"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.
Days like this, I want to drive away
Pack my bags and watch your shadow fade
You chewed me up and spit me out
Like I was poison in your mouth
You took my light, you drained me down
But that was then and this is now
Now look at me
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
Throw your sticks and your stones
Throw your bombs and your blows
But you're not gonna break my soul
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
I just wanna throw my phone away
Find out who is really there for me
You ripped me off, your love was cheap
Was always tearing at the seams
I fell deep, you let me down
But that was then and this is now
Now look at me
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
Throw your sticks and your stones
Throw your bombs and your blows
But you're not gonna break my soul
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
Now look at me, I'm sparkling
A firework, a dancin' flame
You won't ever put me out again
I'm glowin', oh whoa
So you can keep the diamond ring
It don't mean nothin' anyway
In fact you can keep everything
Yeah, yeah, except for me
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no (away from me)
Throw your sticks and your stones
Throw your bombs and your blows
But you're not gonna break my soul (my soul)
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
This is the part of me (no)
Away from me
This is the part of me (me, me, me, me, me)
No
Throw your sticks and your stones
Throw your bombs and your blows
But you're not gonna break my soul
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
Pack my bags and watch your shadow fade
You chewed me up and spit me out
Like I was poison in your mouth
You took my light, you drained me down
But that was then and this is now
Now look at me
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
Throw your sticks and your stones
Throw your bombs and your blows
But you're not gonna break my soul
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
I just wanna throw my phone away
Find out who is really there for me
You ripped me off, your love was cheap
Was always tearing at the seams
I fell deep, you let me down
But that was then and this is now
Now look at me
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
Throw your sticks and your stones
Throw your bombs and your blows
But you're not gonna break my soul
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
Now look at me, I'm sparkling
A firework, a dancin' flame
You won't ever put me out again
I'm glowin', oh whoa
So you can keep the diamond ring
It don't mean nothin' anyway
In fact you can keep everything
Yeah, yeah, except for me
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no (away from me)
Throw your sticks and your stones
Throw your bombs and your blows
But you're not gonna break my soul (my soul)
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
This is the part of me (no)
Away from me
This is the part of me (me, me, me, me, me)
No
Throw your sticks and your stones
Throw your bombs and your blows
But you're not gonna break my soul
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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.
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.
Last year my boyfriend broke up with me and started dating one of my close friends. He told me this over a text. I was a crying mess and my friend ending up driving me home while I complained about all the horrible things he did to me. Eventually, I ran out of things to say and we turned up the radio. That was the first time I heard this song, and by the second chorus I was singing along. I'm not a big pop fan, but this song really means a lot to me, and reminded me that there are parts of me that no man will ever have :)
These are the fixed lyrics:
"You took my life You drained me down But that was then And this is now"
"Throw your sticks and your stones, Throw your bombs and your blows, But you're not gonna break my soul"
"Cause you ripped me up Your love was cheap It was always tearing at the seams I fell deep and you let me drown But that was then and this is now"
"Now look at me I'm sparklin' A firework, a dancin' flame You will never put me out again I'm glowin' oh-oh whoa oh"
"So you can keep the diamond ring It don't mean nothing anyway In fact you can keep everything, yeah, yeah Except for me"
Agree with the others, it's a screw you to Russell Brand, especially when she started with ET at the Grammy's, which we can assume was written for him. I love Katy Perry and how strong she is.
exactly that is the meaning
@imnotalivex no the meaning is not for russell its for me...and I still have our diamond ring & she apologizes for this song in her other song too me #LoveMe <br /> ALSO kool thing no one knows, when she sings this she takes it back in liver performances by placing her hand over her heart bc WHEN WE GOT MARRIED, me-the marine, I married her WAY BEFORE RUSSELL I made a VOW & I placed my hand over my heart..so when u see her do that its bc of me
It's "bombs and blows". The other version also says "So you can keep the diamond ring. It don't mean nothing anyway" instead of "You can keep the dog for me. I never liked him anyway".
The song meaning is pretty self-explanatory....she dealt with an emotionally abusive man but he did not break her soul and he never will.
i dont think it ever said the dog part :\
emmaroxy4, I actually read that in several articles after the Grammy Award and I could swear I've heard it both ways but this is an old comment so I can't be sure now. Here is a link to one of the sources that describe the lyrics change. entertainmentwise.com/news/69464/Katy-Perry-Aims-Dig-At-Russell-Brand-During-Grammy-Performance
emmaroxy4...Ha! They actually changed the lyrics on this site since I posted my original comment ...to reflect the post-Grammy lyrics. When I first posted, this site had the lyrics "You can keep the dog for me. I never liked him anyway" and I commented with the other version...which has now been edited to be the way I commented then. <br /> <br />
@RoseTeaCup1216 I AM NOT AN EMOTIONALLY ABUSIVE MAN & SHE WROTE SEVERAL SORRY SONGS AFTER SHE REALIZED SHE WAS!! WRONG!! WRONG!! WRONG!!
“Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong — that is your oath.” Oath of the Knight's Templar
If a man doesn't stand for something, he'll fall for anything. The cost of standing by your beliefs can be a high one, but the cost of abandoning them is even higher. This is the part of me, you'll never take away from me. It doesn't have to be military propaganda to push a war effort, it can be a mantra for safeguarding your faith.
Edmond: Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you Count of Monte Cristo
The song is basically about how even though you broke me down, there is always this one part that you can never break and that part, as small as it may be, it will help me rebuild myself into a better version of myself once you're gone.
@NeonWolves no not really bc im the marine she this about & SHE WAS WRONG ABOUT IT ALL & she wrote a couple make up/sorry songs like #LoveMe <br /> <br /> She wrong the entire time & it took a long time to figure it out & thats why I am the 1 who ggot away
Just for the record this is an old track of Katy's that was cut from the Teenage Dream record so its probably safe to say it was written FOR Russell... doesn't mean the timing of the release doesn't mean anything.
That's all I got. Good song, not amazing but I'd like to see her do more of these kind of slightly deeper (relatively) songs. She rocks regardless.
Love this song! She's saying that she can be crazy and she can do whatever she wants cause its her life...that's what I think.
A couple months ago, I had this huge crush on this cool guy at school. After the last day of school, I found out he liked me back, but he thought I was weird. Believe it or not, I got super-mega-ultra-trimately depressed, and cried over him for two weeks in a row before sleeping.
Then, when I wanted to get over him, I heard this on the radio, even though it's old, and I decided to become independent, and not let my heart get broken so easily another time. Katy Perry rules. End of story.
Instead of saying "bombs and boots" I think she's saying "bombs and bones". Not sure but at least it rhymes better.
acutely it dosent say either of those it say's "bombs and blows"
I forgot to add on my other comment that this song also means that u are free from all that stress...like u know when u have a boyfriend or girlfriend u always have to worry about them. So that's why she joined the marines because she wad free. So yeah! Bye Bye!