"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.
Can you say good-bye, without ever leavin'?
That's some sad soul to keep
Amanda awakes in a moment believin'
She's better off stayin' asleep
So she drives by the station
Imaginin' somewhere, sings a slow, slow, song
Now, she's waitin' at the stoplights
With no where to go
But in our town there's just one stoplight
Oh, I wish she would know
There's a world outside her window
Anywhere the wind blows
Anywhere's Amanda's dream
She sits late at night by the light of a candle
With wishes that never come true
And her hope gets so high they're too hard to handle
She stares as they fade out of view
And of these some words have led her to nowhere
Except a slow, slow, song
Now, she's waitin' at the stoplights
With no where to go
But in our town there's just one stoplight
Oh, I wish she would know
There's a world outside her window
Anywhere the wind blows
Anywhere's Amanda's dream
Well she sleeps like a girl
But she wakes like a woman
She sleeps like a girl
But she wakes like a woman, like a woman
Waitin' at the stoplights
With nowhere to go
But in our town there's just one stoplight
I wish she would know
There's a world outside her window
Anywhere the wind blows
Anywhere's Amanda's dream
Na na na
Na na na
Na na na
That's some sad soul to keep
Amanda awakes in a moment believin'
She's better off stayin' asleep
So she drives by the station
Imaginin' somewhere, sings a slow, slow, song
Now, she's waitin' at the stoplights
With no where to go
But in our town there's just one stoplight
Oh, I wish she would know
There's a world outside her window
Anywhere the wind blows
Anywhere's Amanda's dream
She sits late at night by the light of a candle
With wishes that never come true
And her hope gets so high they're too hard to handle
She stares as they fade out of view
And of these some words have led her to nowhere
Except a slow, slow, song
Now, she's waitin' at the stoplights
With no where to go
But in our town there's just one stoplight
Oh, I wish she would know
There's a world outside her window
Anywhere the wind blows
Anywhere's Amanda's dream
Well she sleeps like a girl
But she wakes like a woman
She sleeps like a girl
But she wakes like a woman, like a woman
Waitin' at the stoplights
With nowhere to go
But in our town there's just one stoplight
I wish she would know
There's a world outside her window
Anywhere the wind blows
Anywhere's Amanda's dream
Na na na
Na na na
Na na na
Lyrics submitted by ThreeMilesDown
Amanda's Dream Lyrics as written by Teitur Lassen Jeffrey Cohen
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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Great version of a great song,
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Page
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She sits late at night by the light of a candle With wishes that never come true Her hopes get so high they’re too hard to handle She stares as they fade out of view
This song is about disappointment I think. Its about having so many grandoise dreams for yourself and ending up working at McDonalds for minimum wage for the rest of your life. And you watch your dreams fade away right in front of your eyes.
So she drives by the station Imagining somewhere Sings a slow, slow song Now she’s waiting at the stoplights With nowhere to go In our town there’s just one stoplight
This is about wanting to be anywhere but in this dead end town that you live in. Maybe its some rural town that is barely on the map, hence the one stoplight. And this peson may know in their heart of hearts they are going to live and die here.
Amanda awakes in a moment believing She’s better off staying asleep
This I think is saying that she would rather be asleep and dreaming than awake and have the realization she is still in the same place she has always been.
I think this song is about all the dreams about being famous or loved or even just making it out of some undesirable situation.