"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.
You terrify the land
You are pestle and mortar
Your first love's New Order
Mother Nature's Son
King of the Everglades
Population: one
I write poetry for myself
I write poetry for myself
(Oh, baby)
Ooh
Ooh
You're a permanent figure of jacked up sorrow
I want you to love me
You send me a coffin of roses
I guess that's the way that things go these days
Take pills, for instance
I heard they're no good for you
I won't and I never will
She said, "I won't and I never will"
"I won't and I never will"
"I won't and I never will"
"I won't and I never will"
Blue eyes
Ooh, blue eyes
Oh, baby, can't you see they had it in for me?
They had it in for me, they had it in for me
Oh, baby, can't you see ("I won't and I never will")
They had it in for me? They had it in for me
Blue eyes
Ooh, ooh baby, you got those blue eyes
I sent a message in a bottle to the press
It said, "don't be ashamed or disgusted with yourselves"
"Don't be ashamed or disgusted with yourselves"
"Don't be ashamed or disgusted with yourselves"
I thumb through the books on your shelves
I've thumbed through the books on your shelves
I've thumbed through the books on your shelves
I've thumbed through the books on your shelves
Blue eyes
You are pestle and mortar
Your first love's New Order
Mother Nature's Son
King of the Everglades
Population: one
I write poetry for myself
I write poetry for myself
(Oh, baby)
Ooh
Ooh
You're a permanent figure of jacked up sorrow
I want you to love me
You send me a coffin of roses
I guess that's the way that things go these days
Take pills, for instance
I heard they're no good for you
I won't and I never will
She said, "I won't and I never will"
"I won't and I never will"
"I won't and I never will"
"I won't and I never will"
Blue eyes
Ooh, blue eyes
Oh, baby, can't you see they had it in for me?
They had it in for me, they had it in for me
Oh, baby, can't you see ("I won't and I never will")
They had it in for me? They had it in for me
Blue eyes
Ooh, ooh baby, you got those blue eyes
I sent a message in a bottle to the press
It said, "don't be ashamed or disgusted with yourselves"
"Don't be ashamed or disgusted with yourselves"
"Don't be ashamed or disgusted with yourselves"
I thumb through the books on your shelves
I've thumbed through the books on your shelves
I've thumbed through the books on your shelves
I've thumbed through the books on your shelves
Blue eyes
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Fast Car
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I sent a message in a bottle to the press It said, "Don't be ashamed or disgusted with yourselves" "Don't be ashamed or disgusted with yourselves"
These lines are some of my favorite lyrics ever. A message in a bottle implies anonymity, while sending it to the press seems to indicate it should be read by the public. The line "Don't be ashamed or disgusted with yourselves" is so powerful to me. The line seems to be meant for anyone (the public) and there is no sense of blame attached as it was sent as a message in a bottle. It makes me feel like Dan Bejar is trying to send a message to everyone: you don't have to be ashamed of what you are, or what you feel. This has certainly said before by others, but I honestly never took it to heart before this song. My interpretation is pretty sappy, but it helped me through a rough co-dependent relationship break up. We can lose track of where our emotions our coming from sometimes, and for me anyway, this song helped me figure out why I was feeling like shit all the time. And then I didn't feel like shit anymore.