"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.
somebody went and killed some people
And they know who
The evidence fits around the facts
Like a favourite shoe
But nobody knows where the corpses are
Their whereabouts unknown
The killer's in a frenzy
And he's getting on the phone
So they got their thinking hats on
And spread out in their cars
But only I know where the bodies are
You know they can i.d. someone
From one cell of skin
But they couldn't spot a crime scene
If the killer went and let 'em in
To genetic fingerprinting
We all take off our hats
To hide the little stains that spread
Across the welcome mat
You can put your best foot forward
And wish upon a star
But only I know where the bodies are
Lawyers defending guilty men
Depending on the bid
The question isn't if they're guilty
But if they'll get acquitted
Justice goes unjustfied
Beneath a police chief and an eagle
Pain's too difficult to prove
They're not going to make pain illegal
To think that we were once naive
To think we've come this far
To think that only I know where the bodies are
Some people don't wanna know
The facts behind the scam
Or see "Who could I be?"
Peeking out behind "The great I am"
But most of us got enough to think about
Husbands and wives
To notice pointless death's become
A brand new way of life
And this is just a sandwich board
That I wear out in the park
Saying only I know where the bodies are
(And I'm not telling you.)
And they know who
The evidence fits around the facts
Like a favourite shoe
But nobody knows where the corpses are
Their whereabouts unknown
The killer's in a frenzy
And he's getting on the phone
So they got their thinking hats on
And spread out in their cars
But only I know where the bodies are
You know they can i.d. someone
From one cell of skin
But they couldn't spot a crime scene
If the killer went and let 'em in
To genetic fingerprinting
We all take off our hats
To hide the little stains that spread
Across the welcome mat
You can put your best foot forward
And wish upon a star
But only I know where the bodies are
Lawyers defending guilty men
Depending on the bid
The question isn't if they're guilty
But if they'll get acquitted
Justice goes unjustfied
Beneath a police chief and an eagle
Pain's too difficult to prove
They're not going to make pain illegal
To think that we were once naive
To think we've come this far
To think that only I know where the bodies are
Some people don't wanna know
The facts behind the scam
Or see "Who could I be?"
Peeking out behind "The great I am"
But most of us got enough to think about
Husbands and wives
To notice pointless death's become
A brand new way of life
And this is just a sandwich board
That I wear out in the park
Saying only I know where the bodies are
(And I'm not telling you.)
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Where the Bodies Are Lyrics as written by John Wesley Harding
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
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