This shows us that they are still not financially stable as they live in a shelter also suggesting that they do not have a house currently.

“Pays all our bills” suggests that even though the speaker does not have a high paying job, she is still paying all of the bills.This also shows us that she has to take on a huge amount of responsibility as she has to manage paying all of their bills by herself.

This idea of a simple action of wrapping his arm around her shoulder giving her comfort shows how the addressee felt comforted from a simple act as she had not received comfort her whole life.

“Felt like I was drunk” shows how attracted the person felt to the fast speeds of the car to the point where she felt drunk from it, and that it gave her a natural high. Besides this, the speed of the car going so fast perhaps gives her a sense of euphoria, because she is so happy she is finally leaving her previous life behind her. It is also quite a dangerous image as it recalls her own drunk father, and how his own life went downhill after becoming a drunk, perhaps as a foreshadowing of how this ‘fast car’ would lead her down a difficult road, just as getting drunk did to her father.

"Leave tonight or live and die this way", this shows the immediacy of the speaker's decision and how she wants it to happen as soon as possible or else they will inevitably die an unfulfilling and worthless life that they have lived until this point, hence the words “die this way”.

The idea of taking flight is associated with freedom through detaching yourself from your worldly tether and leaving the ground beneath your feet. Therefore, for the writer to ask the addressee if they can fly away, it suggests that she wants to completely and utterly leave her current life behind.

This suggests that the addressee’s mother felt that her father was being a burden and could not give her the life that she wanted. This is a parallel to how the speaker wants to leave her life behind as she does not know what it "means to be living", leaving her father behind to start anew.

“Finally see what it means to be living” suggests that the persona and the addressee have not been able to truly understand and experience a fulfilled and content life in all their years. Because of this, the persona hopes she can see the true meaning of life when she crosses the border.

"got nothing to lose" extends the metaphor by almost saying that the persona is taking a chance on this trip. But because she has nothing to lose, anything from here is better.

The meaning behind the number 'zero' connotes the idea of a new beginning and starting from scratch giving us the idea that the speaker feels that her life up until this point has been unfulfilling.

Emphasizes the idea of "I want a ticket to anywhere" as she is fine with any place just as long as it is not her current home.

The fact that she is willing to make a deal and entrusting this person with her life and the person happens to be in a relationship with her it shows how their relationship is purely contractual and how the persona wants to desperately escape.

“he says his body’s too old for working” suggests that the addressee's father feels that his body prevents him from getting a job and supporting the family.

"His body's too young to look like his" But here, the persona reveals that her father is not actually very old, but gives the impression of that because the alcohol that her father consumes has damaged his body to the point of looking years older than he actually is, preventing him from working.

• Fast Car is a song written and performed by American folk rock singer Tracy Chapman in 1986.
• As quoted by Tracy Chapman in an interview in 1986 with Canadian radio station CIDR, “I think that it was a song about my parents…..a new life together and my mother was anxious to leave home. [They]tried to make a life for themselves and it was very difficult going….my mother didn’t have a high school diploma and my father was a few years older….hard for him to create the ideal life that he wanted…in a sense I think they came together thinking that they would have a better chance of making it”
• The song became popular around the 1980s after Tracy Chapman performed it at the 70th birthday Nelson Mandela tribute.
• The song is narrative, and tells the story from the point of view of a woman who wants to get out of her hometown to leave her problems behind, such as taking care of her alcoholic father, after her mother left the family. She finds the addressee, a lover with the titular fast car, and sees it as an opportunity to get out of her hometown at last and start life anew. However, the reality is far from that, as the song continues, and reveals how even after moving to the city, she is still working a dead-end job and living in a homeless shelter, while her lover is unemployed. It parallels her own parents’ relationship, as her lover becomes a father and an alcoholic, and their relationship grows rocky. Eventually she decides that she does not need him anymore, and tells him to either clean up his act or leave.
• Hope and resilience are major themes in this song, as the persona continues to persevere despite the many challenges that are thrown at her in life, from her upbringing to her newfound problems.However, she remains optimistic and presses on, and we find hope in how she eventually achieves independence and supposedly leaves her problems behind.
• One can interpret the title ‘Fast Car’ as a symbol of escapism. However, as the song goes on, it is revealed that getting out of a situation is far from easy and even if you start anew, there will always be problems and challenges in life to overcome. Additionally, sometimes, you will find that people who are close to you make irresponsible and selfish decisions which affect you .In order to carry on a meaningful and purposeful life, you may have to give up on them. To prevent this from happening, it is essential to become independent and not place all your faith in someone else, just as the persona has done in Fast Car.

“Live with the bottle” is an euphemism for how the person's father is addicted to alcohol (‘the bottle’ is a metonym for alcohol) to the point of living with it despite the effects on his health. “That’s the way it is” is a phrase often associated with giving up and accepting hard truths, and the casual tone suggests that the addressee has resigned herself to the fact that her father will never be able to curb his addiction in his life.

