"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.
You're a song written by the hands of God
Don't get me wrong 'cause this might sound to you a bit odd
But you own the place where all my thoughts go hiding
Right under your clothes, is where I find them
Underneath your clothes
There's an endless story
There's the man I chose
There's my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl, honey
'Cause of you, I forgot the smart ways to lie
Because of you, I'm running out of reasons to cry
When the friends are gone, when the party's over
We will still belong to each other
Underneath your clothes
There's an endless story
There's the man I chose
There's my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl, honey
Underneath your clothes
There's an endless story
There's the man I chose
There's my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl
For being such a, hey
I love you more than all that's on the planet
Movin', talkin', walkin', breathin'
You know it's true, oh baby it's so funny
You almost don't believe it
As every voice is hangin' from the silence
Lamps are hangin' from the ceiling
Like a lady tied to her manners
I'm tied up to this feeling
Underneath your clothes
There's an endless story
There's the man I chose
There's my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl, honey
Underneath your clothes
Whoa oh, oh, oh
There's the man I chose
There's my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl
For being such a good girl
Don't get me wrong 'cause this might sound to you a bit odd
But you own the place where all my thoughts go hiding
Right under your clothes, is where I find them
Underneath your clothes
There's an endless story
There's the man I chose
There's my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl, honey
'Cause of you, I forgot the smart ways to lie
Because of you, I'm running out of reasons to cry
When the friends are gone, when the party's over
We will still belong to each other
Underneath your clothes
There's an endless story
There's the man I chose
There's my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl, honey
Underneath your clothes
There's an endless story
There's the man I chose
There's my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl
For being such a, hey
I love you more than all that's on the planet
Movin', talkin', walkin', breathin'
You know it's true, oh baby it's so funny
You almost don't believe it
As every voice is hangin' from the silence
Lamps are hangin' from the ceiling
Like a lady tied to her manners
I'm tied up to this feeling
Underneath your clothes
There's an endless story
There's the man I chose
There's my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl, honey
Underneath your clothes
Whoa oh, oh, oh
There's the man I chose
There's my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl
For being such a good girl
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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"
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”
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
anyway, it's a love song. "underneath your clothes" is both literal and deeper. it's about sex, but it's also just about closeness between two people.
I think this song plain and simple describes how much she loves this guy...... and how she is so glad that she is with him. Its a beautiful love song, there aren't very many out there recently that are about true love - most are lust filled. I am impressed with this!
@dork_the_fish I feel this one is about sex too though
my favorite line is "And of all the things I deserve For being such A good girl honey"
Ya. Probably a lot of it is cuz Shakira wrote it herself. She doesn't fit in the typical Britney-Christinia-teeny bopper-genre. This is an honest song, and she has a great voice.
Here in Colombia, we thought Shakira betrayed us because she got all comercial and she forgot about her roots, but now I see that she is trying to be true to herself and not take any more &%$% from people. I started loving her again after hearing this great song
I agree with all that say this is a beautifully written love song, but there certainly is an air of sex to it. Sex really connects people in a relationship, and it isn't strange to feel affectionate towards everything your lover is.
And, to whomever said that Shakira needs to stop dying her hair blond... how many Colombians do you know? While Shakira may dye her hair frequently, I know a handful of Colombians with simply dark roots.
i wish she still sang this live often :(
this is probably my favorite shakira song
i completely respect her as an artist, but i miss this era of her music.
just a personal opinion, and some of what i'm saying has already been mentioned, but i would agree with tinamarie in that she is not literally talking about what is underneath his clothes, but more using clothes as a metaphor for the act people put on when around strangers, which everyone does; and that she is talking about the man underneath the act the rest of the world knows.
"Because of you I forgot the Smart ways to lie"
The song can be taken at face value, just to mean that she loves him; but i think it can also be interpreted as telling us to look beneath the 'clothes'(acts) people wear, and to know the person behind them, and basically coming back to the time honoured fable of 'don't judge a book by it's cover'
please give me your opinions on my interpretation of this amazingly evocative song
love you pippa xxxxxxxxxxxx <3
I think this is my favourite song of hers. Love the lyrics "You own the place where all my thoughts go hiding / Right under your clothes, is where I find them". It's partly about sex but the connection between them is implied on a deeper level. In "'Cause of you I forgot the smart ways to lie" it's obvious that she trusts him enough to let her guard down and she is extremely proud of who he is, calling him her territory. It's very clearly a love song, she seems overwhelmed with the way she feels for him.
I really love this song!! Actually, I have fallen in love with all of Shakira's music. All of her songs sort of bring me back to my latin love...but this song especially stuck out in my head when i bought the cd and listened to it...its really a slow song, and even though I am normally listen to hard rock, I really love this song!!!