"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.
She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour, nine AM
And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much, I miss my wife
It's lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
'Til touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no, I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
'Til touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no, I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it's cold as hell
And there's no one there to raise them if you did
And all this science I don't understand
It's just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
'Til touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no, I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
'Til touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no, I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
Zero hour, nine AM
And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much, I miss my wife
It's lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
'Til touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no, I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
'Til touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no, I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it's cold as hell
And there's no one there to raise them if you did
And all this science I don't understand
It's just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
'Til touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no, I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
'Til touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no, I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by irenecarpi
Rocket Man Lyrics as written by Bernie Taupin Elton John
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Page
Ed Sheeran
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Rocket Man is actually about comparing the life of an astronaut to that of an everyday shlub working stiff, whether he be a traveling salesman, a factory worker, a field engineer, an oil rig dude, a trucker, an accountant, a construction worker, a doctor, or whatever. It expresses the lonliness, hopelessness, boredom, repetitiveness, routine, and drudgery of working life on the road, in the field, in an office, on a job site, in a lab, in a truck, week in, week out. Anyone who has worked for a "long, long time", and is beyond the phase of disilusionment that accompanies the enthusiasm and excitement of youth, understands this. No matter what we do for a living, whether it is something as high-tech and sophisticated as being an astronaut, as complex as being a physician, or as simple as being a street sweeper, we're just minor cogs in a massive preprogrammed economic machine, just "doing our jobs" 5 days a week, not truly understanding the "science" behind the mechanical tasks that we repetitiously perform day in, day out. These "jobs" consume our lives, envelop our being, and suck out our souls, as we make sacrifices like being away from our homes "five days a week", or relocating to horrible places to find work (like Oklahoma, or Detroit, or Indiana, or North Dakota, or "Mars"), none of which are the kind of place you would want to "raise your kids", but we still do, because we don't really have a choice, as we toil away to make our livings, burning out our fuses, all alone. That's it. It's all an analogy.
That is an excellent analysis of the song and one of the best paragraphs on alienation that I've ever read. Good job dude.
Seconded! Great work.
@boredman <br /> <br /> While I agree with the comparison to a blue collar job, I have a different take on a few things.<br /> <br /> I don't think he is so much disillusioned with his job, after all he does say "I'm a Rocket Man" with some pride.<br /> Rather than burning out his fuse referring to being burnt out with the way he feels about his job, I think it is more a "spacey" reference to burning your candle at both ends.<br /> <br /> I think the song is about how he is doing everything he can to make life better for his family, by working at a job that takes him away from them for extended periods.<br /> This is the case with many blue collar workers, especially truck drivers and oil field personnel.<br /> <br /> They could relocate their family to be closer to where they work, but the place is inhospitable and not really something they want their kids around. There are a lot of people who commute long distances because they would rather their kids grew up in the suburbs or the country rather than in the city, which many people feel is cold and impersonal.<br /> <br /> Rather than sucking out his soul, I think he takes pride in his work.<br /> "I'm not the man they think I am at home". I think home isn't his house, his family, but rather his hometown and the people he grew up with.<br /> Many people refer to the place and people they knew in school as "home". <br /> A lot of people view most blue collar workers as not being smart or skilled enough to get a better job. They don't see how someone could possibly enjoy that work.<br /> <br /> Their perception is that he is stuck in a menial job, and that he is a bad father/husband because he is gone so much from home.<br /> However he is pointing out that he isn't the man they think he is. He LOVES his job and takes pride in the fact that even though he is gone from his family so much, that he is building a better life for them. He is sacrificing the time he could be spending with them so that they can grow up in a better place.<br /> <br /> There's no one there to raise them, I think, refers to the fact that during this period many families stayed in the same area, with the grandparents and relatives taking an active role in helping to "raise" the kids. If they were to move closer to where he worked, where they could be together all the time, then they would be away from that influence.<br /> He would rather they were around those who could help raise them into good people, rather than be isolated in a place that was cold and unwelcoming.<br /> <br /> I also think that he realizes that it will be a long, long time, if ever, before he is able to convince the people "at home" (from his hometown) that he isn't just someone stuck in a menial job that leaves his family, but that he is much better than that.<br /> But he hopes with each "touchdown", or return back, that they will finally "get it".<br /> <br /> Also I think the fact that his wife packed his backs before he left shows how close they are.<br /> Remember that during the time this was written, it was pretty common for the wife to pack her husband a lunch for work, or to pack his suitcase before he left for an extended period of time.<br /> <br /> She is being supportive and understanding, knowing that he is doing what he feels he needs to in order to support the family.<br /> <br /> <br /> I think this song is really less about him being burnt out and more about his frustration that he can't get others to see that he really is a good person, husband and provider. And that he really enjoys what he is doing. Just like some truck drivers/oil workers/garbage men really do enjoy their jobs.<br /> It is more upbeat than a lot of people give it credit for.
@boredman Keep guessing. Tommy Veesenmeyer.
It's a routine seperation and his loving caring wife prepares his suitcase. He will miss his family so much he will get high on drugs. His family thinks he has a good high skilled job, but he is a rocket man. Still proud like a trucker. Those 5 days will be a long time and it's going to be a long long time before they know he's got a simple job working all alone.