"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.
One, two, three, four
Tell me that you love me more
Sleepless long nights
That is what my youth was for
Old teenage hopes are alive at your door
Left you with nothing, but they want some more
Oh, uh, oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, uh, oh, you know who you are
Sweetheart, bitter heart, now I can't tell you apart
Cozy and cold, put the horse before the cart
Those teenage hopes who have tears in their eyes
Too scared to own up to one little lie
Oh, uh, oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, uh, oh, you know who you are
One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten
Money can't buy you back the love that you had then
One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten
Money can't buy you back the love that you had then
Oh, uh, oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, uh, oh, you know who you are
Oh, uh, oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, uh, oh, you know who you are
Who you are-are-are-are, ooh-ooh
Oh, for the teenage boys
They're breaking your heart
For the teenage boys
They're breaking your heart
Tell me that you love me more
Sleepless long nights
That is what my youth was for
Old teenage hopes are alive at your door
Left you with nothing, but they want some more
Oh, uh, oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, uh, oh, you know who you are
Sweetheart, bitter heart, now I can't tell you apart
Cozy and cold, put the horse before the cart
Those teenage hopes who have tears in their eyes
Too scared to own up to one little lie
Oh, uh, oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, uh, oh, you know who you are
One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten
Money can't buy you back the love that you had then
One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten
Money can't buy you back the love that you had then
Oh, uh, oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, uh, oh, you know who you are
Oh, uh, oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, uh, oh, you know who you are
Who you are-are-are-are, ooh-ooh
Oh, for the teenage boys
They're breaking your heart
For the teenage boys
They're breaking your heart
Lyrics submitted by lighthouse12
1234 Lyrics as written by Peter Hoffman Leslie Feist
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The fact that she says "that was what my youth was for'' indicates that the speaker's not a teenager anymore and she's (or he's) referring to the past. She refers to it in the past tense again when she says "money can't buy back the love that you had then".
But now, those past "teenage hopes are lying at your door". In general, I think this song is about regretting not following through on a love once had. The person regretting chose not to follow his old teenage hopes. He chose to give up the "sleepless, long nights" of his youth to do the 'grown-up', less passionate thing and put the "horse before the cart".
Now he is grown up and misses it; he's "cozy" and well-off in some ways because of this decision, but he's "cold" at the same time. He has money now, but that can't buy the love he had then.
yeah, i think the use of the numbers ("1 2 3 4") represents youth and innocence and childhood. and i love the song for that
ya onwardsailboats is defiantly right!
i love this song so much, one of my favorites on the album feist just has such a beautiful way of putting things
Oh god. I'm going through that. Haha. It really hurts. And though I'm not trying to buy it back with money, literally, I'm trying so hard to get it back with anything I can. Ugh. This is one gorgeous song.
i think that if any artist can truely channel human emotions with their innocence it is feist.
this song is about wanting to be in love with a person again but things just aren't the same. You can try to change your feelings but the situation remains that it was something that you had then.
it basically just reminds me of couples that date again, it just lacks the excitement it did the first time.
i love this song! and the video makes me so happy..
what i love is how it sounds like "FOUR TEENAGE HOES ARRIVE AT YOUR DOOR!"
i agree lovemakelust! he is no longer in love with her and is moving on. when we go through different relationships we slowly begin to know who we are as a person. i love the video and crazy choreography! :)
this song is so beautiful and summer-y.
Such a beautiful, light-headed song. I agree with NewLibertine that the numbers represent the innocence of being young and in love.
"1 2 3 4 Tell me that you love me more" Is exactly what teenage love is all about.
I think this song is about two very young people who are in love yet still in the process of growing up. All is so different when you are a teenager, there comes a time you start looking at life in an other way.
And I think that time has come for her partner, as she is saying "You are changing your heart": he's becoming a different person and that results in various effects on their relationship.
This has missing lyrics. At the end... does anyone else hear (after the lyrics "You know who you are") -
"Ohh, fallen teenage boy, I'm breaking your heart. Fallen teenage boy, I'm breaking your heart.."
The best bit! Feisty. oo lala.