"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 I first splashed out the water, it was all wet
Covered in blood, mama covered with sweat
The umbilical cord wrapped around my neck
Chokin' me, doctor pushin' me and pokin' me
I said to the motherfuckin' nurse "You must be jokin' me"
Ten fingers, ten toes like it's supposed to be
Thank god it ain't no coke in me
That's what my momma spoke to me
She said, "Son, your uzi weighs a ton"
The world for you has just begun, now go Darien have some fun
But don't abuse time on earth 'cause time's worth more than gold
The here is here and the now is now and the world is hell and cold
So off into the street I strode
I think I'm supposed to take your head as far as I was told
It's a shake-shake of the dice, you should take-take my advice
You dealin' with snakes and mice, that means you can't win
But losin' I'd never have trouble choosin', 'cause what I'm gon' use 'em
If it ain't worth doin' now, it ain't worth doin' at all
I ain't bullshittin' wit y'all
Your life is here and now
No need to beat your brow
These moments won't belong to you, tomorrow
Well here I am, here I stand, here I be
Behind this mic tryin'a set my life free
Let my shit be testimony of a G
Who seen sights that other people just couldn't see
They say "Where you wanna do it?" I say "Here"
They say "When you wanna do it?" I say "Now"
They say "How?" I say "With my style, one of the few things I got in this world
My family, a couple friends, my beautiful baby girl"
And procrastination, lack of motivation in your operation
I'm sorry but I just don't have the patience
You'll never get a second chance to dance
While you sit on your hands, we spit out the jams for the fans
And I'm so far advanced, I had to bring it back some
And I said fuck it, let's take it to the maximum
Like walking with your legs broken, mic spoken
Arms draggin, staggerin' and laughin', here and now
I don't cry later, I put it down now, I don't wanna try later
I seize the time, the eves from behind
I freeze-frame the game for the grind, I came for your mind
Not for the fame, but the deaf, dumb, and blind
'cause everybody's gonna get just what come to 'em
Find your God, and run to 'em
I wanna talk now, no you can't call me back
You're too anxious, yeah, you could call me that
I wanna eat now 'cause there the food right there
No I can't wait, I just want my fair share
So where the food at? Call all the shots at
"Patience is a virtue," Yeah man, I got that
But my clock reads half past a monkey's ass
And a quarter to his balls, and it's moving fast
I just wish some people wouldn't dick around
'cause I want it here and now, I can't stick around
Yeah, so I probably won't be in the lobby
Waitin' for Bobby to give me a jobby-jobby
Hey Simo, primo, Kemo-sabe
Knees knobby, but stand firm, not wobbly
So where we at? ight here, when time is a now
Motherfuck the day, motherfuck the trial
Covered in blood, mama covered with sweat
The umbilical cord wrapped around my neck
Chokin' me, doctor pushin' me and pokin' me
I said to the motherfuckin' nurse "You must be jokin' me"
Ten fingers, ten toes like it's supposed to be
Thank god it ain't no coke in me
That's what my momma spoke to me
She said, "Son, your uzi weighs a ton"
The world for you has just begun, now go Darien have some fun
But don't abuse time on earth 'cause time's worth more than gold
The here is here and the now is now and the world is hell and cold
So off into the street I strode
I think I'm supposed to take your head as far as I was told
It's a shake-shake of the dice, you should take-take my advice
You dealin' with snakes and mice, that means you can't win
But losin' I'd never have trouble choosin', 'cause what I'm gon' use 'em
If it ain't worth doin' now, it ain't worth doin' at all
I ain't bullshittin' wit y'all
Your life is here and now
No need to beat your brow
These moments won't belong to you, tomorrow
Well here I am, here I stand, here I be
Behind this mic tryin'a set my life free
Let my shit be testimony of a G
Who seen sights that other people just couldn't see
They say "Where you wanna do it?" I say "Here"
They say "When you wanna do it?" I say "Now"
They say "How?" I say "With my style, one of the few things I got in this world
My family, a couple friends, my beautiful baby girl"
And procrastination, lack of motivation in your operation
I'm sorry but I just don't have the patience
You'll never get a second chance to dance
While you sit on your hands, we spit out the jams for the fans
And I'm so far advanced, I had to bring it back some
And I said fuck it, let's take it to the maximum
Like walking with your legs broken, mic spoken
Arms draggin, staggerin' and laughin', here and now
I don't cry later, I put it down now, I don't wanna try later
I seize the time, the eves from behind
I freeze-frame the game for the grind, I came for your mind
Not for the fame, but the deaf, dumb, and blind
'cause everybody's gonna get just what come to 'em
Find your God, and run to 'em
I wanna talk now, no you can't call me back
You're too anxious, yeah, you could call me that
I wanna eat now 'cause there the food right there
No I can't wait, I just want my fair share
So where the food at? Call all the shots at
"Patience is a virtue," Yeah man, I got that
But my clock reads half past a monkey's ass
And a quarter to his balls, and it's moving fast
I just wish some people wouldn't dick around
'cause I want it here and now, I can't stick around
Yeah, so I probably won't be in the lobby
Waitin' for Bobby to give me a jobby-jobby
Hey Simo, primo, Kemo-sabe
Knees knobby, but stand firm, not wobbly
So where we at? ight here, when time is a now
Motherfuck the day, motherfuck the trial
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
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Fast Car
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"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
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