"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.
There's a girl back home I used to know
Who cried herself to sleep every night
We all knew, we all knew
Only girl who would ever compromise
Strike a deal with the devil to save a night
We all knew, we all knew
She tried to call me a month ago
To sing me a song that she just wrote
But I wasn't home, I should've known
That time had taken its toll, she had no place to go
They found her body resting by the river
Oh, I never said goodbye, I wish I would have tried
I couldn't hear her cries as she filled her veins with light
Until she saw the light
I remember we would hide behind the trees
Smoking cigarettes until our throats would bleed
Those were the days, those were the days, yeah
Never scared, never worried that the summer would end
Invincible to every sharp end
We drove so fast, thought it would last
But time had taken its toll, she had no place to go
They found her body resting by the river
Oh, I never said goodbye, I wish I would have tried
I couldn't hear her cries as she filled her veins with light
Until she saw the light
Madeline, Madeline, you will be remembered
Madeline, Madeline, we still have September
Madeline, Madeline, we'll see you on the other side
Die
If I could turn back time, I'd find a way to remind you
That some how you could try to give in
And fight the good fight
Oh, you didn't have to die, you filled your veins with lies
My precious Madeline
Who cried herself to sleep every night
We all knew, we all knew
Only girl who would ever compromise
Strike a deal with the devil to save a night
We all knew, we all knew
She tried to call me a month ago
To sing me a song that she just wrote
But I wasn't home, I should've known
That time had taken its toll, she had no place to go
They found her body resting by the river
Oh, I never said goodbye, I wish I would have tried
I couldn't hear her cries as she filled her veins with light
Until she saw the light
I remember we would hide behind the trees
Smoking cigarettes until our throats would bleed
Those were the days, those were the days, yeah
Never scared, never worried that the summer would end
Invincible to every sharp end
We drove so fast, thought it would last
But time had taken its toll, she had no place to go
They found her body resting by the river
Oh, I never said goodbye, I wish I would have tried
I couldn't hear her cries as she filled her veins with light
Until she saw the light
Madeline, Madeline, you will be remembered
Madeline, Madeline, we still have September
Madeline, Madeline, we'll see you on the other side
Die
If I could turn back time, I'd find a way to remind you
That some how you could try to give in
And fight the good fight
Oh, you didn't have to die, you filled your veins with lies
My precious Madeline
Lyrics submitted by singusasong
Madeline Lyrics as written by Lee Miles Buchanan John Houston Schou
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think this song is obviously about a girl who killed herself but more specifically how he didn't reach out to help her. It repeats "we all knew, we all knew" like they knew something was wrong but its hard to deal with someone you care about going through depression and not knowing how to help them. Her calling and singing a song was like her finally spilling out her feeling and stuff but he didn't help her out. The body resting by the river is like she wasn't able to hold up to life and depressions current and got carried away. Filling her veins with light, drugs and cutting. Both of them lived too fast without treasuring life and the fast pace got the best of her. He wishes he could go back and make things right and prove to her she can get through it..