"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 a winning lotto ticket from the state of Massachusetts
Tucked in the back of my wallet
I'll cash it when I'm back in Boston
With a blank eye from the cashier
for why it's torn and busted up
I remember that moment of silence
I was at a mall in Norwich
Shoppers stared at the ground
The escalators went on smoke breaks
Oh 1918, you've yet to see the worst of humans acting
Maybe the future's just a little bit weird
Maybe the God you love is all I've got to fear
Life's a terminal illness in remission
Tucked under the weight of it all out for a drink
And then we drove back drunk through the busy city streets
I hate how I always get nervous every time I try to speak
In front of a big crowd, a pretty girl, or the police
And I hate the things that I know about you
And all the horrible things that you do
I don't want to be late for work today
I want to chew up my dinner and spit in your face
Light fire to your home and tap your cell phone
Oh yeah!
If everyone needs a crutch, then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
If everyone needs a crutch, then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
If everyone needs a crutch, then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
If everyone needs a crutch, then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
Oh yeah!
If everyone needs a crutch then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
If everyone needs a crutch then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
Tucked in the back of my wallet
I'll cash it when I'm back in Boston
With a blank eye from the cashier
for why it's torn and busted up
I remember that moment of silence
I was at a mall in Norwich
Shoppers stared at the ground
The escalators went on smoke breaks
Oh 1918, you've yet to see the worst of humans acting
Maybe the future's just a little bit weird
Maybe the God you love is all I've got to fear
Life's a terminal illness in remission
Tucked under the weight of it all out for a drink
And then we drove back drunk through the busy city streets
I hate how I always get nervous every time I try to speak
In front of a big crowd, a pretty girl, or the police
And I hate the things that I know about you
And all the horrible things that you do
I don't want to be late for work today
I want to chew up my dinner and spit in your face
Light fire to your home and tap your cell phone
Oh yeah!
If everyone needs a crutch, then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
If everyone needs a crutch, then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
If everyone needs a crutch, then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
If everyone needs a crutch, then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
Oh yeah!
If everyone needs a crutch then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
If everyone needs a crutch then I need a wheelchair
I need a reason to reason with you
Lyrics submitted by TreblinkAlive, edited by missingfingers, jefferson104
In Remission Lyrics as written by Greg Barnett Eric Keen
Lyrics © MOTHERSHIP MUSIC PUBLISHING
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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This may be a stretch, but could this be about the boston marathon bombings?
The first verse tells us his mind is on Boston. The entire second verse is about a sudden moment of silence for something, probably at the same time of day the original event happened. The marathon bombings were in the afternoon (1;49 Norridge, IL time), prime shopping hour, unlike the morning events of 9/11 and Newtown.
"19, 18" could refer to the April 18th and 19th when the bombers were on the loose and still killing people ("you've yet to see the worst") and "The worst human tactic" is terrorism. Alternatively 19: 18 is a verse from Leviticus: "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord", appropriate considering they were domestic terrorists (neighbors) and all of Boston was calling for revenge during the manhunt.
In any case, "Maybe the god you love is all I've gotta fear" could allude to Islamic extremism. "I don't wanna be late for a war today" meanwhile "Light fire to your home/And tap your cellphone" sound like the war on terror.
The last repeated lines are much darker with the Boston marathon bombings in mind, considering how many people lost legs. As a result, everyone [near the blasts] needs a crutch and those who lost two legs need wheelchairs. Also we don't "reason" (understand, or negotiate) with terrorists.
I understand that you can find meanings in anything, so this could be completely off, but the Menzingers have been plenty political before. (see "No Ticket").
If this was the intended meaning, then this song is poetic genius.
Also, they were on tour in Boston 5/25/13, a little over a month after the bombings. Maybe he felt the need to give a little Boston Strong speech, which explains "I hate how I always get nervous/ Every time I try to speak/ In front of a big crowd,"<br /> <br /> "And I hate the things that I know about you/ And all of the horrible things that you do" is his reaction to the in-depth news coverage of the bombers' lives and their killing spree
holy shit, what an interpretation! <br /> "the escalators"=media vultures like nancy grace, et al<br /> "went on smoke break"=took a few minutes to prepare their vitriol, practice overreacting and focus their coverage on fear mongering, "muslim extremists" talking points, xenophobia<br /> The more i listen to the part before "oh yeah...", i'm convinced it's the average American viewer's amplified rage towards muslims, mirroring the media spin, after being bombarded with constant coverage. While the singer's repulsion is due to the cliched, calculated exploitation of tragedy and pain. It' s a repeated pattern of sociopathic callousness. Most recently with the missing plane, nearly every story discounted the fact that those people are dead and their loved ones are coping with grief.
Really well interpreted, think this could be close. But "If everyone needs a crutch, then I need a wheelchair" is a lyric I think anyone and everyone can relate to, it's a brilliant lyric
@jefferson104 Nice work! I would just add that my thought regarding 1918 was a World War 1 reference. We thought we could not sink lower as humanity but we keep reaching new lows as time moves forward.