"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.
So We were in Amsterdam
and we were staying at this guy Tos's house
Good friend of ours
It's kinda in the middle of the City
We were just finished with our second European Tour
and everything was going pretty good.
Skeeter, he met this girl that lived next door to Tos's,
and within a couple weeks he started to live with her and all.
I guess she had a lot of money or something, because
she was always buying him clothes, and getting him lots
of stuff, and loaning him money.
He was always going to the coffee shop, and getting the best herb and the best hash, ya' know.
He was in good shape.
She was good looking and she was pretty cool.
I don't think we'd ever met her before.
She had other boyfriends I suppose.
So I am sitting on the couch at Tos's apartment, reading
Maximum Rock-n-Roll, Flipside, or one of those punk
things.
And I heard Skeeter come in.
He came in and he had all these really nice clothes on,
she bought him all this stuff, she like bought him cologne ya know?
He was really, really smelling good ya' know?
He looked good too.
He comes in and puts his herb on the table, whatever.
I'm just reading my little punk magazine. Not really paying
attention, and then he says "Hey Dave."
And I look up, and he's standing
there with his dick in his hand.
And he's kinda got it lifted up so he's looking at the head of his dick.
Kinda pointed it at me, I didn't know what to think.
And he says,
"Does that look like pus to you?" And I said, "No, I think it's lint."
and we were staying at this guy Tos's house
Good friend of ours
It's kinda in the middle of the City
We were just finished with our second European Tour
and everything was going pretty good.
Skeeter, he met this girl that lived next door to Tos's,
and within a couple weeks he started to live with her and all.
I guess she had a lot of money or something, because
she was always buying him clothes, and getting him lots
of stuff, and loaning him money.
He was always going to the coffee shop, and getting the best herb and the best hash, ya' know.
He was in good shape.
She was good looking and she was pretty cool.
I don't think we'd ever met her before.
She had other boyfriends I suppose.
So I am sitting on the couch at Tos's apartment, reading
Maximum Rock-n-Roll, Flipside, or one of those punk
things.
And I heard Skeeter come in.
He came in and he had all these really nice clothes on,
she bought him all this stuff, she like bought him cologne ya know?
He was really, really smelling good ya' know?
He looked good too.
He comes in and puts his herb on the table, whatever.
I'm just reading my little punk magazine. Not really paying
attention, and then he says "Hey Dave."
And I look up, and he's standing
there with his dick in his hand.
And he's kinda got it lifted up so he's looking at the head of his dick.
Kinda pointed it at me, I didn't know what to think.
And he says,
"Does that look like pus to you?" And I said, "No, I think it's lint."
Lyrics submitted by JohnnyLurg
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