"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.
He is like fire, burning through time
As old as forever, but fast in his prime
I saw his blue spaceship materialise
He looked out and said to me, "run for your life!"
I don't know why I never thought to ask him for his name
But I really don't think he'd have told me the truth anyway
But that's ok
It's completely terrifying but it's so so exciting
He said I was brilliant and I could change the world
So many places I've been, there's so much more to see
We've got galaxies and planets and moons
And an awful lot of running to do
As a full-time companion he gave me a key
And a phone with a signal in every galaxy
As we fell through the vortex I felt so free
Please don't let this danger just be another dream
'Cause my life before you was unreasonably mundane
I've never been happier although we face death every day
I wouldn't have it any other way
It's completely terrifying but it's so so exciting
He said I was brilliant and I could change the world
So many places I've been, there's so much more to see
We've got galaxies and planets and moons
And an awful lot of running to do
(And you know you can fix that chameleon circuit
if you just try hotwiring the fragment links and
superseding the binary binary binary binary...)
It's completely terrifying but it's so so exciting
He said I was brilliant and I could change the world
So many places I've been, there's so much more to see
We've got galaxies and planets and moons
And an awful lot of running to do
As old as forever, but fast in his prime
I saw his blue spaceship materialise
He looked out and said to me, "run for your life!"
I don't know why I never thought to ask him for his name
But I really don't think he'd have told me the truth anyway
But that's ok
It's completely terrifying but it's so so exciting
He said I was brilliant and I could change the world
So many places I've been, there's so much more to see
We've got galaxies and planets and moons
And an awful lot of running to do
As a full-time companion he gave me a key
And a phone with a signal in every galaxy
As we fell through the vortex I felt so free
Please don't let this danger just be another dream
'Cause my life before you was unreasonably mundane
I've never been happier although we face death every day
I wouldn't have it any other way
It's completely terrifying but it's so so exciting
He said I was brilliant and I could change the world
So many places I've been, there's so much more to see
We've got galaxies and planets and moons
And an awful lot of running to do
(And you know you can fix that chameleon circuit
if you just try hotwiring the fragment links and
superseding the binary binary binary binary...)
It's completely terrifying but it's so so exciting
He said I was brilliant and I could change the world
So many places I've been, there's so much more to see
We've got galaxies and planets and moons
And an awful lot of running to do
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I love that the part "And awful lot of running to do" is sung in the theme music from Doctor Who! Really brilliant! I love this song. And I LOVE DOCTOR WHO! <33333333333333 =DDD
It's such a shame the tenth Doctor has regenerated :( I loved him.