"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.
My body's burnin' like a lava from a Maura Loa
My heart's crackin' like a Krakatoa
Ooh Krakatoa, east of Java, molten bodies, fiery lava
Fire, fire, burnin' bright
Turn on your love lava
Turn on your lava light
Fire, oh volcano, over you
Don't let your lava love turn to stone
Keep it burnin'
Keep it burnin' here at home
Ooh hot lava
Ooh hot lava
My love may be as high as the highest volcano
But the altitude is way too high
Well it gets so cold when you look at me that way, yeah
I just want to have that hot lava
Lovin' me away
My love's mountin'
My love's eruptin' like a red hot volcano
Fire, oh volcano, over you
I gotta lotta lava love locked up inside me
My love's a lava bomb
Knock you in the head
Knock you in the head
Kick you in the bed
(Over you) hot lava
Oooo it's so hot
Oh, It's burnin' up in here
Oh oh look out, it's about to erupt
Ooh ooh my body's burnin' like a lava from a Mauna Loa
My heart is breakin' like a Krakatoa
Hot fire, red-hot fire
Lava, oh oh oh, oh oh, hot lava
Hot lava, red-hot lava
Hot lava, red, hot lava
Oh hot lava
I'm gonna let it go
Let it flow like Pompeii or Herculaneum
Let it sizzle, let it rise
Don't let your lava love flow turn to stone
Keep it burnin'
Keep it burnin' here at home
I'm gonna jump in a crater
See ya later
Ooh hot lava
Ooh hot lava
Hot lava
Oh hot lava!
Hot lava
Red hot lava uh
Yeah
My heart's crackin' like a Krakatoa
Ooh Krakatoa, east of Java, molten bodies, fiery lava
Fire, fire, burnin' bright
Turn on your love lava
Turn on your lava light
Fire, oh volcano, over you
Don't let your lava love turn to stone
Keep it burnin'
Keep it burnin' here at home
Ooh hot lava
Ooh hot lava
My love may be as high as the highest volcano
But the altitude is way too high
Well it gets so cold when you look at me that way, yeah
I just want to have that hot lava
Lovin' me away
My love's mountin'
My love's eruptin' like a red hot volcano
Fire, oh volcano, over you
I gotta lotta lava love locked up inside me
My love's a lava bomb
Knock you in the head
Knock you in the head
Kick you in the bed
(Over you) hot lava
Oooo it's so hot
Oh, It's burnin' up in here
Oh oh look out, it's about to erupt
Ooh ooh my body's burnin' like a lava from a Mauna Loa
My heart is breakin' like a Krakatoa
Hot fire, red-hot fire
Lava, oh oh oh, oh oh, hot lava
Hot lava, red-hot lava
Hot lava, red, hot lava
Oh hot lava
I'm gonna let it go
Let it flow like Pompeii or Herculaneum
Let it sizzle, let it rise
Don't let your lava love flow turn to stone
Keep it burnin'
Keep it burnin' here at home
I'm gonna jump in a crater
See ya later
Ooh hot lava
Ooh hot lava
Hot lava
Oh hot lava!
Hot lava
Red hot lava uh
Yeah
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muff-diving? really? dont listen to the b-52s much do you?