"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.
Woke up in the '20s and there were flappers and fruits in white suits
And it was right before the crash, we got thrashed throughout the '30s
Queuing up for soup with scabby sores
Then they sent us off to war
We came back in the '40s and there were wheelchairs, guns and tickertape
We poured it on the floor and we made love to the interstates
We got shiftless in the '50s, holding hands and going steady
Twisting into dark parts of the large midwestern cities
Tripped right through the '60s with some blissful little hippie
Some Kennedy's got shot while you were screwing San Francisco
And the '70s got heavy, we woke up on bloody carpets
Got tangled up in gas lines, and I guess that's where it started
The '80s almost killed me, let's not recall them quite so fondly
Some Kennedy OD'ed while we watched on MTV
And in the '90s we were wired and well connected
Put it all down on technology and lost everything we invested
We gotta start it off with a positive jam
We gotta start it with a positive jam, man
Gotta start it with a positive jam
All the sniffling indie kids, hold steady
And all you clustered-up clever kids, hold steady
And I got bored when I didn't have a band
And so I started a band, man
We're gonna start it with a positive jam
Hold steady
And it was right before the crash, we got thrashed throughout the '30s
Queuing up for soup with scabby sores
Then they sent us off to war
We came back in the '40s and there were wheelchairs, guns and tickertape
We poured it on the floor and we made love to the interstates
We got shiftless in the '50s, holding hands and going steady
Twisting into dark parts of the large midwestern cities
Tripped right through the '60s with some blissful little hippie
Some Kennedy's got shot while you were screwing San Francisco
And the '70s got heavy, we woke up on bloody carpets
Got tangled up in gas lines, and I guess that's where it started
The '80s almost killed me, let's not recall them quite so fondly
Some Kennedy OD'ed while we watched on MTV
And in the '90s we were wired and well connected
Put it all down on technology and lost everything we invested
We gotta start it off with a positive jam
We gotta start it with a positive jam, man
Gotta start it with a positive jam
All the sniffling indie kids, hold steady
And all you clustered-up clever kids, hold steady
And I got bored when I didn't have a band
And so I started a band, man
We're gonna start it with a positive jam
Hold steady
Lyrics submitted by leonperkin
Positive Jam Lyrics as written by Craig Finn
Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
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In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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HAHA WERE GONNA START IT WITH A POSITIVE JAM!