"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.
Paradise, sleeping in under bright white snow
I'm alive, this could be it for all we know
I'm a mess, don't know what I would do without you
I could cry, leading you down the same old road
I just never see it coming
Only butterflies until the bullets fly around my head again
Sick of running in a circle
All the stomach pains, I'm tired of medicating the adrenaline
Under this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
I feel the world collapsing down
But after all that I've been through
Long as I'm with you
Nobody can hurt me now
It's been breaking me, breaking me
Tired to the bone
You're saving me, say to me
I'm not alone
In this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
Nobody can hurt us now
You and I, maybe we'll disappear like ghosts
Intertwined, in a couple of years they'll write our stone
Here lies a lucky man who was losing all hope
A real life and a beautiful soul who never let go
I just never see the warning
Only butterflies until the bullets fly around my head again, oh
Sick of running in a circle
All the stomach aches, I'm tired of medicating the adrenaline
Under this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
I feel the world collapsing down
But after all that I've been through
Long as I'm with you
Nobody can hurt me now
It's been breaking me, breaking me
Tired to the bone
You're saving me, say to me
I'm not alone
In this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
Nobody can hurt us now
I think of all the wasted nights
Think of all the tears you cried
Because of me, because of us
Ash to ash, dust to dust
I don't wanna waste more time
We will make it out alive
Hold my head, I'll sleep forever
Under this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
I feel the world collapsing down
After all that I've been through (all that I've been through)
Long as I'm with you (long as I'm with you)
Nobody can hurt me now (no)
It's been breaking me, breaking me
Tired to the bone
You're saving me, say to me
I'm not alone
In this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
Nobody can hurt us now, now
I'm alive, this could be it for all we know
I'm a mess, don't know what I would do without you
I could cry, leading you down the same old road
I just never see it coming
Only butterflies until the bullets fly around my head again
Sick of running in a circle
All the stomach pains, I'm tired of medicating the adrenaline
Under this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
I feel the world collapsing down
But after all that I've been through
Long as I'm with you
Nobody can hurt me now
It's been breaking me, breaking me
Tired to the bone
You're saving me, say to me
I'm not alone
In this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
Nobody can hurt us now
You and I, maybe we'll disappear like ghosts
Intertwined, in a couple of years they'll write our stone
Here lies a lucky man who was losing all hope
A real life and a beautiful soul who never let go
I just never see the warning
Only butterflies until the bullets fly around my head again, oh
Sick of running in a circle
All the stomach aches, I'm tired of medicating the adrenaline
Under this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
I feel the world collapsing down
But after all that I've been through
Long as I'm with you
Nobody can hurt me now
It's been breaking me, breaking me
Tired to the bone
You're saving me, say to me
I'm not alone
In this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
Nobody can hurt us now
I think of all the wasted nights
Think of all the tears you cried
Because of me, because of us
Ash to ash, dust to dust
I don't wanna waste more time
We will make it out alive
Hold my head, I'll sleep forever
Under this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
I feel the world collapsing down
After all that I've been through (all that I've been through)
Long as I'm with you (long as I'm with you)
Nobody can hurt me now (no)
It's been breaking me, breaking me
Tired to the bone
You're saving me, say to me
I'm not alone
In this avalanche with you
Avalanche with you
Nobody can hurt us now, now
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
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,
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
This is a powerful song about business hierarchy and the desire for control and dominance within a corporation. It can be interpreted as being about workers standing up to a controlling power-mad boss, but the line "Now we got into your shoes, it's your turn to be abused" would indicate everyone is just as power-hungry as one another, purely desiring control within the workplace. It's also possible to interpret the song as having a political meaning, about rising up against an oppressive regime.
Definitely one of my favorite James songs and a high point of the Whiplash album. I hope they bring this one back into their live set now they're back together. This song always should be played really LOUD to get the full effect!
@MaskOfSanity <br /> Like your interpretation! Love the song