She gives me the contrast i need in life, the happy and loving feeling and the sad, alone, and scared feeling when i dont talk to her.. reminds me that everything has a beginning and an ending...its the middle that matters..
She has completely turned me inside out and upside down, im lost inside myself b/c of her. Every time i will see her, ill feel like a 12 year old boy that just touched a boob for the first time.. This song is exactly how i see her in my mind and how much i love her...On a good note.. this song doesnt have a sad ending.. hopefully kristy and I will not.
Kristy im forever indebt to you for giving me the chance to be in your life. Love K.
@suicidemoon So...is kristy still around?
this song is so magical...
It's a love song, pure and simple. And a beautiful one at that.
Bilentently this song is about class A drugs, speed/estacy; -...
Verse 1 -.. 'When I see you sky as a kite. As high as I might' (High from the drugs)...
Verse 2 -... 'When I see you sticky as lips.As licky as trips' (You would get clamey when on drugs.)... 'But when you pout.The way you shout out loud' (Givs more confidence when high, so may talk more & louder)...
Verse 3: -... 'And when I see you kitten as a cat. Yeas as smitten as a cat' (Lovedup on the drugs)... 'And when I see you happy as a girl.That lives in a world of make-believe' (End day, its a fake happiness)...
...ThE eNd...
@distant_sanity Licky as trips always has struck me as a LSD ref.
This is going to sound a bit stupid but I always thought this song was about Simon Gallup. He took way too many drugs in '92, didn't he?
"And when I see you happy as a girl" Simon's a man! And in some cases, drugs can make a person happy.
"When I see you sky as a kite As high as I might I can't get that high The how you move The way you burst the clouds It makes me want to try" This, to me, means that Robert was trying to help him and maybe even make him stop taking drugs but it was impossible.
Laugh at my theory if you'd like, I can't help myself either. I have silly little thoughts.
It's about a girl bringing him higher, he can't believe he took something so precious for granted and almost lost it. Falling in love again. Wonderful.
I can relate to this song alot, I was so madly in love with my friend and i never really worked up the courage to tell her how desperately i needed her. Well turns out she liked me too and now i have to watch her be perfectly happy and have fun with her new boyfriend (when is see you sky as a kite) and know i cant really be as happy as they are (as high as i might i cant get that high) so i just can imagine how good i couldve had it if i diddnt let her go...(makes me bite my fingers through to think i couldve let you go)
Oh, and I think the song is inspired by Shelley's ode "To a Skylark," which is quoted in the sleeve of the Wish album. The poem and the song are both about marveling at the beauty and carefree joy of another.
The connection between the song and poem is more thematic than lyrical, but there are hints. The word "sky" in the first line of the song evokes the title of the poem, and the title of the song evokes the second stanza of Shelley's poem:
And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest.
Google the poem and read it slowly; you will see how the sentiment of the poem inspired the song.
i think this song is about a man (grown-up) who's in love with a girl (teenager) and the way she is sometimes immature and wild but he still loves her. well that's just my interpretation... this song is beautiful anyway