"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.
So far, there's no doubt
Things are working out
Between us, we can cover every base
You're cute, I'm not
I'm sharp, you've got
A certain way of spilling all over the place
But you just keep me warm
And I'll fill out that form
And when they kick me out again
Tell them to let me back in
Look nice and they won't think twice about it
Baby, because there's no stopping us
With my brains, your looks
Your bait, my hooks
We could catch a thousand gravy trains
But it would be bad
If all we had
Was my looks and your brains
So hold my hand
Just like we planned
So you won't get lost and I won't get thrown out
If they get wise
Just flash those eyes
And I will give them something to get wise about
You just make your splash
And I'll supply the cash
When some comes in
It's looking kind of thin and glum
But some will come along
You'll be glad we stayed, cause we'll have it made
With your looks, my brains
Your tracks, my trains
We're re-writing all the record books
Just study the floor plan
Be glad we got more than
Your brains and my looks
I wonder if under pressure we could make it on our own
Could we stand it, empty-handed and stranded and all alone?
But let's not find out what that would be about
I'll stick with you
You let yourself be stuck to
You and me have a legacy
That we can pass on to our kids
They could get lucky
With my brains, your looks
Your knights, my rooks
They could really win a lot of games
But just think, what if
They end up with
My looks and your brains?
Things are working out
Between us, we can cover every base
You're cute, I'm not
I'm sharp, you've got
A certain way of spilling all over the place
But you just keep me warm
And I'll fill out that form
And when they kick me out again
Tell them to let me back in
Look nice and they won't think twice about it
Baby, because there's no stopping us
With my brains, your looks
Your bait, my hooks
We could catch a thousand gravy trains
But it would be bad
If all we had
Was my looks and your brains
So hold my hand
Just like we planned
So you won't get lost and I won't get thrown out
If they get wise
Just flash those eyes
And I will give them something to get wise about
You just make your splash
And I'll supply the cash
When some comes in
It's looking kind of thin and glum
But some will come along
You'll be glad we stayed, cause we'll have it made
With your looks, my brains
Your tracks, my trains
We're re-writing all the record books
Just study the floor plan
Be glad we got more than
Your brains and my looks
I wonder if under pressure we could make it on our own
Could we stand it, empty-handed and stranded and all alone?
But let's not find out what that would be about
I'll stick with you
You let yourself be stuck to
You and me have a legacy
That we can pass on to our kids
They could get lucky
With my brains, your looks
Your knights, my rooks
They could really win a lot of games
But just think, what if
They end up with
My looks and your brains?
Lyrics submitted by xartprojectx, edited by embassyrow
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Fast Car
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oh its on! true this is very clever. but one could argue that every and any other MTX song is as/more clever than this. for isntance, even in the same album...Swiss Army Girlfriend. Me=1 Tom=0