"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.
When you were a child, you were a tomboy
And your mother laughed at the serious way
That you looked at her
And from your window at night
There were the star's little fires
And the armory lights
You were tracing the lines
Of a globe with your fingers
Cool rivers, white wastes, desert shores
And the forest green and a limitless life
In the breath of each tide
And the bright mountain's rising
Now the boys are away
And such kicks they are having
Slashing away at the forest walls
With their bitter knives
Sparks bloom in their eyes
And they never look tired
Will they never look tired?
On cliffs that tower from the rising seas
Their bonfires glow where a tiger lies
And cleaning their weapons
They laugh at his useless claws, and all
It is a beautiful night to be born to this life
And grind his every bone to powder
Do you remember?
Do you remember?
She carried you down to the edge
Of the dark river, and said
Though the water is wide
You will never grow tired
You are bound to your life
Like a mother and child
You will cling to your life
Like a suckering vine
And like the rest of our kind
You will increase and increase
Past all of our dreaming
Horse without rider
Lungs without breathing
Day without light
Song without singing a song
And your mother laughed at the serious way
That you looked at her
And from your window at night
There were the star's little fires
And the armory lights
You were tracing the lines
Of a globe with your fingers
Cool rivers, white wastes, desert shores
And the forest green and a limitless life
In the breath of each tide
And the bright mountain's rising
Now the boys are away
And such kicks they are having
Slashing away at the forest walls
With their bitter knives
Sparks bloom in their eyes
And they never look tired
Will they never look tired?
On cliffs that tower from the rising seas
Their bonfires glow where a tiger lies
And cleaning their weapons
They laugh at his useless claws, and all
It is a beautiful night to be born to this life
And grind his every bone to powder
Do you remember?
Do you remember?
She carried you down to the edge
Of the dark river, and said
Though the water is wide
You will never grow tired
You are bound to your life
Like a mother and child
You will cling to your life
Like a suckering vine
And like the rest of our kind
You will increase and increase
Past all of our dreaming
Horse without rider
Lungs without breathing
Day without light
Song without singing a song
Lyrics submitted by thiagozero
Home Life Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
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
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."
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,
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
"you looked at her" - her = mother nature I'm guessing. We're destroying mother nature and her beauty, even though we're dependent on her and will be lost without her.
Gorgeous song. The sequence about 3:50 in gives me chills.
I have a more simplistic take on this song, I think it's just about childhood and memories.
By the way, the instrumentation in this song is amazing.
I second that the instrumentation in this song is amazing.
tI does seem like he's depicting a massive destruction of sorts.
"where a tiger lies and, cleaning their weapons, they laugh at his useless claws" that idea interests me.
It's an interesting song, all in all, and I'm not sure of it's meaning.
his voice reminds me of kate bush a lot especially in this song, melody of it included
his voice reminds me of kate bush a lot especially in this song, melody of it included
It's about a tomboy who is coming to terms with her gender and roles. "Home Life" refers to a woman's work at home.
In the second stanza, the girl wants to be like the rest of the guys, who are out having fun and doing boyish things in the woods.
The lines "where a tiger lies and, cleaning their weapons, they laugh at his useless claws" refers to the boys' superiority over the tiger.
That the subject should be fixated on the idea of a tiger indicates the passion she has with in her towards living the life of boys.
The last stanza's refer to the subject inheriting her gender roles. It doesn't portray them as burdens, but as obligations with the hope of one day she will be liberated (or be the one to liberate).
The very last stanza is sets of paradoxes that convey the idea that the subject is stuck in one life while wanting another.