"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.
Twenty some odd years ago, I fell and missed the moon
I guess I must have reached too high, I guess it was too soon
for me to understand the loss that I would travel with
and how my path would wander as I struggled with the myth
that love is what you make it and your hope must never cease
so that all the love you give away will secure a house of peace
As the harbor fog covered the ship, I strolled out for a walk
A man in black came up to me and he began to talk
He said son you are so far away, you must find the strength to move
closer to your destiny, you've nothing else to prove
Reach out and touch the future, look for the open door
Then his image slowly faded and I saw him nevermore
I did not understand him, I was so much younger then
I didn't have the courage you expect from older men
I was tired from my long journey, just returning from the wars
where the dark angels had wounded me till I couldn't stand no more
When I met the woman meant for me, I couldn't look her in the eyes
and I kept my feelings to myself as she turned and said goodbye
Well there's a world of wicked people who will take all that you own
who will strip you of your heart and flesh and discard your sacred bones
They will tie you down with lies and schemes and say that you can't leave
or they will bury you in lawyers till you cannot even breathe
They will try hard to destroy you but if you watch then you will see
they have no real imagination and they lack true charity
She was young when I first met her, but she seemed as old as me
and I kicked the stones beneath my feet and spoke too quietly
She couldn't hear my heartbeat or see my flashing eyes
I was fearful in her presence, I thought she'd see through my disguise
She knew how much I loved her and she breathed my every thought
but she was too much busy thinking of all the rules that she'd been taught
When I look up at the stars and I see the depth of night
I stare solemn at creation and the moons reflected light
It takes it's brightness from the sun, it has no power of its own
and that's how I sometimes see myself
a man on whom the ones had shone
There's a castle standing on a hill in a far and distant place
I could lock myself inside it, but I still would see her face
There is no one in this dark world who can give the love she needs
I feel the sadness in her spirit and her wounds from which love bleeds
I can almost hear her crying, I know what she's thinking of
but sometimes I still wonder if she's better off without my love
My death is moving toward me, though it still seems miles away
It's almost reached me several times, in it's bed I'll someday lay
And sometimes at night I'm sleeping, I think I hear her call my name
and I sit up and reach out for her but it's always just the same
Her touch is far beyond my reach because I was so young and blind
but she'll always be the one I loved, the one I left behind
I guess I must have reached too high, I guess it was too soon
for me to understand the loss that I would travel with
and how my path would wander as I struggled with the myth
that love is what you make it and your hope must never cease
so that all the love you give away will secure a house of peace
As the harbor fog covered the ship, I strolled out for a walk
A man in black came up to me and he began to talk
He said son you are so far away, you must find the strength to move
closer to your destiny, you've nothing else to prove
Reach out and touch the future, look for the open door
Then his image slowly faded and I saw him nevermore
I did not understand him, I was so much younger then
I didn't have the courage you expect from older men
I was tired from my long journey, just returning from the wars
where the dark angels had wounded me till I couldn't stand no more
When I met the woman meant for me, I couldn't look her in the eyes
and I kept my feelings to myself as she turned and said goodbye
Well there's a world of wicked people who will take all that you own
who will strip you of your heart and flesh and discard your sacred bones
They will tie you down with lies and schemes and say that you can't leave
or they will bury you in lawyers till you cannot even breathe
They will try hard to destroy you but if you watch then you will see
they have no real imagination and they lack true charity
She was young when I first met her, but she seemed as old as me
and I kicked the stones beneath my feet and spoke too quietly
She couldn't hear my heartbeat or see my flashing eyes
I was fearful in her presence, I thought she'd see through my disguise
She knew how much I loved her and she breathed my every thought
but she was too much busy thinking of all the rules that she'd been taught
When I look up at the stars and I see the depth of night
I stare solemn at creation and the moons reflected light
It takes it's brightness from the sun, it has no power of its own
and that's how I sometimes see myself
a man on whom the ones had shone
There's a castle standing on a hill in a far and distant place
I could lock myself inside it, but I still would see her face
There is no one in this dark world who can give the love she needs
I feel the sadness in her spirit and her wounds from which love bleeds
I can almost hear her crying, I know what she's thinking of
but sometimes I still wonder if she's better off without my love
My death is moving toward me, though it still seems miles away
It's almost reached me several times, in it's bed I'll someday lay
And sometimes at night I'm sleeping, I think I hear her call my name
and I sit up and reach out for her but it's always just the same
Her touch is far beyond my reach because I was so young and blind
but she'll always be the one I loved, the one I left behind
Lyrics submitted by ssquared361
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