"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.
ell, sometimes I am happy, sometimes sad,
Thinkin' of the good times I have had,
Thinkin' of the places I have been --
Sometimes down, sometimes up, sometimes in.
On my way -- to another workin' day.
On my way -- and I wish that I could stay.
On my way -- but I have no time to play,
And I hope that I will see you on my way.
And I got me a job in Buffalo,
And it's cold when those chilly lake winds blow,
And it's hot when that steel furnace glows;
It was dirty when that steel smoke rose.
On my way -- to another workin' day.
On my way -- and I wish that I could stay.
On my way -- but I have no time to play,
And I hope that I will see you on my way.
Then California called me for a while,
And the sun was shinin' every single mile.
It was gettin' so darned crowded I could cry,
Crossin' land and sea and fallin' from the sky.
On my way -- to another workin' day.
On my way -- and I wish that I could stay.
On my way -- but I have no time to play,
And I hope that I will see you on my way.
And I've been all along the Southern shore,
And the people there were lookin' mighty poor.
They were waitin' for the factories to arrive,
And some of them were fightin' to survive.
On my way -- to another workin' day.
On my way -- and I wish that I could stay.
On my way -- but I have no time to play,
And I hope that I will see you on my way.
Yes, I've been all up and down the line,
But somehow my money stayed behind.
A good payin' job is hard to find,
And the graveyard's lookin' for another sign.
On my way -- to another workin' day.
On my way -- and I wish that I could stay.
On my way -- but I have no time to play,
And I hope that I will see you on my way.
Notes:
Thinkin' of the good times I have had,
Thinkin' of the places I have been --
Sometimes down, sometimes up, sometimes in.
On my way -- to another workin' day.
On my way -- and I wish that I could stay.
On my way -- but I have no time to play,
And I hope that I will see you on my way.
And I got me a job in Buffalo,
And it's cold when those chilly lake winds blow,
And it's hot when that steel furnace glows;
It was dirty when that steel smoke rose.
On my way -- to another workin' day.
On my way -- and I wish that I could stay.
On my way -- but I have no time to play,
And I hope that I will see you on my way.
Then California called me for a while,
And the sun was shinin' every single mile.
It was gettin' so darned crowded I could cry,
Crossin' land and sea and fallin' from the sky.
On my way -- to another workin' day.
On my way -- and I wish that I could stay.
On my way -- but I have no time to play,
And I hope that I will see you on my way.
And I've been all along the Southern shore,
And the people there were lookin' mighty poor.
They were waitin' for the factories to arrive,
And some of them were fightin' to survive.
On my way -- to another workin' day.
On my way -- and I wish that I could stay.
On my way -- but I have no time to play,
And I hope that I will see you on my way.
Yes, I've been all up and down the line,
But somehow my money stayed behind.
A good payin' job is hard to find,
And the graveyard's lookin' for another sign.
On my way -- to another workin' day.
On my way -- and I wish that I could stay.
On my way -- but I have no time to play,
And I hope that I will see you on my way.
Notes:
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery
On My Way Lyrics as written by Phil Ochs
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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