"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.
They put a parking lot on a piece of land
Where the supermarket used to stand
Before that they put up a bowling alley
On the site that used to be the local palais
That's where the big bands used to come and play
My sister went there on a Saturday
Come dancing
All her boyfriends used to come and call
Why not come dancing?
It's only natural
Another Saturday, another date
She would be ready but she's always make them wait
In the hallway, in anticipation
He didn't know the night would end up in frustration
He'd end up blowing all his wages for the week
All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek
Come dancing
That's how they did it when I was just a kid
And when they said "come dancing"
My sister always did
My sister should have come in at midnight
And my mum would always sit up and wait
It always ended up in a big row
When my sister used to get home late
Out of my window, I could see them in the moonlight
Two silhouettes saying goodnight by the garden gate
The day they knocked down the palais
My sister stood and cried
The day they knocked down the palais
Part of my childhood died, just died
Now I'm grown up and playing in a band
And there's a car park where the palais used to stand
My sister's married and she lives on an estate
Her daughters go out, now it's her turn to wait
She knows they get away with things she never could
But if I asked her, I wonder if she would
Come dancing
Come on, sister, have yourself a ball
Don't be afraid to come dancing
It's only natural
Come dancing
Just like the palais on a Saturday
And all her friends would come dancing
While the big bands used to play
Where the supermarket used to stand
Before that they put up a bowling alley
On the site that used to be the local palais
That's where the big bands used to come and play
My sister went there on a Saturday
Come dancing
All her boyfriends used to come and call
Why not come dancing?
It's only natural
Another Saturday, another date
She would be ready but she's always make them wait
In the hallway, in anticipation
He didn't know the night would end up in frustration
He'd end up blowing all his wages for the week
All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek
Come dancing
That's how they did it when I was just a kid
And when they said "come dancing"
My sister always did
My sister should have come in at midnight
And my mum would always sit up and wait
It always ended up in a big row
When my sister used to get home late
Out of my window, I could see them in the moonlight
Two silhouettes saying goodnight by the garden gate
The day they knocked down the palais
My sister stood and cried
The day they knocked down the palais
Part of my childhood died, just died
Now I'm grown up and playing in a band
And there's a car park where the palais used to stand
My sister's married and she lives on an estate
Her daughters go out, now it's her turn to wait
She knows they get away with things she never could
But if I asked her, I wonder if she would
Come dancing
Come on, sister, have yourself a ball
Don't be afraid to come dancing
It's only natural
Come dancing
Just like the palais on a Saturday
And all her friends would come dancing
While the big bands used to play
Lyrics submitted by philliephan24
Come Dancing Lyrics as written by Ray Davies
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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kinks cover...love this song, so sweet and sad
IT'S SPELLED "PALAIS" a large, often ornate building used for entertaining or exhibitions.
NOT "palley