"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.
There were three men, came out of the west
Their fortunes for to try
And these three men made a solemn vow
John Barleycorn must die!
Well, they've ploughed,
They've sown, they've harrowed him in
Threw clouds upon his head
Till these three men were satisfied
John Barleycorn was dead
They've let him lie for a long long time
Till the rains from heaven did fall
And little sir John sprang up his head
And so amazed them all
They let him fly till the midsummer's day
Till he looked both pale and wan, oh
Then little Sir John has grown a long long beard
And so became a man
They have hired men with the scythes so sharp
To cut him off at the knee,
They rolled and they tied him around the waist
Serving him most him barbarously
They hired men with the sharp pitchforks
To prick him to the heart
And the loader he has served him worse than that
For he's bound him to the cart
Well, they've wheeled him 'round and 'round the field
Till they came onto a barn
And there they made their solemn oath
Concerning a Barleycorn
They hired men with the crab tree sticks
To split him skin from bone, yeah
But the miller he has served him worst and bad
For he ground him between two stones
Well there's beer all in the barrel
And brandy in the glass,
But little old sir John with his nut-brown bowl
Proved the strongest man at last
John Barleycorn, throw him up, throw him up!
Now the huntsman, he can't hunt the fox
Nor loudly blow his horn
And the tinker he can't mend his pots
Without John Barleycorn,
John Barleycorn, John Barleycorn
Barleycorn, Barleycorn
John Barleycorn, John Barleycorn
Their fortunes for to try
And these three men made a solemn vow
John Barleycorn must die!
Well, they've ploughed,
They've sown, they've harrowed him in
Threw clouds upon his head
Till these three men were satisfied
John Barleycorn was dead
They've let him lie for a long long time
Till the rains from heaven did fall
And little sir John sprang up his head
And so amazed them all
They let him fly till the midsummer's day
Till he looked both pale and wan, oh
Then little Sir John has grown a long long beard
And so became a man
They have hired men with the scythes so sharp
To cut him off at the knee,
They rolled and they tied him around the waist
Serving him most him barbarously
They hired men with the sharp pitchforks
To prick him to the heart
And the loader he has served him worse than that
For he's bound him to the cart
Well, they've wheeled him 'round and 'round the field
Till they came onto a barn
And there they made their solemn oath
Concerning a Barleycorn
They hired men with the crab tree sticks
To split him skin from bone, yeah
But the miller he has served him worst and bad
For he ground him between two stones
Well there's beer all in the barrel
And brandy in the glass,
But little old sir John with his nut-brown bowl
Proved the strongest man at last
John Barleycorn, throw him up, throw him up!
Now the huntsman, he can't hunt the fox
Nor loudly blow his horn
And the tinker he can't mend his pots
Without John Barleycorn,
John Barleycorn, John Barleycorn
Barleycorn, Barleycorn
John Barleycorn, John Barleycorn
Lyrics submitted by pablo, edited by MarshallLloyd
John Barleycorn Lyrics as written by Steve Winwood
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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."
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
It interests me that nobody has mentioned the significance of the "three men". Why three?
@Flamencoprof, I just finished a biography of Chris Wood, who was one of the original Traffic members. They used to live in a house in the country, and some say it was haunted. The group, especially Chris Wood, were into folk tales in a big way. This song is thought to be passed down from very early times. Here is more information about "the three" that I found on another website (austinhackney.co.uk/2016/04/14/who-was-john-barleycorn-the-shocking-truth-of-an-ancient-mystery-uncovered/<br /> The number three has been clearly demonstrated to have religious or magical significance in most human cultures across the globe. The song originates in a Celtic land and the number three expressed in the symbol of the Celtic Triad is central to ancient Celtic belief and mythology. The art and writing of the Celtic peoples is full of references to the sacred number three. The image of the Triad was adopted in later centuries by the Christian Church as a symbol of its Holy Trinity, but was originally ascribed to worship of the Earth Goddess, who was represented in three aspects as a young maiden, a life-bearing mother, and a wise old crone.<br /> <br /> It’s also worth noting that in the earliest Celtic writings and myths, the male heroes frequently set out in groups of three to undertake their sacred quests in the name of their Goddess.<br /> <br /> Equally, in Celtic myth, ‘The West’ was a euphemism for the ‘otherworld’ or ‘faerieland’ – the mystic isle across the western sea where wonders and magic were commonplace, where pleasure and immortality could be found in the dwelling place of the gods.<br /> <br /> Thus it seems reasonable that these words of the song are a remnant, a memory, of an earlier myth surrounding the figure of John Barleycorn. Three magical heroes, in service to their Goddess, coming from the mystic ‘otherworld’ to bring about his death.<br /> <br /> Why they would come to kill him will become clear as we delve deeper into these myths. It’s the key to the true identity of the original John Barleycorn.