"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.
When it's getting late
I guess you'll soon be coming home, yeah
We'll sit and talk and you'll pretend
That your love for me is gone, well
You act as though I'm just a friend
A quick hello and you'll be down
You'll be down again, oh
But it ain't no fun
Being in love all by yourself
I tell you it ain't much fun
When the one you love loves someone else
And I love you
Sometimes you say sweet things
To make me think you care
Don't you do that, baby
But tell me how can you give love
When no love, when no love is there
I wish I knew the words to say
To save the love that's slipping away
Away from me
It ain't no fun
Being in love all by yourself
It ain't much fun
Being in love all by yourself
Yeah, I know a lot of you ladies out there
Are probably criticizing me this evening
I even run into some ladies occasionally out there
Have the nerve to ask me
They say, Shirley, did you really do that?
Did you really buy him all those cars
And the clothes like you said on the record?
Yeah, love'll make you do these things
It's a funny thing how these men
Can make you lie in bed night after night
Wondering if they coming home
Laying there by the phone
Hoping that any minute he'll call
And tell you, baby, I'll be there shortly
You just hold on, I'm coming
Comes in three days later, yeah
I know you know what I'm talking about
You see, it ain't no fun to have to sit there
And count the tile on the floor
Count them four walls
And another funny thing
How we ladies can get on that telephone
Talking day after day about how sweet
And how good our love life is
You might be familiar with this
Commercial that comes on TV
How's your love life?
Knowing all the time that it's rotten
Ha ha, having to laugh to keep from crying
Ha ha ha, like I'm doing now
But you see, the only thing
I've always believed in
Whatever makes me feel happy
I try to do whatever it takes
To keep it that way
But you see, it ain't no fun
Being in love all by yourself
Knowing all the time that the one you love
Is loving somebody else
I'm standing here to tell you today, ladies
That it ain't no fun
It ain't no fun
Being in love all by yourself
No, it ain't no fun
When the one you love loves someone else
It ain't no fun, no, it ain't
Being in love all by yourself
No, no, no, oh, no, oh, oh, oh
I guess you'll soon be coming home, yeah
We'll sit and talk and you'll pretend
That your love for me is gone, well
You act as though I'm just a friend
A quick hello and you'll be down
You'll be down again, oh
But it ain't no fun
Being in love all by yourself
I tell you it ain't much fun
When the one you love loves someone else
And I love you
Sometimes you say sweet things
To make me think you care
Don't you do that, baby
But tell me how can you give love
When no love, when no love is there
I wish I knew the words to say
To save the love that's slipping away
Away from me
It ain't no fun
Being in love all by yourself
It ain't much fun
Being in love all by yourself
Yeah, I know a lot of you ladies out there
Are probably criticizing me this evening
I even run into some ladies occasionally out there
Have the nerve to ask me
They say, Shirley, did you really do that?
Did you really buy him all those cars
And the clothes like you said on the record?
Yeah, love'll make you do these things
It's a funny thing how these men
Can make you lie in bed night after night
Wondering if they coming home
Laying there by the phone
Hoping that any minute he'll call
And tell you, baby, I'll be there shortly
You just hold on, I'm coming
Comes in three days later, yeah
I know you know what I'm talking about
You see, it ain't no fun to have to sit there
And count the tile on the floor
Count them four walls
And another funny thing
How we ladies can get on that telephone
Talking day after day about how sweet
And how good our love life is
You might be familiar with this
Commercial that comes on TV
How's your love life?
Knowing all the time that it's rotten
Ha ha, having to laugh to keep from crying
Ha ha ha, like I'm doing now
But you see, the only thing
I've always believed in
Whatever makes me feel happy
I try to do whatever it takes
To keep it that way
But you see, it ain't no fun
Being in love all by yourself
Knowing all the time that the one you love
Is loving somebody else
I'm standing here to tell you today, ladies
That it ain't no fun
It ain't no fun
Being in love all by yourself
No, it ain't no fun
When the one you love loves someone else
It ain't no fun, no, it ain't
Being in love all by yourself
No, no, no, oh, no, oh, oh, oh
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
It Ain't No Fun Lyrics as written by Frederick Knight
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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You know what you where singing here Shirley