"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.
What's up man, hey yo what's up
Yeah what's going on here?
I'm sick and tired of 5-0 running up on the block
You know what I'm saying?
Yo, Snow they came around here looking for you the other day
(Word?) Word, bust it
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Police-a them-a they come and-a they blow down me door
One ee come crawl troo, troo my window
So dey put me in de back de car at de station
From that point on me reach my destination
Where the destination reachin' outta East Detention, where dey
Looked down me pants, look up me bottom, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
So, bigger dem are they think dem have more power
De pon di phone me say dat one hour
Me for want to use a once an' now me call me lover
Lover who me callin an' a one Tamei
An' mi love er' in my heart down to my belly-a
Yes say daddy me Snow me I feel cool an' deadly
Yes the one MC Shan an' the one Daddy Snow
Together we-a love'em is a tor-na-do
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
So, listen for me, you better listen for me now
Listen for me, you better listen for me now
When-a me rock-a the microphone, me rock on steady-a
Yes a daddy me Snow me are de article don
But the in an a-out a dance an they say where you come from-a?
People dem say ya come from Jamaica
But me born an' raised in the ghetto that I want ya to know-a
Pure black people man that's all I man know
Yeah me shoes are a-tear up an'a me toes just a show-a
Where me-a born in are de one Toronto, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Come with a nice young lady
Intelligent, yes she gentle and irie
Everywhere me go me never lef' her at all-ie
Yes-a Daddy Snow me are the roam dance man-a
Roam between-a dancin' in-a in-a nation-a
You never know say daddy me Snow me are the boom shakata
Me never lay-a down flat in-a one cardboard box-a
Yes-a daddy me Snow me-a go reachin' out da top, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Why wo ee, why wo ee, an' wo ee an' wo ee
Me sitting 'round cool with my dibbie-dibbie girl
Police knock my door, lick up my pal
Rough me up and I can't do a thing
Pick up my line when my telephone ring
Take me to the station black up my hands
Trail me down 'cause I'm hanging with the Snowman
What I'm gonna do? I'm backed and I'm trapped
Slap me in the face and took all of my gap
They have no clues and they wanna get warmer
But Shan won't turn informer
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Diggity dum, diggity diggity dum, an' wo ee, an wo, an wo ee
Yeah what's going on here?
I'm sick and tired of 5-0 running up on the block
You know what I'm saying?
Yo, Snow they came around here looking for you the other day
(Word?) Word, bust it
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Police-a them-a they come and-a they blow down me door
One ee come crawl troo, troo my window
So dey put me in de back de car at de station
From that point on me reach my destination
Where the destination reachin' outta East Detention, where dey
Looked down me pants, look up me bottom, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
So, bigger dem are they think dem have more power
De pon di phone me say dat one hour
Me for want to use a once an' now me call me lover
Lover who me callin an' a one Tamei
An' mi love er' in my heart down to my belly-a
Yes say daddy me Snow me I feel cool an' deadly
Yes the one MC Shan an' the one Daddy Snow
Together we-a love'em is a tor-na-do
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
So, listen for me, you better listen for me now
Listen for me, you better listen for me now
When-a me rock-a the microphone, me rock on steady-a
Yes a daddy me Snow me are de article don
But the in an a-out a dance an they say where you come from-a?
People dem say ya come from Jamaica
But me born an' raised in the ghetto that I want ya to know-a
Pure black people man that's all I man know
Yeah me shoes are a-tear up an'a me toes just a show-a
Where me-a born in are de one Toronto, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Come with a nice young lady
Intelligent, yes she gentle and irie
Everywhere me go me never lef' her at all-ie
Yes-a Daddy Snow me are the roam dance man-a
Roam between-a dancin' in-a in-a nation-a
You never know say daddy me Snow me are the boom shakata
Me never lay-a down flat in-a one cardboard box-a
Yes-a daddy me Snow me-a go reachin' out da top, so
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Why wo ee, why wo ee, an' wo ee an' wo ee
Me sitting 'round cool with my dibbie-dibbie girl
Police knock my door, lick up my pal
Rough me up and I can't do a thing
Pick up my line when my telephone ring
Take me to the station black up my hands
Trail me down 'cause I'm hanging with the Snowman
What I'm gonna do? I'm backed and I'm trapped
Slap me in the face and took all of my gap
They have no clues and they wanna get warmer
But Shan won't turn informer
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Informer, ya' no say daddy me Snow me I go blame
A licky boom boom down
'Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom boom down
Diggity dum, diggity diggity dum, an' wo ee, an wo, an wo ee
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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,
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Thank you very much Cattieloves!
Finally a serious reaction in the section!
About him being canadian (white) rapper with a jamaican accent: he also mentions he lives in a ghetto. A ghetto is usually predominately a place where a certain nationality is predominate. In his case it were Jamaicans. But it could have been a Polish ghetto as well. But then no one would 'mind'.
If you do NOT like a song, dont just spew your frustrations here. Do it on a site or forum meant for that. Over here just look up songs you DO like and comment on them.
Thank you.
If we read between the lines and work to find the deeper (giggle) meaning behind Mr. Snow's lyrics, we can see that he is a deep and tortured soul who is speaking about his personal experience of being turned over to the police by someone. In the chorus, he says, "Informer you no say daddy me Snow me or I'll go blam, I'll lick you, boom-boom, damn. Detective mon said daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane, I'll lick you, boom-boom, damn." Translated into English, this essentially means, "You who have informed the police, if you indeed gave the law enforcement my name, I will kill you with a gun. A man who is a detective said that I stabbed someone down the street, and I will kill you with a gun." But that's not as catchy. :*)
"If you actually like this song you are a shit whore and you deserve to have your ass ruined, i hope snow gets nut cancer for being a rusted sherrifs badge"
Whoever said that (back in 2005) is fucking hilarious.
I love this song, but that made me laugh so hard, I farted. ;D
hahahahaha
Captain Feral-
"Deformer. Yoda-took-all-my-dognuts-away. I gots no more today."
LMFAO!!! I sing that to this song whenever I hear it now and it sounds like it could be the actual lyric.
This song is fun to listen to because it's 90% gibberish.
How in the hell did a white, Canadian, Jamacian-sounding rapper make a hit song? And no chasingmoon, I have no idea what the hell 'a-licky boom boom down' means.
I think I would rather have this song be about Yoda stealing doughnuts than the police catching Snow and taking a look up his ass.
Also, WTF is a 'dibbie dibbie girl'?
@GrtOne41 > "How in the hell did a white, Canadian, Jamacian-sounding rapper make a hit song?"<br /> <br /> Not answering your question, but a related one you might've been alluding to: I read that Snow learned Jamaican Patois in the big house from Jamaican fellow prisoners.
Just to fix up a common mistake in the lyrics to this song, as it is here, you'll often find "But me born an' raised in the ghetto that's the one I want you to know" however, what's he's really saying is: "But me born an' raised in ETOBICOKE that's the one I want you to know"
for those that don't know, Etobicoke is a town on the outskirts of Toronto, where he makes reference a few lines later. He spent most of his life in and around Etobicoke, Ajax, North York, and Toronto.
As well, I found this interesting: The name Snow, means "Super Notorious Outrageous Whiteboy" - courtesy of whatsthe411on.com/listdetail.asp
'kinda' being the operative word!
His lyrics make no sense at all. Anyone can put words together...and does anyone know what "licky boom boom down means?" just wondering
Nah, I am usually all for the idea of having pride in the shamefully poor music that people used to listen to, but this was cack, even for it's time.
OMG this song is such crap
Bwahaha, dude, all that was blatant satire. :)