"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.
Et j'étais paralysée, completement paralysé
Est-ce qu'ils dansent en france?
Pourquoi pas la bas?
Mais qu'est ce qui s'est passé ici?
J'ai envie de faire pipi
Je ne sais pas pourquoi
I like to dance this way
Je suis fou de toi
Je veux t'embrasser
Je ne sais pas pourquoi
I like to dance this way
Pied gauche monté
La bouche serrée
Le coude plié
Le doigt pointé
See'est comme ça qu'ils dansent en France
On le fait comme ça ici
Est-ce qu'ils dansent en france?
Pourquoi pas la bas?
Mais qu'est ce qui s'est passé ici?
J'ai envie de faire pipi
Je ne sais pas pourquoi
I like to dance this way
Je suis fou de toi
Je veux t'embrasser
Je ne sais pas pourquoi
I like to dance this way
Pied gauche monté
La bouche serrée
Le coude plié
Le doigt pointé
See'est comme ça qu'ils dansent en France
On le fait comme ça ici
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Fast Car
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...et j'étais paralysée, completement paralysée (...and I was paralyzed, completely paralyzed) Est-ce qu'ils dansent en france? (Do they dance in france?) Pourquoi pas la bas? (Why not out there?) Mais qu'est ce qui s'est passé ici? (But what happened there?) J'ai envie de faire pipi (I want to pee) Je ne sais pas pourquoi (I don't know why) I like to dance this way
Je suis fou de toi (I'm mad about you) Je veux t'embrasser (I wanna kiss you) Je ne sais pas pourquoi (I don't know why) I like to dance this way
First and last position Pied gauche monté (left feet mounted) La bouche serrée (tight mouthed) Le coude plié (elbow bent) Le doigt pointé (finger pointing) C'est comme ça qu'ils dansent en France (That's the way they dance in France) On le fait comme ça ici (This is done like that here)