"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.
We bear your name,
then you let us say
you are something that your not.
As if you were made after we saw our own faces,
and knew we were gods enough.
I think we were made too pretty.
We're caught up in a stare we cannot break.
We know nothing changes too slowly.
Someday we might come down,
but whose to really say?
And if we are the body,
how'd the pretty man get so ugly?
How'd he get all these spaces between each limb?
And if there is one thing bigger than my head,
that's the distance I've been mislead.
'Cause I think we were made too pretty.
We're caught up in a stare and we can't break.
We know nothing changes too slowly.
And someday I might come down,
oh, I don't wanna come down.
I think we became to petty.
We don't want a God we don't see in ourselves don't see we're in need.
We don't want a God we don't see in ourselves don't see we're in need.
I think we were made too pretty.
We're caught up in a stare and we can't break.
I think we were made too pretty.
Yeah, show us that we don't see it.
We don't see it.
We know nothing changes too slowly.
then you let us say
you are something that your not.
As if you were made after we saw our own faces,
and knew we were gods enough.
I think we were made too pretty.
We're caught up in a stare we cannot break.
We know nothing changes too slowly.
Someday we might come down,
but whose to really say?
And if we are the body,
how'd the pretty man get so ugly?
How'd he get all these spaces between each limb?
And if there is one thing bigger than my head,
that's the distance I've been mislead.
'Cause I think we were made too pretty.
We're caught up in a stare and we can't break.
We know nothing changes too slowly.
And someday I might come down,
oh, I don't wanna come down.
I think we became to petty.
We don't want a God we don't see in ourselves don't see we're in need.
We don't want a God we don't see in ourselves don't see we're in need.
I think we were made too pretty.
We're caught up in a stare and we can't break.
I think we were made too pretty.
Yeah, show us that we don't see it.
We don't see it.
We know nothing changes too slowly.
Lyrics submitted by HeyUngracefulxx
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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I bought this CD, in the lyrics book, it instead of the line
"And if we are the body, how'd the pretty man get so ugly?"
it says
"if we are the body jesushow'dyougetsoulgy"
written exactly like that, even though he clearly says the first line in the song. I thought this was rather interesting.