"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've got to get myself together, yeah
Can't afford to let my faith go, you know
Whenever Jah sun comes shining
And my sisters are all smiling
No one is dying, my people aren't crying
We are living in the love of the Father
Living in the house of the Almighty, yeah
We are living in the love of the Father
Living in the house of the Almighty, yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah, ohh
The days of destruction will never be, oh no
Not hard to the wise man who will see
Yet the fool thinks he knows it all
'cause here comes later he stumbles and falls
He goes down for a reason, Jah is giving him a beating
To the foundation he'll have to go down
To the foundation, chant him down
To the foundation he'll have to go down
To the foundation, ohh, ohh, oh yeah
Ooh yeah, oh I said
The days of destruction will never be, oh no
Not hard to the wise man who will see
Yet the fool thinks he knows it all
Here comes later he stumbles and falls
He goes down for a reason, Jah is giving him a beating
To the foundation he'll have to go down
To the foundation chant him down
To the foundation he'll have to go down
To the foundation, oh yeah, oh yeah
To the foundation, yeah
To the foundation, oh
Can't afford to let my faith go, you know
Whenever Jah sun comes shining
And my sisters are all smiling
No one is dying, my people aren't crying
We are living in the love of the Father
Living in the house of the Almighty, yeah
We are living in the love of the Father
Living in the house of the Almighty, yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah, ohh
The days of destruction will never be, oh no
Not hard to the wise man who will see
Yet the fool thinks he knows it all
'cause here comes later he stumbles and falls
He goes down for a reason, Jah is giving him a beating
To the foundation he'll have to go down
To the foundation, chant him down
To the foundation he'll have to go down
To the foundation, ohh, ohh, oh yeah
Ooh yeah, oh I said
The days of destruction will never be, oh no
Not hard to the wise man who will see
Yet the fool thinks he knows it all
Here comes later he stumbles and falls
He goes down for a reason, Jah is giving him a beating
To the foundation he'll have to go down
To the foundation chant him down
To the foundation he'll have to go down
To the foundation, oh yeah, oh yeah
To the foundation, yeah
To the foundation, oh
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
To the Foundations Lyrics as written by Dennis Emanuel Brown
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
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