"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.
Try Jamaica
Think they'll take you
Honolulu
How do you do?
I'll make a quick stop
My fair-lady pill pop
Before catching the bus to good lord knows where's what
Falling out of line
I'm calling upon North Carolina to help me out here
Salad nicoise
Good to meet you
Carcasonne hon
Stands next to no one
The rake at the door has been taking a tour of this tar (and) feather land and good lord knows that I am now
Falling out of line
I'm calling upon North Carolina to help me out again
They Say
Yankee go
Yankee go home
The gas prices are getting higher
As the rain falls upon dry land
Yankee go Yankee go home
Senses burn man
When the deck-hand
Plays a flute which
Reminds me of you oh
But there's a land in the distance
That might have some patience
And girls who are singing or strangers and sailors
There are gunfights
There are neckties
A little history
A little sunlight
Alright
They said
Yankee go
Yankee go home
Yankee go
Yankee go home
The gas prices are getting higher
As the rain falls upon dry land
Yankee go
Yankee go home
papa said
Papa said
Pa said get used to it
Pa said get used to it
Pa said it gets so goddamn hard but I get used to it
Pa said get used to it
Think they'll take you
Honolulu
How do you do?
I'll make a quick stop
My fair-lady pill pop
Before catching the bus to good lord knows where's what
Falling out of line
I'm calling upon North Carolina to help me out here
Salad nicoise
Good to meet you
Carcasonne hon
Stands next to no one
The rake at the door has been taking a tour of this tar (and) feather land and good lord knows that I am now
Falling out of line
I'm calling upon North Carolina to help me out again
They Say
Yankee go
Yankee go home
The gas prices are getting higher
As the rain falls upon dry land
Yankee go Yankee go home
Senses burn man
When the deck-hand
Plays a flute which
Reminds me of you oh
But there's a land in the distance
That might have some patience
And girls who are singing or strangers and sailors
There are gunfights
There are neckties
A little history
A little sunlight
Alright
They said
Yankee go
Yankee go home
Yankee go
Yankee go home
The gas prices are getting higher
As the rain falls upon dry land
Yankee go
Yankee go home
papa said
Papa said
Pa said get used to it
Pa said get used to it
Pa said it gets so goddamn hard but I get used to it
Pa said get used to it
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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/
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
It actually seems like a more obvious meaning than most CYHSY lyrics. I think it's a song about Alec's personal experience of moving to the south and having hard time. In Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth there's the lyrics "far far away from West Virginia, I will try for New York City" I like to think West Virginia kinda plagued the guy
This sounds the most likely. I've lived in Texas my whole life and haven't seen this sentiment here personally, but when my father first moved here, he heard, "Yankee, go home," as soon as his accent showed (he was born in '51).<br /> <br /> In America, only Northerners are Yankees. The rest of the world doesn't seem to understand that, so it could work on both levels. However, by talking about Honolulu and North Carolina, tar and feather, dry land, and high gas prices, he seems to be talking primarily about the US, specifically the South.
For me this is about the anti american sentiments around the world.
I think it's an anti-war song.