"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.
Hustle, bustle and so much muscle, aww
Cells about to separate
And I find it hard to concentrate and
Temporary this cash and carry
I'm stepping up to indicate
The time has come to deviate and
All I want is for you to be happy and
Take this moment to make you my family and
Finally you have found something perfect and
Finally you have found
Death defying this mess I'm buying
It's raining down with love and hate
And I find it hard to motivate and
Estuary is blessed but scary your
Heart's about to palpitate
And I'm not about to hesitate and
One to treasure the rest of your days here and
Give you pleasure in so many ways dear and
Finally you have found something perfect and
Finally you have found
Here we go
Do you want me to show up for duty and
Serve this woman and honor her beauty and
Finally you have found something perfect and
Finally you have found
Yourself
With me, will you, agree, to take
This man, into your world
And now, we are as one
My lone ranger the heat exchanger
Is living in this figure eight
And I'll do my best to recreate and
Sweet precision and soft collision, aww
Hearts about to palpitate
And I find it hard to separate and
All I want is for you to be happy and
Take this woman and make you my family and
Finally you have found someone perfect and
Finally you have found
All I want is for you to be happy and
Take this woman and make you my family and
Finally you have found someone perfect and
Finally you have found
Yourself
Cells about to separate
And I find it hard to concentrate and
Temporary this cash and carry
I'm stepping up to indicate
The time has come to deviate and
All I want is for you to be happy and
Take this moment to make you my family and
Finally you have found something perfect and
Finally you have found
Death defying this mess I'm buying
It's raining down with love and hate
And I find it hard to motivate and
Estuary is blessed but scary your
Heart's about to palpitate
And I'm not about to hesitate and
One to treasure the rest of your days here and
Give you pleasure in so many ways dear and
Finally you have found something perfect and
Finally you have found
Here we go
Do you want me to show up for duty and
Serve this woman and honor her beauty and
Finally you have found something perfect and
Finally you have found
Yourself
With me, will you, agree, to take
This man, into your world
And now, we are as one
My lone ranger the heat exchanger
Is living in this figure eight
And I'll do my best to recreate and
Sweet precision and soft collision, aww
Hearts about to palpitate
And I find it hard to separate and
All I want is for you to be happy and
Take this woman and make you my family and
Finally you have found someone perfect and
Finally you have found
All I want is for you to be happy and
Take this woman and make you my family and
Finally you have found someone perfect and
Finally you have found
Yourself
Lyrics submitted by quazy_qual, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Hard to Concentrate Lyrics as written by John Anthony Frusciante Michael Balzary
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
For those asking if it's a synthesizer they're using in this song, it isn't. Frusciante first mutes the guitar on clean, then slowly turns up the volume knob after strumming the chord. That prevents the twang of the pick strum when performing the chord. That's how the synth-like sound is created and it's actually pretty simple to do with a Fender Stratocaster
Gee, I
m glad you all had figured out that the song is about marriage, but not only. And its not about drugs, sorry, its not. Not every song by former drug-addicts is about drugs. I think its pretty clear that its about REPRODUCING as well. I mean, come on, "Hustle, bustle, and, so much muscle aww Cells about to separateAnd, estuary is, blessed but scary Heart�s about to palpitate Now, I�m not about to hesitate
My lone ranger The, heat-exchanger Is, living in this figure eight Now I do my best to recreate And, sweet precision And, soft collision aww Heart�s about to palpitate Now I find it hard to separate"
Yep. Its all about sex. I hope you all studied biology once upon a time. And its a brilliant song, I have to tell. I`ve never heard something so full of sex and so beautiful and soft Long live the RHCP, eh^^
One of the cool things about the bass line is that you have to really move your whole body to play it (at least on my acoustic bass guitar, which is extra large and which I play exclusively), which sort of parallels what you were talking about.
this is beautiful. and it make a good wedding song, obviously.
hahaha, yes this song is about love... and no offense guys, but it is much more pragmatic than you think.<br /> <br /> someone writes:<br /> ""And, estuary is blessed but scary<br /> Our hearts about to palpitate<br /> And I’m not about to hesitate<br /> (Note: Estuary: a place where the river meets the sea; currents and water change. That is one of my FAVORITE metaphors. Anyway, when one starts to fall in a deep love, it feels amazing, but is incredibly frightening at the same time.<br /> Hearts about to palpitate... the intensity of a couple's emotions can become too much, but you never stop taking care of this person whilst you're together."<br /> <br /> Okay. Anthony... Flea. First and foremost they were, and are Junkies. An estuary - yes where the river begins = where the needle enters the vein. "your heart's about to palpitate" = if you have ever injected cocaine - you know. "but I'm not about to hesitate" = He'll still take/give that shot. <br /> <br /> The world ain't as pretty as you would like to think it is. <br /> <br /> BTW. IV injection... worth a shot :)
That seems specious to me, given that the drug interpretation makes no damn sense at all when you take the chorus into account. Also, Flea was getting married when Stadium Arcadium was recorded. Honestly, not EVERY Red Hot Chili Peppers song has to be about pussy or heroin. :)
i read somewhere that its like a song marriage proposal, written for flea to his gf/fiancee w/e.
i think...
This song means so much to me in my life right now. I am getting married in July and I dedicated this song to my fiance. Almost cried when i heard it.
someone mentioned not really knowing what the beginning of the song meant. maybe I'm just extra-sensitive because I just finished reading Anthony's biography, Scar Tissue, but it seems to have a lot of drug references. "temporary, this cash and carry" "hearts about to palpitate" "death defying this mess I'm buying" maybe it's about leaving that lifestyle behind and moving toward the sort of love you find in a marriage. just a thought!
I agree. I also love the hand beaten purcussion.
This song means so much to me in my life right now. I am getting married in July and I dedicated this song to my fiance. Almost cried when i heard it.
this song was written by anthony kiedis to his very best friend of all times.... flea... its a marriage proposal. the lyrics and the percusion are just amazing