"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.
The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling
Way down in the valley tonight
There's a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye
And a blade shining oh so bright
There's evil in the air and there's thunder in the sky
And a killer's on the bloodshot streets
And down in the tunnel where the deadly are rising
Oh I swear I saw a young boy
Down in the gutter
He was starting to foam in the heat
Oh baby you're the only thing in this whole world
That's pure and good and right
And wherever you are and wherever you go
There's always gonna be some light
But I gotta get out
I gotta break it out now
Before the final crack of dawn
So we gotta make the most of our one night together
When it's over you know
We'll both be so alone
Like a bat out of hell
I'll be gone when the morning comes
When the night is over
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone gone gone
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone when the morning comes
But when the day is done
And the sun goes down
And the moonlight's shining through
Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven
I'll come crawling on back to you
I'm gonna hit the highway like a battering ram
On a silver black phantom bike
When the metal is hot and the engine is hungry
And we're all about to see the light
Nothing ever grows in this rotten old hole
Everything is stunted and lost
And nothing really rocks
And nothing really rolls
And nothing's ever worth the cost
And I know that I'm damned if I never get out
And maybe I'm damned if I do
But with every other beat I got left in my heart
You know I'd rather be damned with you
If I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned
Dancing through the night with you
If I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned
Gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned
If I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned
Dancing through the night
Dancing through the night
Dancing through the night with you
Oh baby you're the only thing in this whole world
That's pure and good and right
And wherever you are and wherever you go
There's always gonna be some light
But I gotta get out
I gotta break it out now
Before the final crack of dawn
So we gotta make the most of our one night together
When it's over you know
We'll both be so alone
Like a bat out of hell
I'll be gone when the morning comes
When the night is over
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone gone gone
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone when the morning comes
But when the day is done
And the sun goes down
And the moonlight's shining through
Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven
I'll come crawling on back to you
I can see myself tearing up the road
Faster than any other boy has ever gone
And my skin is raw but my soul is ripe
No one's gonna stop me now
I gotta make my escape
But I can't stop thinking of you
And I never see the sudden curve until it's way too late
I never see the sudden curve until it's way too late
Then I'm dying at the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun
Torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike
And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell
And the last thing I see is my heart
Still beating
Breaking out of my body
And flying away
Like a bat out of hell
Then I'm dying at the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun
Torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike
And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell
And the last thing I see is my heart
Still beating
Still beating
Breaking out of my body and flying away
Like a bat out of hell
Like a bat out of hell
Like a bat out of hell
Like a bat out of hell
Like a bat out of hell
Like a bat out of hell
Way down in the valley tonight
There's a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye
And a blade shining oh so bright
There's evil in the air and there's thunder in the sky
And a killer's on the bloodshot streets
And down in the tunnel where the deadly are rising
Oh I swear I saw a young boy
Down in the gutter
He was starting to foam in the heat
Oh baby you're the only thing in this whole world
That's pure and good and right
And wherever you are and wherever you go
There's always gonna be some light
But I gotta get out
I gotta break it out now
Before the final crack of dawn
So we gotta make the most of our one night together
When it's over you know
We'll both be so alone
Like a bat out of hell
I'll be gone when the morning comes
When the night is over
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone gone gone
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone when the morning comes
But when the day is done
And the sun goes down
And the moonlight's shining through
Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven
I'll come crawling on back to you
I'm gonna hit the highway like a battering ram
On a silver black phantom bike
When the metal is hot and the engine is hungry
And we're all about to see the light
Nothing ever grows in this rotten old hole
Everything is stunted and lost
And nothing really rocks
And nothing really rolls
And nothing's ever worth the cost
And I know that I'm damned if I never get out
And maybe I'm damned if I do
But with every other beat I got left in my heart
You know I'd rather be damned with you
If I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned
Dancing through the night with you
If I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned
Gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned
If I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned
Dancing through the night
Dancing through the night
Dancing through the night with you
Oh baby you're the only thing in this whole world
That's pure and good and right
And wherever you are and wherever you go
There's always gonna be some light
But I gotta get out
I gotta break it out now
Before the final crack of dawn
So we gotta make the most of our one night together
When it's over you know
We'll both be so alone
Like a bat out of hell
I'll be gone when the morning comes
When the night is over
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone gone gone
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone when the morning comes
But when the day is done
And the sun goes down
And the moonlight's shining through
Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven
I'll come crawling on back to you
I can see myself tearing up the road
Faster than any other boy has ever gone
And my skin is raw but my soul is ripe
No one's gonna stop me now
I gotta make my escape
But I can't stop thinking of you
And I never see the sudden curve until it's way too late
I never see the sudden curve until it's way too late
Then I'm dying at the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun
Torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike
And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell
And the last thing I see is my heart
Still beating
Breaking out of my body
And flying away
Like a bat out of hell
Then I'm dying at the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun
Torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike
And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell
And the last thing I see is my heart
Still beating
Still beating
Breaking out of my body and flying away
Like a bat out of hell
Like a bat out of hell
Like a bat out of hell
Like a bat out of hell
Like a bat out of hell
Like a bat out of hell
Lyrics submitted by mlttabh
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Funny how this site works. You can have a lame rap song getting 200 comments but this rock classic only have a good 20-30 comments at most. :-/
Actually the author of the song has stated numerous times that this song is meant to depict the ultimate crash scene.
