"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.
Red hand print on the white of your cheek
Pack your bags quiet while the lion sleeps
Watch you mother put her name to the line
Next to the place where your father signed
And inevitably what you used to be
Will succumb to the pull of gravity
And you'll never know, you will never see
With virgin eyes again
'Cause this is the day that everything changes
And your world stops turning
Running straight into the brake lights
You've come to nothing
This is the day that everything changes
And your worlds collide
And you know in time, you'll wake to find you're
A little unbroken
Hold the answer to the light, see your future
Two line blue line tragedy
He brings the metal to the fire for the first time T
Ells you it's the last time and it will be
Cause inevitably what you used to be
Will be tainted by the hand of curiosity
And you'll never know, you will never see
With virgin eyes again
'Cause this is the day that everything
And your world stops turning
Running straight into the brake lights
You've come to nothing
This is the day that everything changes
And your worlds collide
And you know in time, you'll wake to find you're
A little unbroken
So how can I explain?
The isolated rain the follows you
Wouldn't you agree running always slows you down
So welcome the pain
Stop yourself from delaying it
Because the real life
Will never go away
'Cause this is the day that everything changes
And your world stops turning
Running straight into the brake lights
You've come to nothing
This is the day that everything changes
And your worlds collide
And you know in time, you'll wake to find you're
A little unbroken
A little unbroken
Oh, a little unbroken
Oh, a little unbroken
Oh, a little unbroken
Pack your bags quiet while the lion sleeps
Watch you mother put her name to the line
Next to the place where your father signed
And inevitably what you used to be
Will succumb to the pull of gravity
And you'll never know, you will never see
With virgin eyes again
'Cause this is the day that everything changes
And your world stops turning
Running straight into the brake lights
You've come to nothing
This is the day that everything changes
And your worlds collide
And you know in time, you'll wake to find you're
A little unbroken
Hold the answer to the light, see your future
Two line blue line tragedy
He brings the metal to the fire for the first time T
Ells you it's the last time and it will be
Cause inevitably what you used to be
Will be tainted by the hand of curiosity
And you'll never know, you will never see
With virgin eyes again
'Cause this is the day that everything
And your world stops turning
Running straight into the brake lights
You've come to nothing
This is the day that everything changes
And your worlds collide
And you know in time, you'll wake to find you're
A little unbroken
So how can I explain?
The isolated rain the follows you
Wouldn't you agree running always slows you down
So welcome the pain
Stop yourself from delaying it
Because the real life
Will never go away
'Cause this is the day that everything changes
And your world stops turning
Running straight into the brake lights
You've come to nothing
This is the day that everything changes
And your worlds collide
And you know in time, you'll wake to find you're
A little unbroken
A little unbroken
Oh, a little unbroken
Oh, a little unbroken
Oh, a little unbroken
Lyrics submitted by LoveThyEnemy
Unbroken Lyrics as written by Kevin Griffin Melissa Higgins
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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,
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.
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.
I think the "virgin eyes" comment is being taken way too literally! Think figuratively. Virgin eyes doesn't mean literally a virgin or losing that virginity -- but losing innocence because of tragedies in life and never being able to look at the world as a wide-eyed child again.
I also don't think this is about a single person necessarily, but just about bad events that many people go through. And I think if you combine what most of you are saying, you get the point of the whole song -- which is "life may suck, but if you come through it, you'll be stronger."
So here goes line by line:
"Pack your bags" -- a woman trying to leave an abusive home. The "lion" is obviously the abuser.
And yes, the next bit is most likely about divorce -- signing the papers.
"Two line/blue line tragedy" is another bad moment, when a woman finds out she's pregnant with a baby she doesn't want (unplanned, abusive relationship, etc.)
"Fire to the metal" i didn't get at first, but I do think it's a drug addiction.
It could be telling one person's story from the moment her parents got divorced, how she's now in a bad relationship with a drug addict and finds out she's pregnant -- it's just as easy to separate.
Either way, it's about dealing with your past and healing and day by day, you'll find out you're "a little unbroken".
You know when you have those moments in life where something happens and you know your life will be forever changed based on that one event? Thats what this song is about. First the divorce of her parents- watching her mother sign the papers as they both leave her abusive father. As a child she probably thought- this is the day that everything changes. Nothing will be the same again.
Then she gets pregnant by some guy who is obviously using drugs (metal to the fire) Once again she knows her life will never be the same again. This is the day that everything changes...
We all have those moments when things take a turn for the worst. We need to learn to accept that its just part of life.
i am totally lost! usally i am really good at interperting songs and poems but i am clueless about this one!
to me it ais about being in lvoe with someone who doesn't love you back and you're finally getting over them and each day that comes you're a little bit more unborken and starting to get over them!
to me it ais about being in lvoe with someone who doesn't love you back and you're finally getting over them and each day that comes you're a little bit more unborken and starting to get over them!
I think this song could be about a friend of hers who was really spoilt and had everything done for her but felt like she was so hard done by and so depressed. Then they're finally thrown out into the real world and has to do stuff for themselves and missy is telling them that really their life was pretty good and not half as bad as they thought hence unbroken. just my thoughts.
it has alot to do with how you cant unsee things. once you go through something, you'll veiw everything else different.
Well, I think this song is about making a mistake and dealing with the repercussions from it. I don't have an answer for the part about the parents signing the paper, but I think it's talking partially about an unplanned pregnancy:
"Hold the answer to the light, see your future Two line blue line tragedy "
As in - home pregnancy test. But that is just what pops out at me.
I get the feeling this song is about how after experiencing certain things, you see differently, it changes you. 'you will never see with virgin eyes again'
I thought the first verse was about a divorce- signing divorce papers maybe? that would explain the packing of bags...
second verse sounds to me like falling pregant- two blue lines- pregnancy test. and i could be COMPLETELY wrong, but 'he brings the metal to the fire for the first time, tells you its the last time and it will be' sounds to me like a physically abusive relationship, hence the 'tells you its the last time and it will be'
but thats just my opinion.... feel free to tell me if im talking bullshit!! hahaha
Ya know what? you're right, it is about divorce. obviously. as was mentioned before you had to have a stab at everyone. i think you need to get over yourself, and maybe learn how to give your opinion without trying to offend people. because after all that is all it is, an opinion.