"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.
Glimpses of tomorrow seem like yesterday
Glimpses of midnight seem like mid-day
I need to turn this page before it's much too late
I need to turn this page before it's much too late
Can you just honestly expect me to lay down and take this?
You should know better by now that I won't take this
What did you think I would do here all alone, alone?
I'll go for a drive and hope to lighten my mood, my mood
Cars crash into banks of muddy water, and left with no escape
I'll drive on down the highway looking for a clue
Too much time on my hands with nothing to do
No one's out to catch me swerving and speeding
Times like these give my life some meaning
Can you just honestly expect me to lay down and take this?
You should know better by now that I won't take this
What did you think I would do here all alone, alone?
I'll go for a drive and hope to lighten my mood, my mood
Glimpses of midnight seem like mid-day
I need to turn this page before it's much too late
I need to turn this page before it's much too late
Can you just honestly expect me to lay down and take this?
You should know better by now that I won't take this
What did you think I would do here all alone, alone?
I'll go for a drive and hope to lighten my mood, my mood
Cars crash into banks of muddy water, and left with no escape
I'll drive on down the highway looking for a clue
Too much time on my hands with nothing to do
No one's out to catch me swerving and speeding
Times like these give my life some meaning
Can you just honestly expect me to lay down and take this?
You should know better by now that I won't take this
What did you think I would do here all alone, alone?
I'll go for a drive and hope to lighten my mood, my mood
Lyrics submitted by BleedorBreathe
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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