"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.
Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you shoulda somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do, about you now
Backbeat, the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now
And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I
Would like to say to you but I don't know how
'Cause maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all, you're my wonderwall
Today was gonna be the day
But they'll never throw it back to you
By now you shoulda somehow
Realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do, about you now
And all the roads that lead you there were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I
Would like to say to you but I don't know how
I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all, you're my wonderwall
I said maybe (I said maybe)
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all, you're my wonderwall
I said maybe (I said maybe)
You're gonna be the one that saves me (that saves me)
You're gonna be the one that saves me (that saves me)
You're gonna be the one that saves me (that saves me)
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you shoulda somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do, about you now
Backbeat, the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now
And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I
Would like to say to you but I don't know how
'Cause maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all, you're my wonderwall
Today was gonna be the day
But they'll never throw it back to you
By now you shoulda somehow
Realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do, about you now
And all the roads that lead you there were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I
Would like to say to you but I don't know how
I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all, you're my wonderwall
I said maybe (I said maybe)
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all, you're my wonderwall
I said maybe (I said maybe)
You're gonna be the one that saves me (that saves me)
You're gonna be the one that saves me (that saves me)
You're gonna be the one that saves me (that saves me)
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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."
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
The word "wonderwall" means "the person you constantly find yourself thinking about". This song is simply about the feelings human beings get when they experience the initial stages of love and infatuation (limerence). It describes the volleying between euphoria and agony that a crush can make you feel.
In other words, the song "Wonderwall" is basically about the butterflies you get in your stomach when your crush walks into the room and the thoughts that stem from those feelings.
"Today is gonna be the day That they're gonna throw it back to you"
"By now you should've somehow Realized what you gotta do"
"I don't believe that anybody Feels the way I do, about you now"
"Back beat, the word was on the street That the fire in your heart is out"
"I'm sure you've heard it all before But you never really had a doubt"
"I don't believe that anybody Feels the way I do about you now"
"And all the roads we have to walk are winding And all the lights that lead us there are blinding"
"There are many things that I Would like to say to you but I don't know how"
"Because maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me And after all, you're my wonderwall"
"Today was gonna be the day But they'll never throw it back to you"
"By now you should've somehow Realized what you're not to do'
"I don't believe that anybody Feels the way I do, about you now"
"And all the roads that lead you there are winding And all the lights that light the way are blinding"
"There are many things that I Would like to say to you but I don't know how"
"I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me And after all, you're my wonderwall"
"I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me And after all, you're my wonderwall"
"I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me You're gonna be the one that saves me You're gonna be the one that saves me"
that is the best meaning for this song i have ever heard thank you i love this song !!!
that is the best meaning for this song i have ever heard thank you i love this song !!!
that is the best meaning for this song i have ever heard thank you i love this song !!!
that is the best meaning for this song i have ever heard thank you i love this song !!!
woops sorry my computer stuffed up sorry for all the replys
Wow.... you described this perfectly. It's exactly how I feel about the song. I'm crushing on someone at the moment and it's bliss and pain at the same time...
This is the perfect explanation for this track. Thank you for this!
You almost got it the exact way I feel about this song.<br /> <br /> Just one tiny thing about your analysis.<br /> <br /> Think about the song and one word that clings in your mind. What is this word you recall when thinking about the song ?<br /> In my mind it's the word "Maybe", and I think the way he sings it is the most important thing in the song and the only tiny little thing missing in your comment.<br /> <br /> The emphasis he puts on "Maybe" in regard to the next verse with "And after all" can't be innocent.<br /> <br /> The important thing about the way he feels is not that his crush saves him. No, what's the most important is that he THINKS that MAYBE she COULD save him.<br /> <br /> Like : "Maybe, maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me from my loneliness and despair, maybe you could bring me joy and we could live together, maybe we could start a real relation and be happy together for the rest of our lives, but what's important after all, is that now, today, at the present time, you're my little wonder wall, my little piece of heaven that makes me feel good and happy. No matter what's next, no matter if it's over in one week, one year or ten years, no matter if you say no today or if we get married one day, the important thing is the way I feel today by singing this song, telling you these words, thinking about you all the time, these little butterflies I have in my stomach when I think about you".<br /> <br /> To me, what transpires behind that "Maybe / And after all" is that she already cured him. He's afraid to tell her, because just like you said in your comment, he has strong feelings for her and maybe could hurt her or scare her, but by feeling this way he's already cured from his loneliness and that's what matters.<br /> <br /> Just like survivors from a crash or something like that, they often survive by themselves, help themselves survive. The only thing they need to survive is not someone helping them but having hope that someone CAN save them.
