"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.
Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home, mmm
May be surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know
And I've been keeping all the letters
That I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
I'm fine baby, how are you?
Well I would send them but I know
That it's just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that
Another airplane
Another sunny place
I'm lucky I know
But I wanna go home
Mmm, I got to go home
Let me go home
I'm just too far
From where you are
I wanna come home
And I feel just like
I'm living someone else's life
It's like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
That this was not your dream
But you always believed in me
Another winter day
Has come and gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home
And I'm surrounded by
A million people I
I still feel alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know
Let me go home
I've had my run
Baby, I'm done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It'll all be all right
I'll be home tonight
I'm coming back home
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home, mmm
May be surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know
And I've been keeping all the letters
That I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
I'm fine baby, how are you?
Well I would send them but I know
That it's just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that
Another airplane
Another sunny place
I'm lucky I know
But I wanna go home
Mmm, I got to go home
Let me go home
I'm just too far
From where you are
I wanna come home
And I feel just like
I'm living someone else's life
It's like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
That this was not your dream
But you always believed in me
Another winter day
Has come and gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home
And I'm surrounded by
A million people I
I still feel alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know
Let me go home
I've had my run
Baby, I'm done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It'll all be all right
I'll be home tonight
I'm coming back home
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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."
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
I can't get over his voice, it makes me all mushy inside and I'm not even gay lol
Beautiful lyrics with such a wonderful voice to back them up.He's singing of nostalgia for a lost love - going separate ways - and finding their way back to each other in the end. A classic love story I suppose. :)
Simply fabulous... this is exactly me, over in Europe, while my boy is back in Canada. I've been here since September and I'm ready to go home now.
This song just screams out to people in long distance relationships. I've always imagined MB writing this song while on tour and missing his beau. He knows it was his dream to be a singer and that he should appreciate the different cities he gets to experience -- but sometimes he just wants to go home and be with his friends and family.
no place like home.
Maybe it is about a person who is stuck in a relationship that never what all that he/she dreamed of. Home is this person that he or she loves, but didn't dare to go for. Home could also be about finding back to yourself, the dreams you always carried with you, which is the home of his/her soul. If you're not in contact with you're soul, you are not home anywhere.
The song was actually written for Michael's long-time ex-girlfriend. He's said so in a bunch of interviews and stuff. Basically it's him telling her that he misses her, but he understands why she can't/won't go with him on his tour. And that he'll be back as soon as he can. They broke up later anyway, which was when he wrote "Lost".
My boyfriend broke up with me about a week ago, due to being kind of lost in his life at the moment. We've talked every day since, we're still like best friends. He sent this song to me today, and I cried. He still cares about me and wants to come back but he's pretty confused. The last week has been rough on both of us due to the breakup, but this song is making things seem okay<3
see to me this isn't just nostalgia for his hometown. it could be more general, like i wanna come back to the place where i felt comforted, felt safe. that's ususally what keeps drwaing me back to this beautiful beautiful song.
To me this song can be interpreted in two ways.
A musician on tour. If you've ever seen the music video shot for this it is just footage of Michael on tour which could explain the whole long distance relationship thing.
It could also be interpreted as a soldier's song home. A lot of soldiers from the earlier times never sent their letters back, they just kept them (reason I don't know) and soldiers travel a lot to different countries... I don't know.
I am just guessing.