"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 can tell Gayle, if she calls,
That I'm famous now for all of these rock and roll songs.
And even if that's a lie, she should've given me a try.
When we were kids on the field of the first day of school.
I would've been her fool.
And I would've sang out your name in those old high school halls.
You tell that to Gayle, if she calls.
And you can tell Jane, if she writes,
That I'm drunk off all these stars and all these crazy Hollywood nights.
And that's a total deceit, but she should've married me.
And tell her I spent every night of my youth on the floor,
Bleeding out from all these wounds.
I would've gotten her a ride out of that town she despised.
You tell that to Janey, if she writes.
But boys will be boys and girls have those eyes
That will cut you to ribbons sometimes.
And all you can do is just wait by the moon
And bleed if it's what she says you oughta do.
You remind Anna, if she asks why,
That a thief stole my heart while she was making up her mind.
I heard she lives in Brooklyn with the cool,
Goes crazy over that New York scene on 7th Avenue.
But I used to wait at the diner, a million nights without her,
Praying she won't cancel again tonight.
And the waiter served my coffee with a consolation sigh.
You remind Anna, if she asks why.
Tell her it's all right.
You know it's hard to tell you this.
Oh it's hard to tell you this.
Here's looking at you, Kid.
That I'm famous now for all of these rock and roll songs.
And even if that's a lie, she should've given me a try.
When we were kids on the field of the first day of school.
I would've been her fool.
And I would've sang out your name in those old high school halls.
You tell that to Gayle, if she calls.
And you can tell Jane, if she writes,
That I'm drunk off all these stars and all these crazy Hollywood nights.
And that's a total deceit, but she should've married me.
And tell her I spent every night of my youth on the floor,
Bleeding out from all these wounds.
I would've gotten her a ride out of that town she despised.
You tell that to Janey, if she writes.
But boys will be boys and girls have those eyes
That will cut you to ribbons sometimes.
And all you can do is just wait by the moon
And bleed if it's what she says you oughta do.
You remind Anna, if she asks why,
That a thief stole my heart while she was making up her mind.
I heard she lives in Brooklyn with the cool,
Goes crazy over that New York scene on 7th Avenue.
But I used to wait at the diner, a million nights without her,
Praying she won't cancel again tonight.
And the waiter served my coffee with a consolation sigh.
You remind Anna, if she asks why.
Tell her it's all right.
You know it's hard to tell you this.
Oh it's hard to tell you this.
Here's looking at you, Kid.
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
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.
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
It's the absolute quintessential lost love song. This song doesn't leave things so resolved, it's about feeling lost or unresolved in the tragic loss of love. When you're not sure if you've given up on a Love, you want them still to want you, you want them to think of you as a great person so that maybe, just maybe you could give it a go again (if it weren't so fucked up) you want all your dreams to be true, so you'll be more attractive and could go back to them honorably. It's about feeling alone in the world, even at a party or where-have-you, without the one who still keeps your heart, even if they're not keeping it right, and you didn't keep theirs right. It's about feeling bad for hurting someone you love, and having to live with that, with yourself as you try to move on (even though you still want a way back to them, either through you mum, your sister, whoever, 'if she calls home, tell her what I don't have the right to say'). It's about holding on and all the myths you create for the grandeur of your commitment to them, because as messed up as it is/was, it was still profound and defines your heart, the very way you feel. It's about giving someone a thousand chances to choose you, but having it stolen away from both of you in the meantime. And so much more. This song just nails it. Maybe the best love song EVER. Here's looking at you kid, I feel has more to do with the fact that he stills spends lots of time with them even though he can't talk with them, just call them up out of the blue. It's the 'looking at you kid' when you walk away from a party you can't relate to... down to the beach to be with all the loves who maybe the moon will send a message to for you... 'Boys will be boys, and girls have those eyes' i.e., boys will fuck up a good thing, and girls will show you what you did, and it'll tare you to pieces for a long time to come - 'waiting by the moon'. Ya, this song encapsulates the lions share of the tragedy of love in 3 simple verses (and a couple bridges).
wow, a truly brilliant interpretation. thank you
I agree, great interpretation. However, I'd disagree with the idea that he did something wrong. There are a lot of songs out there where someone is alone because they messed up a good thing. Here, it sounds like he's alone even though he did everything he could.
DUDE..
omg.your interpretation is just so accurate.its everything i'm feeling rn. even though my ex was the one who didnt keep my heart right by cheating,i kept wishing things could be different.but anymore.so this song is for him.and thank you for the brilliant interpretation
omg.your interpretation is just so accurate.its everything i'm feeling rn. even though my ex was the one who didnt keep my heart right by cheating,i kept wishing things could be different.but not anymore.so this song is for him.and thank you for the brilliant interpretation
Love this song. It's like such a thing all guys go through. You fall in love in middle school, in high school, in college. and if you're lucky, like me, you wind up with the girl you were meant for all along. You treat her like a princess then you get to say to the other girls: "This is what you missed out on, and you know what, I'm not even bitter and heartbroken because I found the you that wasn't you that I'd been waiting for all along. Hope you're having fun without me." It's like a fuck-you song without any anger. Think of all the girls listening that could have been with a dude like Brian Fallon and are now with some schmuck/ he stuck it to them, and not even in a mean way.
this song is so sad.
Correction Suggestions:
I thought it might have been "side" instead of "sigh" on "the waiter served my coffee with a consolation side", as in a consolation side dish of food or something. But I guess it could be either. Hard to tell
Everything else looks good though, this is one of my favorite songs on the album. Kinda Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts-ish. Awesome
Also you left out one line where he says
"You remind Anna, if she asks why. Tell her it's alright."
this song owns.
does anyone know what "Here's looking at you, Kid." means at the end as the title?
How I view the ending is that the "Here's Looking At You, Kid" is used in the connotation it is in Casablanca. "Here's Looking At You," is used as a way of saying good luck, cus god knows this is gonna keep happening. So I see it as him (the narrator of the song) telling himself good luck cus it's gonna keep happening regardless.
I thought of it more like he was saying good luck and goodbye to all of the women he'd tried to suit.
"by mpentola on 10-02-2008 @ 10:15:19 PM does anyone know what "Here's looking at you, Kid." means at the end as the title?"
It's a line from the film 'Casablanca', and the leading man says it to the leading lady when he tells her that he regretably has to leave her forever (hence the use of the lines 'Hard to tell you this', just like it was hard for the film's character to tell her).
Beautiful song, and the meaning is very straight forward.
Just some food for thought:
This phrase is actually a toast that originated around the fights that occurred in the pubs of old. It was commonplace for a patron to wait until his adversary was drinking from their stein of ale (and their vision was therefore blocked by the stein) to attack ... it bettered their odds of success. Tis led to the development of the glass-bottomed stein in which the drinker could keep the other patrons in their vision even when drinking.
Thus came the toast "Here's looking at you"
I love the mood of this song, it's so....emotional lol. I guess the song's pretty straight foward. There are all these girls in his life that hurt him and he's just saying goodbye to all of them. He's saying that it was a waste that they all didn't want to be with him. I think he's saying goodbye to his past. He probably had some type of feeling for each of these girls, even after they dumped him, and this is a goodbye to those girls but only in his mind, since they all moved on and don't really care about him in real life.
"Here's looking at you, kid" is like "I hope you have a good life, but i'm finally moving on and letting go of you, so farewell."