"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.
I'm falling, you're stalling
We can't move through life just crawling.
You're taking, I'm breaking
Don't accept the pain we're making.
Believe it, receive it
You probably can't retrieve it.
Mistreat me, don't greet me
Cut down the strings that lead me.
I've walked away before
to turn around my life.
To try and make things right,
learn not to twist the knife.
If I say what's on my mind,
you'll take it the wrong way.
If I keep it all inside,
we'll last another day.
The things that you believe
won't scar me anymore.
If you say what's on your mind,
I'm walking out the door.
We haven't grown apart,
just fallen through the cracks.
We'll make it back somehow
We'll rebuild what we lack.
Shame before me, blame ignore me
I'll face them both today.
Peace surround you, release has found you
You'll need them both one day.
Too tired to talk, too tired to think
Help me pray the boat won't sink.
The anchor is dropped, the rope my prop
The pathway is long with nowhere to stop.
I don't believe that you don't believe me.
If your eyes are closed then how can you see me?
Walking in circles will get you nowhere
Everyone knows that life isn't fair.
I realize that the past is gone now...
wish I could have changed things somehow.
Walking the path that takes me back home
Each day makes me feel like my life is on hold.
Whatever you say won't affect me today
The rope that's been holding me down is much too frayed.
I'm turned inside out with the failure I feel
I've lost all my sight of what's fake and what's real.
Our story's been told and time has run out
We waited too long to write ourselves out.
The puzzle is shattered and pieces lay scattered about...
a fitting end to a tiring day.
Shame before me, blame ignore me
I'll face them both today.
Peace surround you, release has found you
You'll need them both one day.
Too tired to talk, too tired to think
Help me pray the boat won't sink.
The anchor is dropped, the rope my prop
The pathway is long with nowhere to stop.
We can't move through life just crawling.
You're taking, I'm breaking
Don't accept the pain we're making.
Believe it, receive it
You probably can't retrieve it.
Mistreat me, don't greet me
Cut down the strings that lead me.
I've walked away before
to turn around my life.
To try and make things right,
learn not to twist the knife.
If I say what's on my mind,
you'll take it the wrong way.
If I keep it all inside,
we'll last another day.
The things that you believe
won't scar me anymore.
If you say what's on your mind,
I'm walking out the door.
We haven't grown apart,
just fallen through the cracks.
We'll make it back somehow
We'll rebuild what we lack.
Shame before me, blame ignore me
I'll face them both today.
Peace surround you, release has found you
You'll need them both one day.
Too tired to talk, too tired to think
Help me pray the boat won't sink.
The anchor is dropped, the rope my prop
The pathway is long with nowhere to stop.
I don't believe that you don't believe me.
If your eyes are closed then how can you see me?
Walking in circles will get you nowhere
Everyone knows that life isn't fair.
I realize that the past is gone now...
wish I could have changed things somehow.
Walking the path that takes me back home
Each day makes me feel like my life is on hold.
Whatever you say won't affect me today
The rope that's been holding me down is much too frayed.
I'm turned inside out with the failure I feel
I've lost all my sight of what's fake and what's real.
Our story's been told and time has run out
We waited too long to write ourselves out.
The puzzle is shattered and pieces lay scattered about...
a fitting end to a tiring day.
Shame before me, blame ignore me
I'll face them both today.
Peace surround you, release has found you
You'll need them both one day.
Too tired to talk, too tired to think
Help me pray the boat won't sink.
The anchor is dropped, the rope my prop
The pathway is long with nowhere to stop.
Lyrics submitted by Octavarium64
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Dreamwalker
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No Surprises
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