"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.
packed up my piano and a suitcase full of clothes
and i went looking for a better place to hide
ride across the border in a broken down sedan
with a bottle and a rifle on my mind
on and on and on and on the miles stretch for hours
the radio keeps spitting out the tunes
every other song is just another tired rhythm
another tired lover's tune
it's a long, long way back to nashville
where i come from, where i been
it's a long, long way back to nashville
but i promise i will see you again
[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/nashville-lyrics-noah-gundersen.html ]
through the ice and fog this morning the sun is coming up
i'm standing on the shores of the hudson bay
over glass fired violet, silence, silence
calling up the day
and every man is an island, an island
in his own special way
there's a white ghost out on the water, the water
with one good song and nothing else to say
it's a long, long way back to nashville
where i come from, where i been
it's a long, long way back to nashville
but i promise i will see you again
in heaven
and i went looking for a better place to hide
ride across the border in a broken down sedan
with a bottle and a rifle on my mind
on and on and on and on the miles stretch for hours
the radio keeps spitting out the tunes
every other song is just another tired rhythm
another tired lover's tune
it's a long, long way back to nashville
where i come from, where i been
it's a long, long way back to nashville
but i promise i will see you again
[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/nashville-lyrics-noah-gundersen.html ]
through the ice and fog this morning the sun is coming up
i'm standing on the shores of the hudson bay
over glass fired violet, silence, silence
calling up the day
and every man is an island, an island
in his own special way
there's a white ghost out on the water, the water
with one good song and nothing else to say
it's a long, long way back to nashville
where i come from, where i been
it's a long, long way back to nashville
but i promise i will see you again
in heaven
Lyrics submitted by seasideisme
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