"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 see those newlyweds, their eyes wide and believing
They bill and coo at the mention of Chez Nous
Appearances can be deceiving
[Chorus: x2]
It's just a door and a window
Four walls and a roof
But a home of your own would be shatterproof
We papered over all the cracks and painted a cat's lick and a promise
The landlord was a man of few words, and most of them were ominous
[Chorus: x2]
It was nothing really to write home about
Then one day it all appears too much
Here comes my little hammer and its shatterproof touch
He said, "Be practical,
These are most unreasonable demands.
Forget about the broken spectacles and the damage to your hand."
[Chorus]
They bill and coo at the mention of Chez Nous
Appearances can be deceiving
[Chorus: x2]
It's just a door and a window
Four walls and a roof
But a home of your own would be shatterproof
We papered over all the cracks and painted a cat's lick and a promise
The landlord was a man of few words, and most of them were ominous
[Chorus: x2]
It was nothing really to write home about
Then one day it all appears too much
Here comes my little hammer and its shatterproof touch
He said, "Be practical,
These are most unreasonable demands.
Forget about the broken spectacles and the damage to your hand."
[Chorus]
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Shatterproof [Bonus Track] Lyrics as written by Elvis Costello
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
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