"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 hear the clock, it's 6 AM
I feel so far from where I've been
I got my eggs, I got my pancakes too
I got my maple syrup, everything but you
I break the yolks and make a smiley face
I kinda like it in my brand new place
Wipe the spots off of the mirror
Don't leave the keys in the door
I never put wet towels on the floor anymore 'cause
Dreams last so long
Even after you're gone
I know that you love me
And soon you will see
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you
I called my mama, she was out for a walk
Consoled a cup of coffee but it didn't wanna talk
So I picked up a paper, it was more bad news
More hearts being broken or people being used
Put on my coat in the pouring rain
I saw a movie it just wasn't the same
'Cause it was happy or I was sad
And it made me miss you oh so bad 'cause
Dreams last so long
Even after you're gone
I know that you love me
And soon you will see
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you
I go about my business, I'm doing fine
Besides, what would I say if I had you on the line?
Same old story, not much to say
Hearts are broken every day
I brush my teeth, I put the cap back on
I know you hate it when I leave the light on
I pick up a book up and then I turn the sheets down
And then I take a deep breath, a good look around
Put on my pj's and hop into bed
I'm half alive but I feel mostly dead
I try and tell myself it'll all be alright
I just shouldn't think anymore tonight 'cause
Dreams last so long
Even after you're gone
And I know that you love me
And soon you will see
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you
Yeah, you were meant for me
And I was meant for you
I feel so far from where I've been
I got my eggs, I got my pancakes too
I got my maple syrup, everything but you
I break the yolks and make a smiley face
I kinda like it in my brand new place
Wipe the spots off of the mirror
Don't leave the keys in the door
I never put wet towels on the floor anymore 'cause
Dreams last so long
Even after you're gone
I know that you love me
And soon you will see
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you
I called my mama, she was out for a walk
Consoled a cup of coffee but it didn't wanna talk
So I picked up a paper, it was more bad news
More hearts being broken or people being used
Put on my coat in the pouring rain
I saw a movie it just wasn't the same
'Cause it was happy or I was sad
And it made me miss you oh so bad 'cause
Dreams last so long
Even after you're gone
I know that you love me
And soon you will see
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you
I go about my business, I'm doing fine
Besides, what would I say if I had you on the line?
Same old story, not much to say
Hearts are broken every day
I brush my teeth, I put the cap back on
I know you hate it when I leave the light on
I pick up a book up and then I turn the sheets down
And then I take a deep breath, a good look around
Put on my pj's and hop into bed
I'm half alive but I feel mostly dead
I try and tell myself it'll all be alright
I just shouldn't think anymore tonight 'cause
Dreams last so long
Even after you're gone
And I know that you love me
And soon you will see
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you
Yeah, you were meant for me
And I was meant for you
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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.
Every time we fall in love we give away a piece of our heart's real estate. If it doesn't work out, the we take back residence...but that part of our heart is no longer in the same condition. It's got them all over it. Whether we love them still or hate them now, that little bit of our heart has the one we loved all over it and through it. It's sad and this song is about that complicated, messy and desperately empty time we have to spend cleaning house after they leave, making our hearts our own again so that one day we can let someone else stay there. We learn to stand on our own again and keep our own company. The beauty of this song is that it carries the hope of reunion, people are so full of silly imperfections that can too easily cause a breakup. But what do keys in the door, spots on the mirror and wet towels matter when someone is meant for you and you're meant for them? When you've no hope of being reunited, then being able to do these things again without it turning into an argument is the sole consolation of a breakup, but she's not going back to them because she truly believes that in time she'll be going back to him. It's a great song, it leaves you with no clarity on the story's ending, but so accurately depicts the moment of the story she's trying to convey.