"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.
Hi there. Remember Lee? He's the one you said had two left feet and he danced like a paraplegic. Boy that made Lee sick. You know that you said that he was fat until that time you saw him hanging with her. So, no thank you. Disgrace, get out of my face. Security, please come and escort her from my view. Why thank you... no tip for you. Please don't hate me. I'm poor just like you. It's that I know that when all is said and done. Here comes another one. Another one. Here comes another one. Listen leave me alone. Here's some reason why you must stay home and never go to our next show. Cuz I'd never stoop so low. All that time that you thought that you were bad. I said to myself "You are the night stalker." And now that I've seen you I know that it's all true. Those things you said weren't even like you. So how does it feel now to finally be dissed? Now you know that you'll never be missed. It's just that I know that when all is said and done. Here comes another one.
Lyrics submitted by krynge
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Fast Car
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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This song is about. This song is about how before we got signed no bands would give us the time of day and suddenly with a contract in our hand we were now accepted. Lame.