"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.
Spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay
There's always some reason
To feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
Oh, beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
Let me be empty
Oh, and weightless, and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight
In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
The storm keeps on twisting
You keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It don't make no difference
Escaping one last time
It's easier to believe in this sweet madness
Oh, this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees
In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay
There's always some reason
To feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
Oh, beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
Let me be empty
Oh, and weightless, and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight
In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
The storm keeps on twisting
You keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It don't make no difference
Escaping one last time
It's easier to believe in this sweet madness
Oh, this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees
In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Yes, this is a beautiful song. Sarah basically wrote it for all those artists and people who died from drug overdoses. If you really read through the lyrics, you can understand what kind of escape and release she's talking about, and how it's so sad that people can find such peace in such sadness. An inherently sad but extremely beautiful piece of music.
@ches I agree
The 1st time I heard this song was Thursday after my son Od from heroine. I always listen to music, but it’s amazing that I clicked on that song while listening to it I realized what the song was about. I cried my eyes out. If you ever live thru a heroine addicts life, you will see every word in the song is true. It’s not just about the high, it’s the escape from life. Sometimes for days, sometimes for a day. I’ve seen recovered addicts, and I’ve seen my son fight this for years. The last person in the world that I thought I would see with a heroine needle in his arm,feet, Prayfully he will stop before he says his last goodbye.
I used to think that it was "just" about death in general, but now that I've read the lyrics it's become pretty clear that it's about dying from a drug overdose. Feeling not good enough, looking for some distraction and seeking release, memory seeing from veins, those are all typical for heroin overdose.
It's also clear it's about artists- dark cold hotel rooms, building lies, vultures and thieves surrounding you... there's not much room for any other interpretation IMO.
One of the most beautiful songs ever written.
You're mistaken Sarah wrote this song after the overdose of Smashing Pumpkins drummer. She talked about the meaning of the song during the VH1 Storytellers program.
actually it was about smashing pumpkins keyboardist jonathan melvoin's overdose. the drummer is still alaive and playing with them.
"There's always one reason to feel not good enough and it's hard at the end of the day..." For someone who is depressed, it is always the worst at the end of the day. Now this part is the singer thinking about the loss, "I need some distraction, oh beautiful release memory seeps from my veins let me be empty and weightless" The last line says "and maybe I'll find some peace tonight " Meaning the singer knows that her friend is in a safe place now... in the arms of an angel, so she can find peace. The chorus goes as follows: "In the arms of an angel, fly away from here. from this dark cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear. you are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie, you're in the arms of the angel may you find some comfort there" The person who has passed is with an angel. And the singer is remembering the loss in her room, which een if crowded, her hotel room would be empty, dark and cold. The dead person is now free from all burdens, troubles and problem, and will find comfort in the arms of the angel.
close...though technically addicts do take their own lives due to the cruelty of the disease...
No the singer isn’t thinking about her loss, she is talking for the addict, memories seeping from my veins, is how the addict feels as he is goingi into a different world, The escape.The distraction is the heroine. They pass out from it, but accidental overdose happens all the time. Some are intentional but addict don’t intend to kill themselves.
This song is one of the most beautiful ever written and sung by Sarah. She has such an angelic voice filled with so much emotion. Her music truly touches my heart and soul. I dedicate this song to my grandmother who recently passed away. She was diagnosed with cancer and became very ill but fought it up until the very end. We hoped and prayed that a cure would be found; that she would be well again. This verse during that hard and difficult time expressed just what her and i had both desperately hoped for (A Second Chance) "Spend all your time waiting for that second chance for a break that would make it okay, there's always one reason to feel not good enough and its hard at the end of the day, I need some distraction, OH A BEAUTIFUL RELEASE. Overwhelmed by pain and despair, i watched her life slowly slipped away before me and now i am forever changed. She was such an inspiration to me in so many ways and is so deeply missed. Angel was her favorite song and i can still see her smile when i played it for her. This verse goes out to her "YOUR IN THE ARMS OF THE ANGEL, MAY YOU FIND SOME COMFORT THERE" You are now with the Angels.
I know people have placed the actual meaning of the song, but to me 'Angel' will always relate to self injury. I'm fairly certain that's not why she wrote it, but that's what it will always mean to me.
"there's always one reason to feel not good enough and it's hard at the end of the day" Most people who self injure deal with at least one form of depression. Others have already made the depression connections to these lines, so I won't bother saying more here.
"I need some distraction" Could be distraction from the urges, or could be distraction from the pain - thus the act.
"oh beautiful release memory seeps from my veins" So many times I've heard that line and recalled times I've self injured to escape from my past...
"you are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie" Self harming can help me to slide away from reality somewhat. Sometimes it'll make a person dissociate and lose track of everything.
"and the storm keeps on twisting you keep on building the lie that you make up for all that you lack" To me these lines are about the pain that continues to grow while a self injurer continues the "I'm fine" lies, and the lies about how their injuries/scars occured.
"it don't make no difference escaping one last time it's easier to believe in this sweet madness oh this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees"
Once you've done it once, you can tell yourself it's okay to do it one more time. Nobody will notice, it will make it no harder to quit... any number of little lies that you tell yourself to feel better about doing it again. It's easier to keep self harming than to quit.
The lovely Sarah McLachlan paid a visit to our studio, The Orange Lounge, in June, to give us some awesome exclusive footage.
Watch her stunning studio performance, intimate interviews and behind-the-scenes footage in the Orange Lounge: etcanada.com/orangelounge/sarah-mclachlan.aspx
Cheers!
Alexa @ ET Canada
I thought this song is all about all different people. People who might have a bad day. A person who got fired from work and suffered depression. Or for people who surprisedly diagnose with a dying stage of of disease. I think Sarah wrote this song by describing a person who fell and fail and losing hope and seems that everywhere that person turns to there are rumors or words against all his or her effort, and all s/he does was to wait and wait for the possible second chance that can bring him back. Over his depression hr or she is looking for a certain break away from all the possible worries he had and all he can turn to is to be down in his knee. Which means
Yes, and you can't compare them. One's classical, and the other's contemporary. Oh well, to each his own.
this song is so beautiful...