In Tracy Chapman's song "fast car", the speaker deals with her reality and longs for a better life situation. By using the metaphor "fast car", she wants to describe an incisive moment in her life. The woman supports this with words which are associated with this conveyance and talks about the escape from her old, deadlocked life to a new place, where she wants to be able to start all over again.
The speaker opens the song with expressing her desire of a conveyance, that takes her away from her present surroundings. She is longing for somebody to rescue her, a company that takes her into a better life, where she can be able to start all over again. With her statement "you got a fast car", the speaker is Looking at the first two lines in the beginning of the song, evidence can be found for her despair. "You got a fast car / I want a ticket to anywhere". She wants to leave her home instantly "ticket to anywhere" --> does not have to be a car but just something with which she can go away --> fast = instantly;
"You got a fast car / is it fast enough so we can fly away" seems like she is in a hurry; not drive but fly away. they have to make a decision instantly "leave tonight or live and die this way" --> seems like it would be the last chance for her to flee... pressure
"You got a fast car / we go cruising to entertain ourselves" --> not to flee but entertainment.
"I got no plans I ain't going nowhere" She does not want to leave her family the way her mother did. The speaker knows too good how it feels to be left. Yet, at the same time, she does not want to live with her former love anymore as he strongly reminds her of her own childhood, of her father. That life, from which she fled together with her boyfriend seems to catch up with her and for this reason she asks him to leave her: "so take your fast car and keep on driving". But this is not just an order. She seems to hope that if he takes his car, the same as they used to drive in, that he would find the same she did --> new place to restart --> not ending up like her father
