"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.
Tumble words dry to explain
Grooving pictures that misunderstand
Did they tell you about the fire upstairs
That burns out of hand
Left turn at the end of the road
Take a right at the edge of the world
Straight ahead into where I don't know
Everywhere I'm waiting for
Every mile at the end of the day
Every bend gonna turn this way
Lady Luck's gotta be her own girl
You can only hope she'll be there for you
Take you out to the end of the road
Leave you out at the edge of the world
Stare ahead into where I don't know
Everything I'm waiting for
Dead quiet everything there is to say
Every tongue tied up this way
Lady Luck's gotta be her own girl
You can only hope she'll be there for you
Take you out to the end of the road
Take you out to the edge of the world
Straight ahead into where I don't know
Everywhere I'm waiting for
Every mile at the end of the day
Every bend gonna turn this way
Lady Luck's got to be her own girl
I love the things she's waiting for
Grooving pictures that misunderstand
Did they tell you about the fire upstairs
That burns out of hand
Left turn at the end of the road
Take a right at the edge of the world
Straight ahead into where I don't know
Everywhere I'm waiting for
Every mile at the end of the day
Every bend gonna turn this way
Lady Luck's gotta be her own girl
You can only hope she'll be there for you
Take you out to the end of the road
Leave you out at the edge of the world
Stare ahead into where I don't know
Everything I'm waiting for
Dead quiet everything there is to say
Every tongue tied up this way
Lady Luck's gotta be her own girl
You can only hope she'll be there for you
Take you out to the end of the road
Take you out to the edge of the world
Straight ahead into where I don't know
Everywhere I'm waiting for
Every mile at the end of the day
Every bend gonna turn this way
Lady Luck's got to be her own girl
I love the things she's waiting for
Lyrics submitted by reinha28
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Yo La Tengo
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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