"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.
Oh maybe, maybe it's the clothes we wear
The tasteless bracelets and the dye in our hair
Maybe it's our kookiness
Or maybe, maybe it's our nowhere towns
Our nothing places and our cellophane sounds
Maybe it's our looseness
But we're trash, you and me
We're the litter on the breeze
We're the lovers on the streets
Just trash, me and you
It's in everything we do
It's in everything we do
Oh maybe, maybe it's the things we say
The words we've heard and the music we play
Maybe it's our cheapness
Or maybe, maybe it's the times we've had
The lazy days and the crazes and the fads
Maybe it's our sweetness
But we're trash, you and me
We're the litter on the breeze
We're the lovers on the streets
Just trash, me and you
It's in everything we do
It's in everything we do
We're trash, you and me
We're the lovers on the streets
We're the litter on the breeze
Just trash, me and you
It's in everything we do
It's in everything we do
Oh, you and me, yeah
You and me
(We're the litter on the breeze)
Oh, you and me, yeah
You and me
(It's in everything we do)
The tasteless bracelets and the dye in our hair
Maybe it's our kookiness
Or maybe, maybe it's our nowhere towns
Our nothing places and our cellophane sounds
Maybe it's our looseness
But we're trash, you and me
We're the litter on the breeze
We're the lovers on the streets
Just trash, me and you
It's in everything we do
It's in everything we do
Oh maybe, maybe it's the things we say
The words we've heard and the music we play
Maybe it's our cheapness
Or maybe, maybe it's the times we've had
The lazy days and the crazes and the fads
Maybe it's our sweetness
But we're trash, you and me
We're the litter on the breeze
We're the lovers on the streets
Just trash, me and you
It's in everything we do
It's in everything we do
We're trash, you and me
We're the lovers on the streets
We're the litter on the breeze
Just trash, me and you
It's in everything we do
It's in everything we do
Oh, you and me, yeah
You and me
(We're the litter on the breeze)
Oh, you and me, yeah
You and me
(It's in everything we do)
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
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.
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.
sounds like hes saying that if your in a certain social ,cultred, group ur just labelled as being trash and theres is no real reason for you to be labelled as 'trash' you are just coz of what you do
I remember listenting to this on long car rides with my parents when I was five or six...I've always seen it as somwhat atypical love song, about them being different and not fitting in, and creating a world of their own which is beautiful, but others can't understand it. But at the same time, it can be taken as such a view on the world by an individual And also like BirdFlew said, actually liking the feeling of being dirty and trash. Like ugliness turned beautiful...
A beautiful song of alienation, bringing people closer together.
rumour has it i was conceved to this song. Dosent matter ive loved it for ages
I'd just say its about being young and looked down on cos the way they live their lives even if some of it is self inflicted. The middle aged tutting you as u walk down the streets getting drunk ready for another night of debauchery, listening to music they find intolerable. All I know is thats what it makes me think of. The older generation and the more better bred looking down on us "Trash".
I love this song!
To me, this just seems like a song about two teenagers in love who are deeply looked down upon, but honestly just don’t care. The lyrics talk about their “kookiness”, their dyed hair and their fashion sense as well as their music. This is a very big stereotype for teenagers by them looking either scruffy or very different in their fashion sense, or their music which can be varied upon many time periods. Maybe these two teenagers are being looked down upon by others around them as they are young and may fall into rebellious stereotypes amongst older people around them. Though still no matter what happens or how much they are judged, they simply cannot find any reason to care about it and therefore label themselves as “trash” for simply being a “trashy” teenage stereotype.
white trash?
i don't know. Suede has such a tendency toward cheeky Glam, it's hard to tell!
Ah, nay, m'dear roger_wilco; 's merely a comment on their type, flambuoyant glam indiekids. Looks down at own clothes and (34) tasteless bracelets... oh, moi = such a cliche...
it's actually a personal song about one of Brett's relationships.