"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.
If you're seeking out a sound
Bend your ear down low to the ground
Where you might find a little clue
In the rumbling of what is to come
You can take this lying down
You can hole up in your town
Where you can take some time out for yourself
When it's just you and all of us
And, honey, if you can't trust us
Who can you trust?
Oh, well, now your Hi-Fi stereo
Is gonna tell you where to go
But how you gonna get there without us?
If you're seeking out a chord
And you're still living by that sword
Son, you're gonna find a little fear
In the rumbling of what is to come
You can keep your hope set toward
The right hand of your old landlord
Or you can take some country for yourself
When it's just you and all of us
And, honey, if you can't trust us
Who can you trust?
Oh, well, now your Hi-Fi stereo
Is gonna tell you where to go
But how you gonna get there without us?
'Cause we're everywhere
No, there ain't nowhere
That we aren't there
Oh, you know we're everywhere
If you're finding yourself lost
And all of your records have been tossed
I know you're gonna find a little cue
In the rumbling of what is to come
You can keep your heart from frost
You might minimize your cost
By taking a little time out in the country for yourself
When it's just you and all of us
And, honey, if you can't trust us
Who can you trust?
Oh, well, now your Hi-Fi stereo
Is gonna tell you where to go
But how you gonna get there without us?
Bend your ear down low to the ground
Where you might find a little clue
In the rumbling of what is to come
You can take this lying down
You can hole up in your town
Where you can take some time out for yourself
When it's just you and all of us
And, honey, if you can't trust us
Who can you trust?
Oh, well, now your Hi-Fi stereo
Is gonna tell you where to go
But how you gonna get there without us?
If you're seeking out a chord
And you're still living by that sword
Son, you're gonna find a little fear
In the rumbling of what is to come
You can keep your hope set toward
The right hand of your old landlord
Or you can take some country for yourself
When it's just you and all of us
And, honey, if you can't trust us
Who can you trust?
Oh, well, now your Hi-Fi stereo
Is gonna tell you where to go
But how you gonna get there without us?
'Cause we're everywhere
No, there ain't nowhere
That we aren't there
Oh, you know we're everywhere
If you're finding yourself lost
And all of your records have been tossed
I know you're gonna find a little cue
In the rumbling of what is to come
You can keep your heart from frost
You might minimize your cost
By taking a little time out in the country for yourself
When it's just you and all of us
And, honey, if you can't trust us
Who can you trust?
Oh, well, now your Hi-Fi stereo
Is gonna tell you where to go
But how you gonna get there without us?
Lyrics submitted by BleedorBreathe, edited by TheKinks
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