"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.
Blind me, erased what was
Stillborn I have become
The feelings I once felt are now dead and gone
I've waited here for you for so very long
So empty, just a shell of a man
Stillborn, this I understand
The feelings I once felt are now dead and gone
I've waited here for you for so very long
Stillborn I have become
The feelings I once felt are now dead and gone
I've waited here for you for so very long
So empty, just a shell of a man
Stillborn, this I understand
The feelings I once felt are now dead and gone
I've waited here for you for so very long
Lyrics submitted by ricoetc
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Fast Car
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Actually, the real story behind the song is, they were in the recording studio when Zakk decided he wanted to add another song to the list so that night he left and he and the drummer sat around and "threw some shit that sounded good, together" he said it took them 20 minutes to put the wholeguitar and drum part together. then they just sdded some lyrics. there was no REAL meaning to this song. all this came from an interview saw on a dvd form guitar world.
so thats the real meaning to the song.