"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.
I sat in the swamp with a little pink piggy
Who loved roller-skating and playing pretend
The boy that she loved was a real snackmaster
The world was a beach ball and we were all friends
Then he died alone and the last time I saw her
It looked like the reaper had rapped on her door
She said "Do you remember singing ice ice baby with me
Laying down on the reef bathroom floor?"
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
Jimmy and Johnny just stare at each other
While their mother hangs in the Holiday Inn
Your funeral on your son's seventh birthday
Is the worst thing you could ever give him
I bet he'd like flowers, balloons, and a card
"Unconditionally yours, all my love, from your mom"
Much more than wearing that little black suit
And saying goodbye forever to you
I haven't forgotten the times that I teased you
And everyone else pointed at you and laughed
Permanent damage was not my intention
But I could not foresee the aftermath of my actions
I was so small
Wanted to grow in the eyes of my enemies
For awhile I felt tall
But they knocked me back down now I'm here on my knees
Looking at my face in a bed of pine needles
And wondering if anyone stills knows my name
I turned full circle and another half circle
And tried to go back the same way that I came
"Look alive Dawson, your heels are dragging
I never knew anyone could move so slow
You may be a hotshot now, but you are still a cow
A big fat F, why don't you just go home?"
I guess that that means I did not make the team
I'll just lay on the ground and look up at the trees
The old bedford oak, the tall evergreens
This is not a joke, this is not a dream
Not sleeping, just resting in pieces that I wish were peaches
I saw your dad later that day
Maybe he shot himself, could've been someone else
Asked me to tell you what he had to say
"You don't have to end up with people who self destruct
Go find a lover who will never leave
Fear of abandonment, self hate, and discontent
Will go away when you let yourself grieve
And forget about me, forget about me, forget about me"
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
Who loved roller-skating and playing pretend
The boy that she loved was a real snackmaster
The world was a beach ball and we were all friends
Then he died alone and the last time I saw her
It looked like the reaper had rapped on her door
She said "Do you remember singing ice ice baby with me
Laying down on the reef bathroom floor?"
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
Jimmy and Johnny just stare at each other
While their mother hangs in the Holiday Inn
Your funeral on your son's seventh birthday
Is the worst thing you could ever give him
I bet he'd like flowers, balloons, and a card
"Unconditionally yours, all my love, from your mom"
Much more than wearing that little black suit
And saying goodbye forever to you
I haven't forgotten the times that I teased you
And everyone else pointed at you and laughed
Permanent damage was not my intention
But I could not foresee the aftermath of my actions
I was so small
Wanted to grow in the eyes of my enemies
For awhile I felt tall
But they knocked me back down now I'm here on my knees
Looking at my face in a bed of pine needles
And wondering if anyone stills knows my name
I turned full circle and another half circle
And tried to go back the same way that I came
"Look alive Dawson, your heels are dragging
I never knew anyone could move so slow
You may be a hotshot now, but you are still a cow
A big fat F, why don't you just go home?"
I guess that that means I did not make the team
I'll just lay on the ground and look up at the trees
The old bedford oak, the tall evergreens
This is not a joke, this is not a dream
Not sleeping, just resting in pieces that I wish were peaches
I saw your dad later that day
Maybe he shot himself, could've been someone else
Asked me to tell you what he had to say
"You don't have to end up with people who self destruct
Go find a lover who will never leave
Fear of abandonment, self hate, and discontent
Will go away when you let yourself grieve
And forget about me, forget about me, forget about me"
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
How could I ever forget? I could never forget
I will never forget
Lyrics submitted by skyphilis
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Page
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This song reminds me of being bullied at school and wanting to commit suicide But anyways! An interpretation: First verse-From the point of view of someone whose friend's boyfriend/lover killed himself ("then he died alone") and when the lady saw her friend again she looked awful, destroyed emotionally, and then the friend starts talking about how it used to be, back when she was happy ("do you remember singing ice ice baby with me") Second verse-From Kimya's point of view, talking to/about Jimmy and Johnny's dead mother. You couldve done so much more for them than killing yourself "I bet he'd like flowers, balloons, and a card "Unconditionally yours, all my love, from your mom" Much more than wearing that little black suit and saying goodbye forever to you" Third verse- From the point of view of a bully who pushed someone to the edge and they commited suicide. They feel bad about it now the person has died. Next 3 verses-From the point of view of the person who is being bullied, Kimya. Last verse-This is the person who is commiting suicide. They think the friends and loved ones who dont want them to die should find someone else, someone better who wont die on them, and just forget them. Of course, they wont do that. "How could I ever forget?" I love this song so much. Hope all my blathering made sense.