"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.
You could say that all love breaks you
And every kiss is who you are
If I could tell you what I've been thinking
Maybe we could get along
See yourself through the mirror of the signs
It's alright to lose your mind
In a world of paradise
Yesterday before your eyes
And all the lives you leave behind
You can't run from what's inside you
And what don't kill will set you free
All those days I felt my rage
But I found the strength to be me, yeah
See yourself through the mirror of the signs
It's alright to lose your mind
In a world of paradise
Yesterday before your eyes
And all the lives you leave behind
In a world of paradise
(In a world of paradise)
Don't fake
Don't fake anyone
Don't lie
Don't lie till you're done
Dive in
Dive into everything
You could say that all love breaks you
And every kiss is who you are, yeah
See yourself through the mirror of the signs
It's alright to lose your mind
In a world of paradise
Yesterday before your eyes
And all the lives you leave behind
In a world of paradise, yeah
Watch them fade in the shadow of the sun
Each new day the last is done
And every kiss is who you are
If I could tell you what I've been thinking
Maybe we could get along
See yourself through the mirror of the signs
It's alright to lose your mind
In a world of paradise
Yesterday before your eyes
And all the lives you leave behind
You can't run from what's inside you
And what don't kill will set you free
All those days I felt my rage
But I found the strength to be me, yeah
See yourself through the mirror of the signs
It's alright to lose your mind
In a world of paradise
Yesterday before your eyes
And all the lives you leave behind
In a world of paradise
(In a world of paradise)
Don't fake
Don't fake anyone
Don't lie
Don't lie till you're done
Dive in
Dive into everything
You could say that all love breaks you
And every kiss is who you are, yeah
See yourself through the mirror of the signs
It's alright to lose your mind
In a world of paradise
Yesterday before your eyes
And all the lives you leave behind
In a world of paradise, yeah
Watch them fade in the shadow of the sun
Each new day the last is done
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
The Mirror of the Signs Lyrics as written by Gavin Rossdale
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
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Fast Car
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