"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.
The wind on my face, I’ve got a fresh pack of cigarettes.
Below the rocks we've got a tent.
Bring the alcohol
by 2am, we're gone
the night is calling me.
All the things we carry
down to Chandler's Ferry
All the things we carry
down to Chandler's Ferry
The Water is warm
I think I see an opening
The night draws near
it brings the lantern to life.
A brown haired girl
sitting beneath the trees
on here knees.
A brown haired girl
sitting beneath the trees
on here knees.
Down to the ramp
we've got a rod
and some fishing line.
When off in the distance we see a light
and you turned to me
and said it appeared to be
the army corps of engineers.
The many attempts we made
to run for cover, you're secret lover.
All the things we carry
down to Chandler's Ferry
All the things we carry
down to Chandler's Ferry
And when we awoke
The tent we could not fold
because it was too cold.
The smell of beer piercing the nose
between my eyes.
Then we made a break for the car
"It's not that far"
A statement soon to be proved
anything but the truth.
And all the gear, I had to carry.
On my....way home.
Below the rocks we've got a tent.
Bring the alcohol
by 2am, we're gone
the night is calling me.
All the things we carry
down to Chandler's Ferry
All the things we carry
down to Chandler's Ferry
The Water is warm
I think I see an opening
The night draws near
it brings the lantern to life.
A brown haired girl
sitting beneath the trees
on here knees.
A brown haired girl
sitting beneath the trees
on here knees.
Down to the ramp
we've got a rod
and some fishing line.
When off in the distance we see a light
and you turned to me
and said it appeared to be
the army corps of engineers.
The many attempts we made
to run for cover, you're secret lover.
All the things we carry
down to Chandler's Ferry
All the things we carry
down to Chandler's Ferry
And when we awoke
The tent we could not fold
because it was too cold.
The smell of beer piercing the nose
between my eyes.
Then we made a break for the car
"It's not that far"
A statement soon to be proved
anything but the truth.
And all the gear, I had to carry.
On my....way home.
Lyrics submitted by TonyHelms29624
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There is this place called "Chandlers Ferry" down the road from my best friend's house. It used to be a park/camping site/boat ramp area, but was shut down and abandoned years ago. There are a lot of stories of why it closed such as "Someone was murdered"… "The place was overrun by wild wolfs" and simply: "The place just didn't get enough business“. After re-searching the place a while back, I found that they did indeed get quite a lot of visitors, but the park was shut down because of a contaminated water supply or something to that nature. But anyways, now in modern day times, the park is over grown with trees, bushes, wild animals and the marks of time. The roads that once lead somewhere are now just a maze of ghost trails in the woods leading to Lake Hartwell. A lot of the old ticket buildings and restroom structures are still standing and there's a few parking lots overgrown with weeds.
So none the less, not a lot of people know about this place, and my friend and I would often go camping down there during the summers with plenty of booze, a tent, smokes, a guitar and other friends from time to time. This song basically describes what went on down there between a few camping trips. The beauty of this song is that every line in this song is 100% true and did happen. This song is really close to me and the friends that went camping with us down there many times.
I recall waking up down there one morning, in a puddle of cold rain water. Apparently there was a hole in the tent and it had rained all through the night, so after making the 1/2 mile walk back to the car, hung over and freezing, it was really something we can remember vividly.
Now, the county officials are thinking about clearing out the land that is now "Chandlers Ferry" for Log Cabin houses. I kind of hope that does happen, but you can't stop change.
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