"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.
Addressing a prayer into the air
In the shadows of satellites
So nobody hurt loves not for words
In a world at the end of its night
Oh everyone that left me
They’re so easy to forget
'Cause I haven’t let my failures hit me yet
Your voice on the phone the blood from a stone
These tears that I can’t understand
If I could heal would give I don’t feel
Or by silently giving my hand
Well I’m sure I never loved you
That would be to fierce and too correct
But I haven’t let my failures hit me yet
It made my demon reveal its hour of living
And may he not leave me broken
May he leave me broken
So where ever I’m bound my ear to the ground
And my thoughts on their way back to you
As eternity's slave, well you can write that on my grave
When I’m finished resisting its truth
While I’m shaking hands with darkness
It's where the warm wind that I admit
That I haven’t let my failures hit me yet
Yet while I’m shaking hands with darkness
It is where the warm wind that I admit
That I haven’t let my failures hit me yet
In the shadows of satellites
So nobody hurt loves not for words
In a world at the end of its night
Oh everyone that left me
They’re so easy to forget
'Cause I haven’t let my failures hit me yet
Your voice on the phone the blood from a stone
These tears that I can’t understand
If I could heal would give I don’t feel
Or by silently giving my hand
Well I’m sure I never loved you
That would be to fierce and too correct
But I haven’t let my failures hit me yet
It made my demon reveal its hour of living
And may he not leave me broken
May he leave me broken
So where ever I’m bound my ear to the ground
And my thoughts on their way back to you
As eternity's slave, well you can write that on my grave
When I’m finished resisting its truth
While I’m shaking hands with darkness
It's where the warm wind that I admit
That I haven’t let my failures hit me yet
Yet while I’m shaking hands with darkness
It is where the warm wind that I admit
That I haven’t let my failures hit me yet
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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."
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
I actually just came back from a Counting Crows concert tonight at the Allentown Fairgrounds in PA. Adam said that this song is about going on a tour for a year, or whatever amount of time, coming back home and realizing that while all your friends lives may have changed in some way(kids, marriage, what have you), you are still in the same place, nothing has really changed for you. He said that it was like Peter Pan....who never changed, never grew up, then there was Wendy, she had to grow up, but was this tortured wounded girl. Then the lost boys (his friends) that all grew up and left.....
I think that this song means maybe messing up once or twice in life(not saying they are big screw ups), and that the past really isn't everything. And when the past may get you down, you've always got friends around to make things better.
I agree with FRoguy, but I also think that the song is talking about how you get to this point in life when everyone around you is begining to settle down and you're so far from that point in your life. You feel like they're leaving you behind becaue they're moving on with their lives and you're stuck in this place that you can't get away from. To me, the song's all about realizing that all your life you've wanted something better, but you've never done anything to change it. My fav. line of the song is: All you want is a beauty queen But not a superstar But everybody's dream machine All you want is a place to lay your head Counting Crows rock!! Everyone, go buy the new cd in July!!
I agree with tx but i think that the main point he/she is missing is his search for the "one". that is the part that i connected with the most. he is trying to find this girl who he knows is in his head but cant find her in reality. when he dreams he is with her and what not but when he wakes reality is still reality.
This song is written inspired by his past relationships. Adam Duritz was in a relationship with Jennifer Anniston and Courteny Cox. Both from the sitcom "Friends"
txsnowbunny i agree that is my favorite line too. "you go to sleep dreamin how you would be a different kind if you thought you could / but you come awake the way you are instead" - i think that relates to when you go to bed thinking you need to make a change in your life and that when you wake up the next day, you will start over and do things right, but you always wake up not feeling like doing much of anything to change...does that make any sense?
To me this song is about finding satisfaction in a partner. Sometimes maybe the people you are close to might have different aspirations of what they want in a partner and you can get caught up in what others aspirations are. Perhaps Adam is desribing being led down roads of love and relationships which he doesnt belong.
i agree with CountMyCrows completely and i know what ur saying. and i love that line. this song is definitly about wanting to change or waiting for something new to come along, bc all ur friends have already taken the next step. so its about changes you had hoped to make, and bitterly realizing they never happened.
CC rocks!
Wondering what he's supposed to do in life because he doesn't want to do what he dreamed of as a child. He's focusing in on the romantic aspect of it. I love this part: "Caught some grief from a falling leaf, as she tumbled into the dirty ground and said I should have put her back there if I could." Like describing an ex-girlfriend.
It's about time changing, people changing, but staying the same. Hoping that you'd be somewhere in a year, in two, 20 years from now. Also regrets about things you should have done, so that maybe things would be different now. Countmycrows I think you hit it right on, thats exactly the way i interpret the song. I don't think its just about relationships, but a lot of different issues in life.