"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.
I step off the train
I'm walking down your street again
And past your door, but you don't live there anymore
It's years since you've been there
And now you've disappeared somewhere, like outer space
You've found some better place
And I miss you, like the deserts miss the rain
And I miss you, like the deserts miss the rain
Could you be dead?
You always were two steps ahead, of everyone
We'd walk behind while you would run
I look up at your house
And I can almost hear you shout down to me
Where I always used to be
And I miss you (like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you (like the deserts miss the rain)
Back on the train, I ask why did I come again?
Can I confess, I've been hanging round your old address?
And the years have proved
To offer, nothing since you've moved
You're long gone, but I can't move on
And I miss you (like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, yeah (like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you
I step off the train
I'm walking down your street again
And past your door, I guess you don't live there anymore
It's years since you've been there
And now you've disappeared somewhere, like outer space
You've found some better place
And I miss you, yeah
And I miss you
You found some better place
And I miss you (like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, yeah (like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, and I miss you
(Like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, yeah (like the deserts miss the rain)
The deserts miss the rain
(Like the deserts miss the rain)
Like the deserts miss the rain
(Like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, yeah (like the deserts miss the rain)
I'm walking down your street again
And past your door, but you don't live there anymore
It's years since you've been there
And now you've disappeared somewhere, like outer space
You've found some better place
And I miss you, like the deserts miss the rain
And I miss you, like the deserts miss the rain
Could you be dead?
You always were two steps ahead, of everyone
We'd walk behind while you would run
I look up at your house
And I can almost hear you shout down to me
Where I always used to be
And I miss you (like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you (like the deserts miss the rain)
Back on the train, I ask why did I come again?
Can I confess, I've been hanging round your old address?
And the years have proved
To offer, nothing since you've moved
You're long gone, but I can't move on
And I miss you (like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, yeah (like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you
I step off the train
I'm walking down your street again
And past your door, I guess you don't live there anymore
It's years since you've been there
And now you've disappeared somewhere, like outer space
You've found some better place
And I miss you, yeah
And I miss you
You found some better place
And I miss you (like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, yeah (like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, and I miss you
(Like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, yeah (like the deserts miss the rain)
The deserts miss the rain
(Like the deserts miss the rain)
Like the deserts miss the rain
(Like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, yeah (like the deserts miss the rain)
Lyrics submitted by jstalilwyrd
Missing Lyrics as written by Tracey Thorn Ben Watt
Lyrics © TuneCore Inc., Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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"
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
The loneliness and being lost when they've left you and they moved on...
At first I assumed that the girl in the song was missing someone she used to be in love with, but I've read that the song was written about an old friend of Tracey Thorne's who she used to share a house with, who later vanished without a trace. So the song is about missing a former close friend and the times they used to share together. She's finding it hard to move on, and the loss she feels is made worse by the fact she has no idea where that person went, where they are now or if they're even still alive- a real sense of sadness and hopelessness.
It could be interpreted from a much darker angle, i.e. a proper 'missing person' case, of someone who was reported missing and never found. Or it could just be that the friend moved on abruptly of their own choice without leaving any contact details. Either way, the narrator is still traumatized by her loss even after several years, and keeps travelling to her friend's old house and street in the hope of finding some clues as to what happened to her friend, but never having any luck.
I can relate to the song as a friend of mine with mental problems suddenly broke off contact after a period of regular communication, and I only found recently that he committed suicide shortly after. Although I've moved on I do still miss the contact and in-depth conversation we used to have.
Great song anyway- real deep emotion and conjures up some powerful images.
@MaskOfSanity Very sad for her, I wonder if she ever found out what happened to her friend.
Does anyone know what inspired the artists to write this song? I have been searching for the answer on the web, but no luck...
Great name! LOL
This lyrics' meaning is pretty obvious, but the music that accompanies them hasn't aged at all. It's a really beutiful song.
I heard this song when I was young; sad when you loose someone and can't find them. Nostalgic stuff.
This is a great song. To me, it's about obsessing over a person that you were once involved with. The relationship is over, but you can't seem to let it go, or get the person out of your mind because you loved them so much. I have been there myself.
Well, it changed my life - sort of. I was living in Canada (a Brit), I'd split with my Canadian wife after 17 years and I heard this song one night in a Toronto club. Then I saw the video which is shot in a London street-scape (still trying to place where exactly). Then I bought the album. There was something in the song's lyrics that seemed to be saying 'come home'. I had to start life again from scratch so that's what I did.
This song reminds me of when somebody close to you moves or like when you reminice about a friendship that lasted for a long time and is now gone...
i don't want to love. somebody else's lover....
This song is SO awesome, it makes me just want to get up and dance, i luv it so much, it's so sad though. I don't think it's about obsession as such, but yeah.