"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.
Sick of this life
Not that you'd care
I'm not the only one
With whom these feelings I share
Nobody understands
Quite why we're here
We're searchin' for answers
That never appear
But maybe if I looked real hard I'd
I'd see your tryin' too
To understand this life
That we're all goin' through
(Then when she said she was gonna like wreck my car
I didn't know what to do)
Sometimes I feel like I'm beatin' a dead horse
And I don't know why you'd be bringin' me down
I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more
It may sound funny but you'd think by now
I'd be smilin'
I guess some things never change
Never change
I met an old cowboy
I saw the look in his eyes
Somethin' tells me he's been here before
'Cause experience makes you wise
I was only a small child
When the thought first came to me
That I'm a son of a gun and the gun of a son
That brought back the devil in me
But sometimes I feel like I'm beatin' a dead horse
I don't know why you'd be bringin' me down
I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more
It may sound funny but you'd think by now
I'd be smilin'
I guess some things never change
Never change
I ain't quite what you'd call an old soul
Still wet behind the ears
I been around this track a couple o' times
But now the dust is startin' to clear
Oh yeah
Sometimes I feel like I'm beatin' a dead horse
I don't know why you'd be bringin' me down
I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more
It may sound funny but you'd think by now
I'd be smilin'
Ooh yeah, I'd be smilin'
No way I'd be smilin'
Ooh smilin'
Sick of this life
Not that you'd care
I'm not the only one
With whom these feelings I share
Not that you'd care
I'm not the only one
With whom these feelings I share
Nobody understands
Quite why we're here
We're searchin' for answers
That never appear
But maybe if I looked real hard I'd
I'd see your tryin' too
To understand this life
That we're all goin' through
(Then when she said she was gonna like wreck my car
I didn't know what to do)
Sometimes I feel like I'm beatin' a dead horse
And I don't know why you'd be bringin' me down
I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more
It may sound funny but you'd think by now
I'd be smilin'
I guess some things never change
Never change
I met an old cowboy
I saw the look in his eyes
Somethin' tells me he's been here before
'Cause experience makes you wise
I was only a small child
When the thought first came to me
That I'm a son of a gun and the gun of a son
That brought back the devil in me
But sometimes I feel like I'm beatin' a dead horse
I don't know why you'd be bringin' me down
I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more
It may sound funny but you'd think by now
I'd be smilin'
I guess some things never change
Never change
I ain't quite what you'd call an old soul
Still wet behind the ears
I been around this track a couple o' times
But now the dust is startin' to clear
Oh yeah
Sometimes I feel like I'm beatin' a dead horse
I don't know why you'd be bringin' me down
I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more
It may sound funny but you'd think by now
I'd be smilin'
Ooh yeah, I'd be smilin'
No way I'd be smilin'
Ooh smilin'
Sick of this life
Not that you'd care
I'm not the only one
With whom these feelings I share
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.
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.
apparently no one grasps the idea of nihilism. Axl isn't looking for acceptance in life, and its not about trying enough times till you succeed either. that's not nihilism, Axl is a true nihilist, he was saying he sees it in people in their eye, saw it in the eye of a stranger when he was a child, what is it he saw. He saw the utter pointlessness of life when compared to death. A true nihilist doesn't get depressed about shit not working out, they don't care. It's just that when things don't work out, that's when people look harder and see what he's been hiding even when he was "happy." This song is about how he finally realized himself a nihilist, and he speaks to the audience when he says "It may sound funny but you'd think by now; I'd be smilin'" he's saying that if by now he's not seeing a point in life he never will, and by stating that it "might sound funny" he puts emphasis into "not that you care" This statement and tone is expecting YOU the audience, and the rest of the world not to understand him or the "others" he's run into.
@kasey: what stuff are you on? I would like to try it ... well, maybe.
It's about how sometimes you feel like you are trying to make it ... in life ... in love but there's no result. You just don't feel it's worth even trying any more. But then if you try enough (times) you just might succed (... I been around this track a couple o' times, But now the dust is startin' to clear). This song has a great powerfull drive. I like it.
agree with gunnergirl, think its fitting it runs fluidly into coma, a song which i think is a suicide attempt
I like how it starts off like a quiet number but then gets nice and loud. Then it slips back to Mono quietness.
i agree, its great at the beginning with some nice acoustic and vocals and then goes into riproaring electric an shouting. great contrast GREAT song!
This is definetly one of my favoritest Guns N Roses song. It rocks.
This song is clearly about Axl's ever struggling relationships and his struggles for acceptance in life. If you look at the time line in which the song was released it was when GNR took its first real turn for the worst and its also when Axl's second marriage failed. It is also when he was diagnosed with depression and all that stuff I mean he's suicidal at that point in his life. "Sick of this Life, Not that You'd care. I'm not the only one with whom these feelings I share"
AXL PLAYING GUITAR ??????!!!!!!!!!! FUNNY JOKE !!!! HA... HA... HA...
It's obviously a recorded suicide note. Listen to the ending- the song finishes, then he stops the tape and rewinds it.
This WHOLE album runs so fluidly together..especially the last two songs. I like how Axl sings that he's "still wet behind the ears" yet the band now is one of the better bands in history.