"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.
All I ever asked of you is a copy of Garage Days
And to tell me the truth
Ain't no one watching you exit Ventura Highway
It's like I knew two of you man
The one before and after we shook hands
Taking the calls but in all forgetting what's been said
And after dark in a cab in L.A.
Forget about the meter man these are salad days
Comes on radio, comes on what's being said
No better than Sylvia
No better than Sylvia
(Where you are? Where you've been?)
No better than Sylvia
No better than Sylvia
(Where you are? Where you've been?)
No better than, oh, no no, no no
(Where you are? Where you've been?)
(Where you've gone? Oh, no)
Here's a mark, he's a mark on the page
Dishing out the wisdom of this reflexive age
Dotting the eyes with an eye for defining what you were
So when you do that line tonight
Remember that it came at a steep price
Keep telling yourself there's more to you than her
But you're no better than Sylvia
No better than Sylvia
(Where you've been?)
No better than Sylvia
No better than Sylvia
(Where you are? Where you've been?)
No better than, oh, no no, no no
(Where you've gone? Where you've been?)
(Where you've gone? Oh, no)
No no no, no no no, no no no
Oh, no no no, no no, oh
And to tell me the truth
Ain't no one watching you exit Ventura Highway
It's like I knew two of you man
The one before and after we shook hands
Taking the calls but in all forgetting what's been said
And after dark in a cab in L.A.
Forget about the meter man these are salad days
Comes on radio, comes on what's being said
No better than Sylvia
No better than Sylvia
(Where you are? Where you've been?)
No better than Sylvia
No better than Sylvia
(Where you are? Where you've been?)
No better than, oh, no no, no no
(Where you are? Where you've been?)
(Where you've gone? Oh, no)
Here's a mark, he's a mark on the page
Dishing out the wisdom of this reflexive age
Dotting the eyes with an eye for defining what you were
So when you do that line tonight
Remember that it came at a steep price
Keep telling yourself there's more to you than her
But you're no better than Sylvia
No better than Sylvia
(Where you've been?)
No better than Sylvia
No better than Sylvia
(Where you are? Where you've been?)
No better than, oh, no no, no no
(Where you've gone? Where you've been?)
(Where you've gone? Oh, no)
No no no, no no no, no no no
Oh, no no no, no no, oh
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Ebba Grön
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Page
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Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
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I am wondering who is Sylvia? The only two that spring to mind are Sylvia Plath and Sylvia Saint. The second one maybe makes more sense?