"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.
Saw the demonstration
On remembrance day
Lest we forget the lesson
Enshrined in funeral clay
History is never written
By those who've lost
The defeated must bear witness to
Our collective memory loss
With every generation comes
Another memory lapse
See the demonstrations of
Failing to learn from our past
We live in the dream time
Nothing seems to last
Can you really plan a future
When you no longer have a past
Memories fall from the trees
Amnesia
Memories like autumn leaves
If we are subject to
Empirical minds
I wonder what lies beyond
Our memory's confines
If memory is the true
Sum of who we are
May your children know the truth
And shine like the brightest star
Memory, help me see
Amnesia
Memory, set me free
All my love and all my kisses
Sweet Mnemosyne
All my love and all my kisses
Sweet Mnemosyne
Sweet Mnemosyne
On remembrance day
Lest we forget the lesson
Enshrined in funeral clay
History is never written
By those who've lost
The defeated must bear witness to
Our collective memory loss
With every generation comes
Another memory lapse
See the demonstrations of
Failing to learn from our past
We live in the dream time
Nothing seems to last
Can you really plan a future
When you no longer have a past
Memories fall from the trees
Amnesia
Memories like autumn leaves
If we are subject to
Empirical minds
I wonder what lies beyond
Our memory's confines
If memory is the true
Sum of who we are
May your children know the truth
And shine like the brightest star
Memory, help me see
Amnesia
Memory, set me free
All my love and all my kisses
Sweet Mnemosyne
All my love and all my kisses
Sweet Mnemosyne
Sweet Mnemosyne
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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
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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”
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
for me this song is about the loss of tradition and reverence for history (and even old wisdoms) in humanity and as every new generation comes along.
It references Remembrance Day to evoke honoring our forefathers that have lived their lives not only because life is good, but because we can learn some things from the way that they lived their lives.
"Lest we forget the lesson Enshrined in funeral clay"
There's a lesson to be learned from the way others have lived their life. Juxtaposition of the immaterial in "lessons" and the material "clay".
"History is never written By those who've lost The defeated must bear witness to Our collective memory loss"
Here he's suggesting that those who take part in this "collective memory loss" (forsaking tradition and history) will in fact be forgotten by history itself. Very potent imagery.
"We live in the dream time Nothing seems to last Can you really plan a future When you no longer have a past"
Present-day people live in a time of great promises, promises that give us lofty hopes for a perfect and ideal future, but can we really move ahead if we don't have tradition to guide us?
"If we are subject to Empirical minds I wonder what lies beyond Our memory's confines"
This is a little tongue-in-cheek. It seems to be criticizing modern science and philosophy, where nothing that can't be empirically proven could ever be valuable or sacred. He criticizes those who hold the ideal over the privileges that we already have, those who wish to rise above their humanity, their "memory's confines".
"If memory is the true Sum of who we are May your children know the truth And shine like the brightest star"
This is where he defines our histories as what will ultimately define our futures. Only when our future generations take heed of the lessons that history teaches us will they be able to reach their potentials.
"All my love and all my kisses Sweet Mnemosyne All my love and all my kisses Sweet Mnemosyne Sweet Mnemosyne"
The part of the song with the most pathos. Essentially he's associating our memories with the greatest joy that we can give to others, love and kisses. The conclusion is that by forgetting our past, we have forgotten how to love. Nice imagery as well with the allusion to Mnemosyne, the personification of memory in Greek mythology.
The song's title is apt, encompassing all those who have forgotten how to live by their disgracing tradition and history.
Lyrics are also very similar to "Tell Me About the Forest":
songmeanings.com/songs/view/70141/