"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.
Yeah
Lookin' back on the track for a little green bag
Got to find just a kind or losin' my mind
Outside in the night, outside in the day
Lookin' back on the track gonna do it my way
Outside in the night, outside in the day
Lookin' back on the track gonna do it my way
Lookin' back
Lookin' for some happiness
But there is so a loneliness to find
Turn to the left turn to the right
Lookin' upstairs lookin' behind
Lookin' for some happiness
But there is so a loneliness to find
Turn to the left turn to the right
Lookin' upstairs lookin' behind
Lookin' back on the track for a little green bag
Got to find just a kind or losin' my mind
Outside in the night, outside in the day
Lookin' back on the track gonna do it my way
Lookin' back on the track for a little little green bag
Got to find just a kind or losin' my mind
Lookin' for some happiness
But there is so a loneliness to find
Turn to the left turn to the right
Lookin' upstairs lookin' behind
Lookin' for some happiness
But there is so a loneliness to find
Turn to the left turn to the right
Lookin' upstairs lookin' behind
Lookin' back on the track for a little green bag
Got to find just a kind or losin' my mind
Outside in the night, outside in the day
Lookin' back on the track gonna do it my way
Outside in the night, outside in the day
Lookin' back on the track gonna do it my way
Lookin' back
Lookin' for some happiness
But there is so a loneliness to find
Turn to the left turn to the right
Lookin' upstairs lookin' behind
Lookin' for some happiness
But there is so a loneliness to find
Turn to the left turn to the right
Lookin' upstairs lookin' behind
Lookin' back on the track for a little green bag
Got to find just a kind or losin' my mind
Outside in the night, outside in the day
Lookin' back on the track gonna do it my way
Lookin' back on the track for a little little green bag
Got to find just a kind or losin' my mind
Lookin' for some happiness
But there is so a loneliness to find
Turn to the left turn to the right
Lookin' upstairs lookin' behind
Lookin' for some happiness
But there is so a loneliness to find
Turn to the left turn to the right
Lookin' upstairs lookin' behind
Lyrics submitted by Nelly, edited by robert_santana, gristlelick
Little Green Bag Lyrics as written by Jan Visser Hans Bouwens
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Word Collections Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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I never thought the title “green bag” was correct. It didn’t make any sense. It sounded like he was singing “greenback”, as in money. Not only does it sound like it, and make sense in the movie, it also makes sense in the song and the song’s rhyming scheme. (Back — Track — Bag? Really? Bag doesn’t rhyme with track or back. Close, but no cigar.) I did a quick search and found that I was correct, as dedahl pointed out. They are singing “greenback”. From the song’s wiki (not that wiki's are 100% correct) “The 7" single debut of the George Baker Selection was released by the label Negram, which misprinted the actual title of the song, which is "Little Green Back (greenback meaning money)and "greenback" is the lyric actually sung. This has caused the song to be misnamed ever since.” Now the song makes total sense in the movie. Lookin’ back by the track (tracks denoting danger) for a little greenback. (people do dangerous things for money). What are some of the most common themes about money and happiness? People think money will give them happiness and will do anything to get money. (turn into animals — even killing each other, which is what happens throughout this movie) Who wants to be around a person that is so inhumane, so predatory? That person may have money but ends up very lonely. (as long as I can remember, multimillionaires have had a higher suicide rate than almost any other demographic group, even the homeless) And what are the next lines of the song?: Lookin' for some happiness But there is only loneliness to find. (hey that sound familiar!) Out of sight in the night, out of sight in the day and Jump to the left, turn to the right (both about running away and hiding, as if you are being chased, like possibly into an abandoned warehouse!)
Lookin' upstairs, lookin' behind, yeah! (maybe you’re not being chased, maybe you’re paranoid, or maybe the guy next to you, who is greedy enough to help you steal, is actually greedier and will kill to take your share of greenbacks. Or maybe he's a cop!) I can see the line, “got to find just the kind or I’m losing my mind” to mean 3 or more different things, I haven’t decided which seems to make more sense. Anyway, that’s my analysis and if you don’t agree with me don’t be disheartened, just keep in mind I maybe under the influence of my own little green bag!
