"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 used to have a job
An' I was doin' very well
Depression came along
An' everybody start to yell
'where'd they go, them good ol' days,
'an all that crap we used to sell? '
Now I'm in hot-plate heaven,
At the green hotel
Republicans is fine,
If you're a multi-millionaire
Democrats is fair,
If all you own is what you wear
Neither of 'em's really right,
'cause neithor of 'em care
'bout that hot-plate heaven,
'cause they ain't been there
They really oughta go
'n find out how the hall-way smell --
They'd benefit to know
'bout what the bums in there could tell
(of course we're only dreamin',
But I s'pose it's just as well
That's all you get to dream
Up in the green hotel)
Nature didn't put me here
An' neither did my fate --
I musta been some even ol'
Republican candidate!
He's over here in washington,
But I wish he was in hell
'cause I'm in hot-plate heaven
At the green hotel
Things is slightly better now;
They hope we will forget
The misery of 'trickle down',
An' jelly-bean etiquette
The regal presidential style
Has simply not worn well,
An' neither has my rags,
Up in the green hotel
An' I was doin' very well
Depression came along
An' everybody start to yell
'where'd they go, them good ol' days,
'an all that crap we used to sell? '
Now I'm in hot-plate heaven,
At the green hotel
Republicans is fine,
If you're a multi-millionaire
Democrats is fair,
If all you own is what you wear
Neither of 'em's really right,
'cause neithor of 'em care
'bout that hot-plate heaven,
'cause they ain't been there
They really oughta go
'n find out how the hall-way smell --
They'd benefit to know
'bout what the bums in there could tell
(of course we're only dreamin',
But I s'pose it's just as well
That's all you get to dream
Up in the green hotel)
Nature didn't put me here
An' neither did my fate --
I musta been some even ol'
Republican candidate!
He's over here in washington,
But I wish he was in hell
'cause I'm in hot-plate heaven
At the green hotel
Things is slightly better now;
They hope we will forget
The misery of 'trickle down',
An' jelly-bean etiquette
The regal presidential style
Has simply not worn well,
An' neither has my rags,
Up in the green hotel
Lyrics submitted by LordRetard
Hot Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel Lyrics as written by Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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Great version of a great song,
10 years ago when I in Las Vegas, I stayed in a hotel called the Stardust that had a restaurant and all the food was served on hotplates and it was an eat as much as you like buffet.
This song conjures up images of Frank being on the road sometime in the 70's, staying in a green painted Motel and dinning at one of these Buffets.
I think this is likely as Frank answered the legendary myth that he had eaten shit on stage at one of the Garrick shows in 67 in his autobiography by saying that 'He's never eaten shit in his life except when staying at a Holiday Inn' and after dining at the Stardust Buffet, I can see what he means,lol.