"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.
Sometime up here, watching a cloud
Funny how they shape your thoughts
Right out loud
Some days you laugh
Some days you cry
So deep in the manna
It leaves you stranded high and dry
Keep to yourself, keep it in case
Keep it when you need it for a pretty smile
For your face
Walk out in the sun
Walk out in the rain
Keep on walking
And don't look back here again
Funny how they shape your thoughts
Right out loud
Some days you laugh
Some days you cry
So deep in the manna
It leaves you stranded high and dry
Keep to yourself, keep it in case
Keep it when you need it for a pretty smile
For your face
Walk out in the sun
Walk out in the rain
Keep on walking
And don't look back here again
Lyrics submitted by mrtrout, edited by JohnDiFool2
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