I think for years I've been barking up the wrong tree. Given the year the song was written I had always thought it was a reference to the Vietnam war, i.e. jungle tracks, green body bags, fear (looking all around for threat). I had assumed that reference to marijuana or money might be a bit obvious/simplistic but now I'm laughing at myself for perhaps over-analysising the song :-p
@Lyrics2Deep Damn, I was hoping it was little green bag because "got to find just (Da Kine)" was in my imagination. It's more romantic and less political.
@Lyrics2Deep Lol @ your ending comment!
@Lyrics2Deep It certainly makes more sense that the meaning of weed. Probably most Americans thought it must have been about weed because the band's from Holland. :)<br /> And yeah, the misprinting certainly didn't help either. I guess QT got the real meaning of the song and that's the reason he used it for Reservoir Dogs, going about a heist that went wrong...
@Lyrics2Deep Wrong. They were hanging at the studio, started smoking some weed, the bassist played something catchy and because weed was in the "air" little green bag was born. Not much thought is put into a lot of songs. But weed was the catalyst to many ideas back in the 60's.
"C'mon, throw in a buck!"
"Uh-uh, I don't tip"
"You don't tip? "
"Nah, I don't believe in it."
"You don't believe in tipping?"
"You know what these chicks make? They make sh*t"
"Don't give me that. She don't make enough money that she can quit"
"I don't even know a f*cking Jew who'd have the balls to say that. Let me get this straight: you don't ever tip?"
"I don't tip because society says I have to. All right, if someone deserves a tip, if they really put forth an effort, I'll give them something a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, it's for the birds. As far as I'm concerned, they're just doing their job"
"Hey, our girl was nice"
'She was okay. She wasn't anything special"
"What's special? Take you in the back and suck your d*ck?"
"I'd go over twelve percent for that"
About it's meaning, I've always thought it's about a bag of marihuana... think about it... a little green bag.
The guy is singing to a green bag to help him cope with his loneliness, in the search, looking back on a track, being jumpy (as if being followed, doing something illegal). Add the hippie era context and it makes perfect sense.
It's a great song, specially for its now unseparable relation to Reservoir Dogs, such a great yet simple movie.
But, on a couple of side notes, I have to add that here, in my country (Chile) this song was used for an advertising campaign for a realy mediocre TV soap opera, copying the whole Reservoir Dogs walking-titles begining... Machos (Studs) ( imdb.com/title/tt0374415/ ), and 'till this day I'm still fighting my mind from jumping to that shocking memories whenever I hear it. I find myself repeating "Tarantino, Tarantino, Tarantino..."
And the other side note, an anecdote. The first time I heard this song I swear I thought it was a latin excuse for a singer ( Luis Miguel ) doing some english, actually good song... I was almost killed by my friend when I commented her that this guy was doing his first interesting tune. After that, we looked for some happines and went Pa pa pa pa pa pa ....
see the "Reservoir Dogs in 30 seconds reacted by bunnies" very funny.
I think this song fits in so well with Reservoir Dogs...
yeah damn straight, i love how well tarantino matches his music to his films. best song to dance to
lol i watched Reservoir Dogs for the 100th time lol (meaning its 1 of my fav movies) last night and now this song is stuck in my head lol. but quentin Tarantino is a genius and he can make anything good. and i believe that this song is about some1 who has lost a little green bag (lol duh).
"Torutre you, thats..that's a good idea, I like that"
"Are you gonna bark all day little bunny? Or are you gonna bite?"
I believe the line is "Are you gonna bark all day little doggy?" hence the use of "bark". I don't know what bunnies you have seen in your time.
@Deathsdoor99 He has seen barking bunnies....OBVIOUSLY....
I also think that's about a marihuana bag.