The Border is a symbol of how her life was limited by her surroundings, and once crossed, allows her to escape her terrible life for greater possibilities.

Won't have to drive to far” suggests that she is content to leave her immediate surroundings and just wants to get away, without having to go too far. She has low expectations to be fulfilled.

This suggests that the speaker is not looking for a more grand life as she only saves just a ‘little bit of money’ to get out of her situation.

Suggests that she is from a lower class family as she works at a service industry job. It suggests she comes from an underprivileged background, and does not have enough qualifications to get a higher paying job.

This line shows that the persona wants the addressee to be together in the situation when they get out of the city.

The words, “got nothing to prove" suggests that there is no hidden intention behind her desire to get away and highlights how genuine her decision is.

The song opens by addressing her lover and establishing that he is the one with the fast car and not her. The fast car symbolizes a thrilling escape for the persona from something that we don't know of yet.

The idea of to get 'somewhere' suggests that they are in a dark place and want to get out of their situation together to have a future.

"I want" suggests that she herself is longing to escape. "A ticket to anywhere" suggests that she doesn't care where she goes just as long as she is not here.

This shows a lack of responsibility of the addressee and disregard for his children as shown by how he sees his friends more than he sees them,his own family.Additionally,this supports the idea that he is irresponsible and lackadaisical due to how he, who not only continues to stay out late drinking, has spent more time with friends and enjoying himself causing him to ignore the needs of his own family.

“Drinking late at the bar” is a sharp contrast between how hard the persona works and how lackadaisical the addressee is. Additionally,there is a parallel to how the persona’s father, much like the addressee consumes alcohol after which became a burden for the addressee and forcing her to quit her education to look after him.The similarity between the persona's father and her partner's repeated consumption of alcohol, and lack of contribution to the family ,may be a warning to us,the listeners,that history may repeat itself for the worse.

“Take your fast car and keep on driving” is a sharp contrast to how the speaker at first,was desperate to get out of her situation even going to the point to strike a deal with the addressee for him to drive them away. Now, however,the speaker has no need for him as,much like her father in the past,he is inevitably becoming a burden as shown by how he too still does not have a job and repeatedly goes drinking. The word "take" is spoken in a firm tone and an imperative to get the point across to the addressee that she no longer wants to support him and has decided to find her ideal life by herself rather than relying on the addressee who she has given up on seeing how he is going down the same path as her father who was one of the main causes for her unhappiness and meaningless life initially. “I’ve got no plans” suggests that now that the speaker is slowly finding her way to the life that she wants, she has no longer any need to escape from her new life. The word "take" is an imperative, and a very clear instruction and command to her partner, showing how determined she is to get him out of her life.

“Somebody’s got to take care of him” suggests that the speaker was concerned about her father and felt obligated to help him, not necessarily out of genuine want.

This reflects how disappointed the speaker feels showing that she had always believed in him,but he had refused to change.

This shows how the persona is optimistic and hopeful that the situation will change inevitably.

“I know” suggests that the person is confident that she will be able to get out of the situation even though things have not changed yet.This shows her optimistic attitude towards life as she still hopes that she can change her life even though it has not yet.

This shows us that her life didn't change even after going to the city as she is still working in a service job, and essentially not going anywhere.

“Cruising ” suggests that they are not using the fast car for its full purpose and instead of getting out of their situation,just using it to move around the city slowly. The act of cruising also suggests that they are meandering, with no real purpose or reason, which implies that their lives are going nowhere, even after the initial promise that the city would make their lives better.

“Be someone” suggests that the speaker feels that she,at the moment,is not anyone at all as her life has not amounted to anything.However, the comfort and warm feeling she felt inside the addressee’s car gave her hope that she could build a life and, actually achieve something. The repetition of the words ‘be someone’ is meant to give herself comfort to actually believe that she could get meaning from her life.

“So I quit school” suggests that she had no formal qualifications, and seems to blame her father for putting her in her current situation, and it evokes sympathy for her coming from a broken family not of her own choosing and placed in a difficult position.

This line shows that the persona wants the adressee to be together in the situation when they get out of the city.

"got nothing to lose" extends the metaphor by almost saying that the persona is taking a chance on this trip but because she has nothing to lose anything from here is better

The number 'zero' represents the absence of anything which in this case being used as a metaphor to represent how the persona is in posession of nothing.

Reinforces the idea of 'i want a ticket to anywhere' as she is fine with any place just as long as it is not her home

The idea of to get 'somewhere' suggests that they are in a dark place and want to get out of their situation together to have a future

The fact that she is willing to make a deal and entrusting this person with her life and the person happens to be in a relationship with her it shows how their relationship is purely contractual and how the persona wants to desperately escape.

"I want suggests that she herself is longing to escape. "A ticket to anywhere" suggests that she doesn't care where she goes just as long as she is not here.

The persona seems to be telling the addresee,her boyfriend that he has a fast car. The fast car represents an escape route from her home and away from her predicament