"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.
What is wrong with a man destroying the land.
Our planet is full of waste.
Sheltering ozone layer is no more a shield,
The temperature is rising up.
Now it's time to stop this madness,
Preventing increasing sadness.
Let's put end to all this while we can.
Man against another man, how somebody can,
Judge by color of the skin.
See the signs make up your mind,
Now it's time for the change, it is not too late.
Now it's time to stop this madness,
Preventing increasing sadness.
Let's put end to all this while we can.
Save us, we are the future.
Lead us into the better world,
Show us the way to reality.
No more injustice or cruelty.
Save us, we are the future.
Lead us into the better world,
Show us the way to reality
Injustice is all gone.
Fast, fast stop this course now last,
Last or we won't last,
Past stop living in the past or you will die.
End, end, end of our time,
Time our precious time,
Crime, crime against mankind we have to pay.
In the course of mad destruction,
There'll be no coming back,
The nuclear end is in sight.
Soon there will be no one to fight with.
Take a look into the sky, it may be your last time.
The complete end is in sight, soon
There will be no one to fight, with me.
Save us, we are the future.
Lead us into the better world,
Show us the way to reality.
No more injustice or cruelty.
Save us, we are the future.
Lead us into the better world,
Show us the way to reality
Injustice is all gone.
Our planet is full of waste.
Sheltering ozone layer is no more a shield,
The temperature is rising up.
Now it's time to stop this madness,
Preventing increasing sadness.
Let's put end to all this while we can.
Man against another man, how somebody can,
Judge by color of the skin.
See the signs make up your mind,
Now it's time for the change, it is not too late.
Now it's time to stop this madness,
Preventing increasing sadness.
Let's put end to all this while we can.
Save us, we are the future.
Lead us into the better world,
Show us the way to reality.
No more injustice or cruelty.
Save us, we are the future.
Lead us into the better world,
Show us the way to reality
Injustice is all gone.
Fast, fast stop this course now last,
Last or we won't last,
Past stop living in the past or you will die.
End, end, end of our time,
Time our precious time,
Crime, crime against mankind we have to pay.
In the course of mad destruction,
There'll be no coming back,
The nuclear end is in sight.
Soon there will be no one to fight with.
Take a look into the sky, it may be your last time.
The complete end is in sight, soon
There will be no one to fight, with me.
Save us, we are the future.
Lead us into the better world,
Show us the way to reality.
No more injustice or cruelty.
Save us, we are the future.
Lead us into the better world,
Show us the way to reality
Injustice is all gone.
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
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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
It also mentions racism "How somebody can judge by colour of the skin."