"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.
Cave-o-sapien, you were made for the breaking of my back
And cave-o-sapien, you were made for the breaking of my back
As I carried you past quiet houses
Kicking through the roses in the yard
I spied the wildflower kisses on your neck
I saw the garden had been trampled past repair
Oh, cave-o-sapien
And you look like the sunrise
Purple, lemon, baby blue, and gold
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
But I knew it sounded bad when you said
"No regrets" and then said nothing more
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
And while you're digging deep
Into the smoke of those two sticks
You keep rubbing together
I keep thinking about how bad it's gonna burn
And all the people I've loved back home
Oh, I've loved and love
That you turned on
People just offering shelter from the wind
So bow your head into the wind
My cave-o-sapien
I had a vision of a gorilla
And he was a killer, a killer
Oh, cave-o-sapien
Oh, cave-o-sapien
Cave-o-cave-o-sapien
Oh, cave-o, cave-o, cave-o
Ah, ah, ah, ah, all alone
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, oh
And in fields of stone, you
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, oh
You're not the sunrise
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, oh
You're just alone
I've got you 'til you're gone
I've got you 'til you're gone
'Til you're gone, I got you
I've got you 'til you're gone
I've got you 'til you're gone
'Til you're gone, I got you
I've got you 'til you're gone
I've got you 'til you're gone
'Til you're gone, I got you
I've got you 'til you're gone
I've got you 'til you're gone
'Til you're gone, I got you
And cave-o-sapien, you were made for the breaking of my back
As I carried you past quiet houses
Kicking through the roses in the yard
I spied the wildflower kisses on your neck
I saw the garden had been trampled past repair
Oh, cave-o-sapien
And you look like the sunrise
Purple, lemon, baby blue, and gold
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
But I knew it sounded bad when you said
"No regrets" and then said nothing more
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
And while you're digging deep
Into the smoke of those two sticks
You keep rubbing together
I keep thinking about how bad it's gonna burn
And all the people I've loved back home
Oh, I've loved and love
That you turned on
People just offering shelter from the wind
So bow your head into the wind
My cave-o-sapien
I had a vision of a gorilla
And he was a killer, a killer
Oh, cave-o-sapien
Oh, cave-o-sapien
Cave-o-cave-o-sapien
Oh, cave-o, cave-o, cave-o
Ah, ah, ah, ah, all alone
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, oh
And in fields of stone, you
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, oh
You're not the sunrise
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, oh
You're just alone
I've got you 'til you're gone
I've got you 'til you're gone
'Til you're gone, I got you
I've got you 'til you're gone
I've got you 'til you're gone
'Til you're gone, I got you
I've got you 'til you're gone
I've got you 'til you're gone
'Til you're gone, I got you
I've got you 'til you're gone
I've got you 'til you're gone
'Til you're gone, I got you
Lyrics submitted by myballetflats
Cave-O-Sapien Lyrics as written by Dan Boeckner Arlen Thompson
Lyrics © THIRD SIDE MUSIC INC.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Personally, I think it is "And while you're leaning deep..." It makes more sense, though it is hard to tell what he is saying there.
Best song on the album
spencer is clearly singing about a homosexual encounter. no not really. i think the sunrise colours, that seems like bruise colours? his imagery is too vivid. his songs are too good, that jerk!
Well, not too many different opinions on this one. Seems to me to be a view on a self destructive person. Someone who lives without a care in the world but is eventually gonna pay the price of the lifestyle they are living. Someone who doesnt hold relationships long because their behavior is fun to be around but gets old after a while. a moocher of sorts. Ide definitely like to see some more opinions on this one.<br />
Well, not too many different opinions on this one. Seems to me to be a view on a self destructive person. Someone who lives without a care in the world but is eventually gonna pay the price of the lifestyle they are living. Someone who doesnt hold relationships long because their behavior is fun to be around but gets old after a while. a moocher of sorts. Ide definitely like to see some more opinions on this one.<br />
of those two sticks
Well cave o sapien is a part of Spencer that doesnt make relationships a priority. Maybe a part of him that is like his father, or a runner. Spencer has that, and nothing else, until he lets cave-o go. Perhaps cave-o is the primitive part of man that would rather gather from a garden and trample it as oppossed to tending to one. Cave-O doesnt do commitment. I think this vision of masculinity was at a time attractive to Spencer, but he realizes that it leaves you alone. Sometimes men focus more on their purposes and devises than their relationships as well.