"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.
He seems alone and silent
Thoughts remain without an answer
Afraid and uninvited
He slowly drifts away
Moved by desire and fear
Breaking delicate wings
Lifting shadows
Off a Dream once broken
She can turn a drop of water
Into an ocean
As the rain is pouring down
Tears of sorrow wash his mind
Drifting with the current
This stream of life flows on
He seems alone and silent
Waiting on his hands and knees
The chill of winter's darkness sits quietly
Moved by desire and fear
He takes a few steps away
Lifting shadows
Off a Dream once broken
She can turn a drop of water
Into an ocean
And she listens openly
He pours his soul into the water
Reflecting the mystery
She carries him away
And the winds die slowly
And she listens openly
And she listens openly
Lifting shadows
Off a Dream once broken
She can turn a drop of water
Into an ocean
Lifting Shadows off a Dream
Lifting Shadows off a Dream
Thoughts remain without an answer
Afraid and uninvited
He slowly drifts away
Moved by desire and fear
Breaking delicate wings
Lifting shadows
Off a Dream once broken
She can turn a drop of water
Into an ocean
As the rain is pouring down
Tears of sorrow wash his mind
Drifting with the current
This stream of life flows on
He seems alone and silent
Waiting on his hands and knees
The chill of winter's darkness sits quietly
Moved by desire and fear
He takes a few steps away
Lifting shadows
Off a Dream once broken
She can turn a drop of water
Into an ocean
And she listens openly
He pours his soul into the water
Reflecting the mystery
She carries him away
And the winds die slowly
And she listens openly
And she listens openly
Lifting shadows
Off a Dream once broken
She can turn a drop of water
Into an ocean
Lifting Shadows off a Dream
Lifting Shadows off a Dream
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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.
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Quote by John Myung:
"... that song is more or less just reflecting the duality that exists between a man and a woman; the spiritual side of the relationship & how they both can compliment one another."