"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.
Do you remember the 21st night of September?
Love was changing the mind of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away
Our hearts were ringing
In the key that our souls were singing.
As we danced in the night,
Remember - how the stars stole the night away, yeah yeah yeah.
Hey hey hey,
Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in September
Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day
Ba duda, ba duda, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, ba duda
My thoughts are with you
Holding hands with your heart to see you
Only blue talk and love,
Remember - how we knew love was here to stay
Now December found the love that we shared in September.
Only blue talk and love,
Remember - the true love we share today
Hey hey hey
Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in September
Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day
And we say
Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in September
Ba de ya - golden dreams were shiny days
Those bells were ringing, uh uh
Our souls were singing.
Do you remember every cloudy day - yau!
And we say
Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in September
Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day
And we say
Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in September
Ba de ya - golden dreams were shiny days
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya - De ya... X2
Love was changing the mind of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away
Our hearts were ringing
In the key that our souls were singing.
As we danced in the night,
Remember - how the stars stole the night away, yeah yeah yeah.
Hey hey hey,
Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in September
Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day
Ba duda, ba duda, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, ba duda
My thoughts are with you
Holding hands with your heart to see you
Only blue talk and love,
Remember - how we knew love was here to stay
Now December found the love that we shared in September.
Only blue talk and love,
Remember - the true love we share today
Hey hey hey
Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in September
Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day
And we say
Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in September
Ba de ya - golden dreams were shiny days
Those bells were ringing, uh uh
Our souls were singing.
Do you remember every cloudy day - yau!
And we say
Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in September
Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day
And we say
Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in September
Ba de ya - golden dreams were shiny days
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya - De ya... X2
Lyrics submitted by ruben, edited by YuzuMoriyama
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Fast Car
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Page
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I just came here to see if the "Ba de ya de ya de ya" part of this song was really "Party art-y art-y on!" I guess it's not...but i'm gonna keep singing it that way anyhow. It's a great party song, I think.