"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.
Up to my ears
In bitter tears.
Can't believe I've sunk this low
As I walk the plankton
Inner sanctum.
Got outta Dodge,
Sailed on a bon-less
Bon voyage.
You said North,
I headed South.
Tossed overboard.
Good Lord, that's a really large mouth
I'm sleeping with fishes here,
In the belly of the whale.
I'm highly nutritious here,
In the belly of the whale.
Bad food, lousy atmosphere.
I don't want to bellyache.
How long is this gonna take?
Woke up this morning kinda blue,
Thinking through that age-old question:
How to exit a whale's digestion?
It might behoove me to be heaved.
Head out like a human comet.
Hmmm... i wonder what rhyme with comet.
I'm sleeping with fishes here,
In the belly of the whale.
I'm highly nutritious here,
In the belly of the whale.
I'm ready to reappear.
I don't want to bellyache.
Lord, how long's this gonna take?
End times, they come rolling around.
Enzymes, they come breaking us down to the core.
The good Lord grants we all get a second chance.
I'm one of the dishes here,
In the belly of the whale.
They say I'm delicious here,
In the belly of the whale.
Lord, please make him chuck it all.
It's a gut call
In the belly of the whale.
I'm in the belly of the whale.
In the belly of the whale.
I'm in the belly.
In the belly of the whale.
I'm in the belly of the whale.
In the belly of the whale.
I'm in the belly...
In the belly of the whale
In an underwater jail
It's a tight squeeze.
It's a-gettin' to me,
But it's roomier
Than the tail.
Hey, sailor,
Got my flow free
Like a salmon to the sea
From the L.A. Symphony.
I'm a paddle boat
Paddlin' in their wake,
A fake free-styler,
But my unemployment pays.
I'm avoiding cliches
Like "whale of a tale" say
Or "you can't keep
A good man down,"
'Cause you can
And I've been there, man.
But I've been expectorated.
I'm elated!
I'm free like Willie!
Happy Day!
Oops,
That's a bit of a cliche.
In the belly
In bitter tears.
Can't believe I've sunk this low
As I walk the plankton
Inner sanctum.
Got outta Dodge,
Sailed on a bon-less
Bon voyage.
You said North,
I headed South.
Tossed overboard.
Good Lord, that's a really large mouth
I'm sleeping with fishes here,
In the belly of the whale.
I'm highly nutritious here,
In the belly of the whale.
Bad food, lousy atmosphere.
I don't want to bellyache.
How long is this gonna take?
Woke up this morning kinda blue,
Thinking through that age-old question:
How to exit a whale's digestion?
It might behoove me to be heaved.
Head out like a human comet.
Hmmm... i wonder what rhyme with comet.
I'm sleeping with fishes here,
In the belly of the whale.
I'm highly nutritious here,
In the belly of the whale.
I'm ready to reappear.
I don't want to bellyache.
Lord, how long's this gonna take?
End times, they come rolling around.
Enzymes, they come breaking us down to the core.
The good Lord grants we all get a second chance.
I'm one of the dishes here,
In the belly of the whale.
They say I'm delicious here,
In the belly of the whale.
Lord, please make him chuck it all.
It's a gut call
In the belly of the whale.
I'm in the belly of the whale.
In the belly of the whale.
I'm in the belly.
In the belly of the whale.
I'm in the belly of the whale.
In the belly of the whale.
I'm in the belly...
In the belly of the whale
In an underwater jail
It's a tight squeeze.
It's a-gettin' to me,
But it's roomier
Than the tail.
Hey, sailor,
Got my flow free
Like a salmon to the sea
From the L.A. Symphony.
I'm a paddle boat
Paddlin' in their wake,
A fake free-styler,
But my unemployment pays.
I'm avoiding cliches
Like "whale of a tale" say
Or "you can't keep
A good man down,"
'Cause you can
And I've been there, man.
But I've been expectorated.
I'm elated!
I'm free like Willie!
Happy Day!
Oops,
That's a bit of a cliche.
In the belly
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