Too Late (The Cars song)

Too Late

Artist The Cars Published 2011-05-10 Composer Ric Ocasek Genre New wave Themes Friendship, Introspection Rating

Too Late is a new wave song by The Cars. It is track 2 on Move Like This, released on 2011-05-10 album, and written by Ric Ocasek.

Being a fan of The Cars from the 1980s, I was very surprised when I saw they had cut a new album almost 25 years after their last studio release. I listened to it and was thrilled to find that they still had a wonderful new wave sound.

Although the lyrics are a bit ambiguous, the song appears to be about someone who is a bit messed up, not just from typical problems, but also from their own fantasies, but they can always stay grounded enough when they're around their lover who encourages them to deal with their problems and celebrate living.

Personal

Too Late is my favorite song on the album, and now one of my favorite songs by The Cars in general. I really love the synthesizer sound, and Ocasek's line delivery, and I especially love how the lyrics seem like they're going to be typical, but they end up being unexpected.

Lyrics

I could dream about
Things that never end:
Wishes on a star,
and something round the bend.

I remember times,
Things were pretty clear.
I felt the pressure pawns,
Threw away the fears.

I believe in you,
And your sultry side.
And I would never jump
Your never-ending ride.

My feet are on the ground.
I'm in the lost and found.
I might sway and tip,
but I'll never jump the ship.

I'm never gonna get that crazy.
I'm never gonna be shot down.
You know it takes a lot to faze me
Whenever you're around.

And you say,
"It's too late."
And all the storms in life
You have to contemplate.
And you say,
"It's too late."
When the mornings rise
You got to celebrate, yeah.

Well you may cross the line,
Or suck a clementine,
But I know for sure,
I need you never more.
There's dreams on the fringe,
There's lovers on the binge.
Nobody really knows,
That's just the way it goes.

I'm never gonna get that crazy.
I'm never gonna be shot down.
You know it takes a lot to faze me
Whenever you're around.

And you say,
"It's too late."
And all the storms in life,
You got to contemplate.
And you say,
"It's too late."
When the mornings rise
You got to celebrate.
Yeah, yeah.

Well, I can take a fall,
Or hang it on the wall.
No matter what you think,
I'm always on the brink.
But, you can throw a twist,
And I can move like this.
They give you lots of slack,
Then something pulls you back.

I'm never gonna get that crazy.
I'm never gonna be shot down.
You know it takes a lot to faze me
Whenever you're around.

And you say,
"It's too late."
And all the storms in life,
You got to contemplate.
You say,
"It's too late."
When the mornings rise
You got to celebrate, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.

Videos

Album version.

Links

 

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Move_Like_This - Wikipedia page for Move Like This.