He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
The man at the bank said, "Oh, let's not talk percentages"
You work a fourteen hour day, and still have two mortgages
You asked the state for aid
They gave you an ad campaign that didn't help
You took your family and joined in the urban sprawl
Can't see the stars as well but you're near the mall
Don't know where you stand no more
In line at a convenience store that's way too long
Used to work your land, fed a thousand mouths
Now you eat their shit for the money now
Emptied your heart to fill your bank account
Well, I should talk, I'm just the same
Buy my records down at the corporate chain
I tell myself I shouldn't be ashamed, but I am
So adolescence made her an activist
Now she's the one who does all the lecturing
They got their eighteen holes
She told them to dig one more, the dream is dead
Won't eat their food or wear their clothes
Always wants to know where her money goes
But will shell it out for filling up her nose
So run it up, I'll run my mouth
But never mind the shit that I sing about
Because I'd sell myself to buy a fucking house
Twelve thousand square foot, four car garage
Tennis court, swimming pool, in the backyard
I know it can seem like a lot
That's why I pay someone to clean it up
We're going to clean it up
My big house
You work a fourteen hour day, and still have two mortgages
You asked the state for aid
They gave you an ad campaign that didn't help
You took your family and joined in the urban sprawl
Can't see the stars as well but you're near the mall
Don't know where you stand no more
In line at a convenience store that's way too long
Used to work your land, fed a thousand mouths
Now you eat their shit for the money now
Emptied your heart to fill your bank account
Well, I should talk, I'm just the same
Buy my records down at the corporate chain
I tell myself I shouldn't be ashamed, but I am
So adolescence made her an activist
Now she's the one who does all the lecturing
They got their eighteen holes
She told them to dig one more, the dream is dead
Won't eat their food or wear their clothes
Always wants to know where her money goes
But will shell it out for filling up her nose
So run it up, I'll run my mouth
But never mind the shit that I sing about
Because I'd sell myself to buy a fucking house
Twelve thousand square foot, four car garage
Tennis court, swimming pool, in the backyard
I know it can seem like a lot
That's why I pay someone to clean it up
We're going to clean it up
My big house
Lyrics submitted by ltb
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The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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"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.
Rhythms*