"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.
There was a high pressure low developing off the coast of Africa,
Uplift in the atmosphere pushed waves
Across the ocean towards Antilles and Bon Air.
I paced in Agitation. I drew the curtains closed.
I turned the air conditioner on.
I pressed a warm wash cloth to my face.
Somewhere out there a hurricane was coming.
There's just no future left for us to dream of,
Living in an era of instability.
So caught up in the culture of their rivals,
Fear breeds in honest men.
It's a high pressure low.
7 missiles flying over the sea of japan.
Tales of feral children sleeping in wolf dens.
And the pious preacher commands.
I hold my breath in anticipation.
Into the shelter of the jungle noble savages run.
Vestal virgins triumph over life long inhibitions.
And I wonder, what is real? What is fiction?
There's just no future left for us to dream of,
Living in an era of instability.
So caught up in the culture of their rivals,
Fear breeds in honest men.
It's a high pressure low.
Would anyone forgive Robert McNamara?
In retrospect he had to admit;
There was mistake in going to war without first asking all the questions.
Yes, Robert Strange McNamara,
There are those who just cannot forget.
And I wonder, have I lost my own compassion?
There's just no future left for us to dream of,
Living in an era of instability.
So caught up in the culture of their rivals,
Fear breeds in honest men.
It's a high pressure low.
Uplift in the atmosphere pushed waves
Across the ocean towards Antilles and Bon Air.
I paced in Agitation. I drew the curtains closed.
I turned the air conditioner on.
I pressed a warm wash cloth to my face.
Somewhere out there a hurricane was coming.
There's just no future left for us to dream of,
Living in an era of instability.
So caught up in the culture of their rivals,
Fear breeds in honest men.
It's a high pressure low.
7 missiles flying over the sea of japan.
Tales of feral children sleeping in wolf dens.
And the pious preacher commands.
I hold my breath in anticipation.
Into the shelter of the jungle noble savages run.
Vestal virgins triumph over life long inhibitions.
And I wonder, what is real? What is fiction?
There's just no future left for us to dream of,
Living in an era of instability.
So caught up in the culture of their rivals,
Fear breeds in honest men.
It's a high pressure low.
Would anyone forgive Robert McNamara?
In retrospect he had to admit;
There was mistake in going to war without first asking all the questions.
Yes, Robert Strange McNamara,
There are those who just cannot forget.
And I wonder, have I lost my own compassion?
There's just no future left for us to dream of,
Living in an era of instability.
So caught up in the culture of their rivals,
Fear breeds in honest men.
It's a high pressure low.
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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."
I think these parts are about...
"Seven missiles flying over the sea of Japan" NK doing long range missle testing.
"Would anyone forgive Robert McNamara" Vietnam War and the decisions Robert McNamara made while he was the Secretary of Defense.
i think it's about relating the formation of a hurricane (high pressure low = hurricane winds) to the friction and instability in the world right now.
I agree with thefiredhearts; it does a mini history flashback on North Korea then back to Vietnam. Both verses I think have different messages, if you read the last lines of both of them: "And I wonder what is real and what is fiction." and "And I wonder have I lost my own compassion?"
Just a geographical note: It's not Bon Air, it's Bonaire, part of the Netherlands Antilles... ^^