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This song is about unselfish love. here is this girl, which for whatever reason (disfunctional famileis, abusive boyfreind, undecisive feelings or all of the above), cannot be with this guy. the guy is obviously crazy about her. no doubt, her not being with him is causing pain. through the line "your gonna be the one that saves me" we learn that he too struggles from problems of his own. yet he is putting the girl in front of himself. he is saying "you have prblms too and i refuse to be selfish and demand your time." to ease her pain (and his too i'm sure) he says 'all the roads we have to walk are winding, and all the lights that lead us there are blinding" suggesting it is not her fault. with so many obstacles in life, no one can be expected to be perfect. yet in the midst of her imperfection (and his) he loves her. and he will continue to wait for her. in the hopes that she will save him from his breaking heart, his disfunctional family, his abusive friends and/or all of the above. only one problem, we all know Jesus is the only one capable of this love. therefore, to ask that much from a person is insane. however, the attempts are sweet and the message strong. UnSelfish love. Real love. good stuff. -amy by the way: lets hear it for the man up stairs, plus five to Him.
Spot on!!!!! <3
"only one problem, we all know Jesus is the only one capable of this love."<br /> <br /> I was going with it until I saw that....
Yes let's all hear it for the man upstairs who drowned all his children. Great guy! He'd win man of the year....if he actually existed.
@irisheyes4683 you guys are jerks, if this person believes in God then he or she has every right. i still think her/his take on the song was beautiful EVEN that last bit.
@irisheyes4683 i disagree with Jesus having anything to do with it
Wonderwall is one of Noel Gallagher’s most important and personal songs, and his evasiveness over the years in explaining it (the right of any artist, imho), exposes the song to a lot of interpretations. Despite what he said, Noel did indeed write this song to a real person: Paul McCartney, but it was the friendship at that point in his life that was imaginary, not the person. The film “Wonderwall”, which I will discuss shortly, gave him the pretext at a superficial meaning of speaking about Meg, his wife at the time. But the only way you could conclude it was written to her is if you didn’t understand what “Wonderwall” really meant to Noel, or overlooked the context of Oasis in ’93 being heralded as the next Beatles, with Noel being placed in the Paul McCartney typecast alongside Liam cast as Lennon. Liam named his first son "Lennon", so it's quite clear that this typecasting was and is present throughout Noel and Liam's lives at a basic and formative level, and that it precedes their fame and marital relationships.
The song was written prior to Noel and Paul becoming well acquainted and having a real relationship, as happened throughout the mid-late 1990’s. At this early stage Paul was Noel’s "Wonderwall" in fantasy and he sensed that Paul’s experience with fame and Lennon and the conflicts and ennui that played out served as a model for the identity crisis that he was facing after the hugely successful Definitely Maybe album and the stormy relationship with Liam in his own life. But most people are not aware of the movie Wonderwall which features a score called Wonderwall Music, composed by George Harrison.
The Movie, “Wonderwall” (1968) is about an aging, absent-minded biologist named Collins who has spent a lifetime peering through the small aperture of a microscope. Then, a young model named Penny Lane moves in next door. One night he sees a ray of light coming from the wall in his darkened flat and discovers a peephole into which he can observe Penny’s apartment. Peering through this aperture opens a completely fantastic and alien world of sex, drugs, psychedelia, and of course Penny naked. Collins gradually withdraws further and further into the wonderwall; or perhaps with a different perspective, allows his mind to expand into this new universe untethered by “ego” or “reality”. As he begins to drill more peepholes, and his observations become increasingly more fantastic and psychedelic. The act of observing another life unobserved by the subject (similar to the relationship of artists to their fans) has become transformational- it’s not really just about his love interest in Penny anymore- the wonderwall opens up an entirely new reality where none of the banality or limitation of actual life applies. Noel’s Wonderwall is therefore "music", and his Penny Lane is Paul McCartney. Like Collins, he has spent his whole life peering into the light coming through the narrow aperture of media- observing his artistic hero living a public life.
Through music Noel is having an imaginary dialogue with Paul, much as Collins did with Penny Lane. Who wrote Penny Lane? Paul McCartney. "Today, is gonna be the day" (as opposed to Yesterday, Paul's famous solo song). "Backbeat" (a direct Paul reference, and title of a 1994 film), "the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out." One of McCartney's many artistic pseudonyms in this period was "The Fireman". Recall in the song Penny Lane "‘there is a fireman with an hourglass". "All the roads were winding" refers to The Long and Winding Road, reputedly Lennon's favorite Macca work. Note that the orchestration and arrangement of the song "Wonderwall" is dominated by the Cello (Just as in Eleanor Rigby- another Paul solo work), and that in orchestral settings the Cello is the analog of the Bass Guitar- just like Paul's instrumental role in the Beatles.
Paul McCartney is therefore named throughout the song explicitly as Noel's imaginary listener. The relationship of the Noel and Paul is that of role model and apprentice. Noel is struggling internally with the idea that songwriting and performance has nothing to do with artistic authenticity- it’s just acting and burlesque to the Collins’ of the world- the word on the street. Noel wishes Paul would respond to criticism of his later work by producing new great material but that's a bit ironic if satisfying the masses means being inauthentic to one's artistic self. Maybe Paul likes the stuff that the fans and Noel didn't? Maybe he's not compromising anymore? He doesn't really yet know Paul well enough to ask why the fire seems to have gone out. That's why there "are so many things that (Noel) would like to say to (Paul) but (Noel) doesn't yet know how."