So yes, it is quite literally about a man dying after wrecking on his motorcycle.
You should learn to research before blasting people who have heard the meaning from Jim Steinman himself.
I love this song too, but I think it's possible to over-analyse about it. Personally I don't think Jim Steinman or Meat Loaf are sophisticated enough to write songs with hidden meanings, or even non-obvious meanings. Steinman uses some pretty transparent techniques for his songwriting, such as the constant religious references to try to make things sound more dramatic and grand - sinner, gates of heaven, pure and good and right, hell, pit, tolling a bell... it goes on and on. Another of his techniques is to start with a phrase that has two meanings and write a whole song around it, e.g. For Crying Out Loud (meaning "for Pete's sake" or "for crying out with passion"), Left in the Dark (meaning "left without light" or "left uninformed"), You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (read it and see). It's quite clear that Steinman is just stringing together various songwriting techniques, and should not be taken too seriously.
Note also the way he writes for his market! It's all bikes, sex and rebelliousness, and don't get me wrong, those things are great, but if you think Steinman writes like that because that's who he is, forget it. He writes that way because he knows how to give his market what it wants.
Bat Out of Hell is a great song, but unless you're aged 17 and an impressionable biker yourself, you'll take it with a pinch of salt.
You might be right, that he writes his songs with his target audience in mind, but let's be honest, he does a damn' fine job. And what's wrong with a song that relates to you whe you're 17, and makes you still smile when you're 41? I still sing it out loud in the car, or when I'm washing the dishes.
@songanalyst uh... "Personally I don\'t think Jim Steinman or Meat Loaf are sophisticated enough to write songs with hidden meanings" You wrote? That, dear stranger, is blasphemy.
I agree This song is one of the best songs ever
I recently did a research essay for one of my modules in uni on this piece. The module was entitled "Love and Desire" and we had to research and analyse any text we wanted with it being related to love or desire. I look at the song and compared it to that of Sigmund Freud's ideas of the Death Drive to which we subconciously wish to return to our most natural state like when we were in our womb. Anyways what I got from the song was that it entails two loves one being his woman whom he seems to be returning to and the other for his lifestyle, hes a biker. It is well known that bikers can be on the road for months and only return to see their girlfriends and wives once a year at least. It seems to be the rush he has for life is paralleld with that of the rush to get home to see his other love.
I could also be totally wrong but hey songs are there for you to interpret whatever you want out of them right? Hence peoples love of such a form of communication.
Songanalyst pretty much sums it for me.
Folk, there is no girl in the song. If you think it's a girl he's singing to, it's his motorcycle. The machine fills the role for him, because of his desperation.
I guess I could be convinced the protagonist killed someone at the beginning, a la "The Outsiders", but honestly, to me, it's more dramatic scene-setting than recounting the events off-screen. He sees himself as a killer on the bloodshot streets - nice image - and then describes himself as a young boy foaming in the heat (not so nice an image).
The only thing that's good and pure in his life is his love for his motorcycle. He doesn't ride in the day (when the sun comes up... gone like a bat out of hell, which is also metaphor for his short and shortened life). When the night comes - the day is done, moonlight shining, he comes crawling back to his bike to ride (dancing through the night, riding twisty roads, a dangerous activity at night).
When the night's over, he misses riding... both gonna be so alone (his bike isn't ridden by anyone else). Here, you could convince me that he's running from a murder, and after he gets as far away from his crime as the bike can take him in a night, he'll have to leave it behind (because it's traceable?), because of the lyric "make the most of our one night together".
i agree with dearheart........this song has nothing to do with a girl<br /> Jim Steinman said it himself that it was a motorcycle crash song...thats why he had Tod Rundgren play a motorcycle guitar solo.....and in the Hits Out of Hell DVD.... the video shows a motorcycle.....<br /> <br /> So long story short, his life is surrounded with horrible things and the only good in it is his motorcycle, which he only has a chance to ride at night....at the end he crashes and his organs are exposed (grusom but AWESOME) and all he sees is his heart still beating leaving his body there.<br /> <br /> This is my opinion and I may be wrong but this makes a lot of sence to me.<br />
can it be any better than this?
no it can't this is a gr8 song. i'm listenin 2 it now!
haha yeah its cool...my sista added it :O)!
meat loaf rules & so does this song!!