"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.
Last week I had the strangest dream
where everything was exactly how it seemed
where there was never any mystery
of who shot John F Kennedy
It was just a man with something to prove,
slightly bored and severely confused
He steadied his rifle with his target in the center
and became famous on that day in November
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Again last night I had that strange dream
where everything was exactly how it seemed
concerns about the world getting warmer
people thought that they were just being rewarded
for treating others as they'd like to be treated
for obeying stop signs and curing diseases
for mailing letters with the address of the sender
Now we can swim any day in November
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in (Now we can swim any day in November)
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping
where everything was exactly how it seemed
where there was never any mystery
of who shot John F Kennedy
It was just a man with something to prove,
slightly bored and severely confused
He steadied his rifle with his target in the center
and became famous on that day in November
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Again last night I had that strange dream
where everything was exactly how it seemed
concerns about the world getting warmer
people thought that they were just being rewarded
for treating others as they'd like to be treated
for obeying stop signs and curing diseases
for mailing letters with the address of the sender
Now we can swim any day in November
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in (Now we can swim any day in November)
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[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.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
My interpretation of this song is a simple one. Not about political statements or ignoring the issues, but someone dreaming about, and longing for a world where things aren't so complicated. That's why he wants to sleep in.
I don't know, my first impression was that "no concerns about the world getting warmer / people thought that they were just being rewarded" meant that people are not taking the earth-threatening problem of global-warming seriously. The way the singer says "now we can swim any day in november" sounds so sarcastic. For these reasons, I think "sleeping in" refers to ignoring the real problems in the world. Those who "sleep in" believe everything as it seems, without looking deeper. Obviously, the ultimate destruction of the earth (reality) outweighs the ability to swim in November (the way it seems)... hence the sarcasm.
@toasterhead i very much agree
this song means everything to me.
I think he's going to his dreams to escape the complexity of modern life. There's so many weighty consequences and unexplained phenomena everywhere, in history, science, all that. There's so much conspiracy and controversy over how JFK was killed; there's so much debate about global warming, its effects, its causes.
In the dream he's looking at all these things that we get wound up in and his dream world is a little more innocent - he can take everything at face value, and the facade of the warm, pleasant society we live in is totally real instead of totally false. And the fantasy and security of that thought is something he wants to prolong by staying asleep.
This song is so simple, and people keep trying to cram it with political propaganda! He's saying things aren't as complicated as we make them. Global warming isn't real, if anything were just being rewarded. He's telling you to just calm down about everything that we blow up to seem catastrophic. The sky is not going to fall, and there is no mystery behind JFK being shot. It was just a man that felt he had something to prove. Just take things as they are and life will be a lot less stressful. You can just sleep in.
wow u people are all missing the point. this song is about QUESTIONING the STATUS QUO...asking if there's something more to general held beliefs of the world- looking below the surface!
most people are content to believe, and fully accept, that JFK was murdered by a crazed lone gunman. they don't try to LOOK below the surface and see who was really involved. same with global warming. hmmm, maybe summers are getting warmer because we're being rewarded! again, people don't want to search for TRUTH.
this 'dream' is foreign to the songwriter because he's an out-of-the-box thinker and knows there more to the story, more than what it seems on the surface! however, he finds it strangely comforting to live in this world and doesn't want to woken up...kinda like a majority of the population living in their fantasy world.
Totally agree with you!
this is definatly one of my favorite postal service songs. aparently they were on MTV2 or something... that saddens me greatly.
what has this world come to? haha
that woudl suck if they were on MTV, postal serivce is great. DNTEL and death cab are great together
wait...why does it matter if they are on MTV?
this song is great, i like the part about global warming, its as if he has the mind of a young child