Noel is living in both worlds at the time of the songwriting: just like Collins at his Wonderwall (While looking at "Penny Lane", yet another Paul song reference), Noel feels himself being drawn into the same vortex of alternate reality now that he has been crowned “the next Paul”, and he’s scared he’ll follow Paul’s winding road where "all the lights were blinding". He’s met the real Paul, and so he has to square his fantasy version to a new reality- one which ultimately will help him define his own artistic identity. But the dialogue from Noel's perspective is still internal- the Paul inside his head is not the real Paul. Paul is to Noel, as Penny Lane is to Collins. Hence Noel titled the song "Wonderwall", to allow access to the song's deeper layers for his more informed and attentive listeners.
The dialogue’s subtext is that of disenchantment. You can almost hear Noel saying “Paul, you’re the greatest singer songwriter of the 20th century and it’s been 15 years since London Town. "Buck up man, because people are saying you’ve gone soft, and I’m afraid if I follow your steps I’ll get the same. And Liam! He's worse than Lennon! But ultimately it’s a road I must follow, maybe by continuing to place my faith in your guidance I’ll ultimately save myself from what happened to you and John. If I go off the path now, I’m lost: since you've always been my Wonderwall."
@dblentendr maybe you are right, maybe you are wrong. This, however, is about the most carefully thought out interpretation of a song I have ever seen. Thanks a million for posting this.
@dblentendr who's paul McCartney?
@dblentendr This absolutely should be at the top as it makes the most sense. I'm actually here because I just found out about the existence of the movie Wonderwall, with it's soundtrack done entirely by George Harrison of the Beatles. I had only heard that word "wonderwall" one other place in my life - this song.<br /> <br /> I had fuzzily thought that song was declaring someone was like their "Wonderwall", which seemed to mean someone who was great but also lost to them like this movie and album which fell into obscurity. I've also then read Noel saying this song was about "an imaginary friend whos gonna come and save you from yourself". This set of thoughts of yours brings all of that together. Thank you.
I just like the lyric, "there are many things that i would like to say to you, but i don't know how." Isn't that the point of this web-site, to look at the lyrics, not to argue about which is less shite, the Beatles or Oasis.
@Vince I gotta agree with you on this one!! Great song:)
@Vince real
This was my husband's fav. song ever. He passed away in November. The night before he died, I was driving home and the song came on the radio. It was unnerving. The lyrics spoke to me a in very different way that night. I truly believe that there are many references to Beatles music in the song, and some of the other interpretations are spot on, but here is was mine from that night.
Today is gonna be the day That they're gonna throw it back to you (you are in charge of my decisions now as I am in a coma) By now you should've somehow Realized what you gotta do (you have some plan in your head formulating) I don't believe that anybody Feels the way I do, about you now (I loved you more than anyone loved you)
Back beat, the word was on the street That the fire in your heart is out (you are so numb, there is nothing) I'm sure you've heard it all before But you never really had a doubt I don't believe that anybody Feels the way I do about you now
And all the roads we have to walk are winding And all the lights that lead us there are blinding (this is going to be a very rough trip and you must make it on your own). There are many things that I Would like to say to you but I don't know how (I can't communicate now, and before because of my brain tumor I could express myself properly.
Because maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me And after all, you're my wonderwall (you've always been there for me holding me up while I have been so sick)
Today was gonna be the day But they'll never throw it back to you By now you should've somehow Realized what you're not to do I don't believe that anybody Feels the way I do, about you now
And all the roads that lead you there are winding And all the lights that light the way are blinding There are many things that I Would like to say to you but I don't know how
I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me And after all, you're my wonderwall
I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me And after all, you're my wonderwall
I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me You're gonna be the one that saves me You're gonna be the one that saves me
I just register here to say that this interpretation made me cry.
you made my heart feel so much pain.. this interpretation made me cry...
I'm so... so sorry.... words cannot express my sorrow, I'm only 17 years old so maybe I don't know how you feel, but the least I can do is tell you is that I'm sorry and that this song will always remind me of this.... Here is a good youtube video of the song, if you ever need to see it, and if you ever need to fell good you should watch the anime that it's of, Toradora, it's a romcom and it's really good. youtube.com/watch
@Simone18 this is beautifully interpreted and so sad sorry for you loss
@Simone18 just read your comment, you made me cry....
@Simone18 just read your comment, you made me cry....
this song def. brings back memories of 95 when it came out, i remember singing this song to some girl at the beach, she was my wonderwall and my summer fling. i wonder what happened to her? hey girls out there, if you've ever been to Oc, NJ and had a summer fling way back in like 8th grade it was me!!!! ha ha!
i figure it means that when finding someone you truely care about, it's not always easy and you've got to be careful when with this person cause you might lose them. also that relationships can be confusing and hard to determine.
i think this song is sort of saying that the singer loves a person and that he's the only one who will love her after she fucked up her one chance. also liam gallager sucks, he is a rude, obnoxious bastard. his brother is ok though.
I was thinking that maybe "wonderwall" could be thought as a wall. Not a wall as in a boundary, but giving a sense of security. So wonderwall could be translated into a guardian for security for life in which one loves.
Also, what does the line "Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you" mean? It doesn't seem to make sense in the context of "you're my friend and i secretly love you" deal.
^oh yeah, your cool.