"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.
Now listen, Julie baby,
It ain't natural for you to cry in the midnight
It ain't natural for you to cry way into midnight through,
Until the wee small hours long 'fore the break of dawn,
Oh Lord, mhm
Now Julie, an' there ain't nothin' on my mind
More further 'way than what you're lookin' for
I seen it when you jumped at me, Lord, from behind the door
And looked into my eyes
Your little star struck innuendos
Inadequacies an' foreign bodies,
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain,
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain, oh Lord
Ha, so open up the window and let me breathe
I said open up the window, shh shh shh shh shh and let me breathe
I'm looking down to the street below, Lord, I cried for you,
Ha ha, I cried, I cried for you, ha ha, oh, Lord
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
On your sick bed
I gotta go, I gotta go
And you said, "Please stay, I want to, I want to,
I want a drink of water, I want a drink of water,
Go in the kitchen get me a drink of water"
I said, "I gotta go, I gotta go, baby"
I said, "I'll send, I'll send somebody around here later
You know we got John comin' around here later
With a bottle of wine for you, baby, but I gotta go"
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room,
The cool room, Lord, Lord is a fool's room, a fool's room
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets,
I can almost smell your T.B. sheets, T.B.
I gotta go, I gotta go
I'll send around, send around one that grumbles later on, babe
I'll see what I can pick up for you, you know
Yeah, I got a few things going, too
Don't worry about it, don't worry about it, don't worry
Uh huh, go, go, go, I've gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go,
I gotta, all right, all right, huh huh huh
I turned on the radio,
And want to hear a few tunes, turn on the radio for you
There you go, there you go, there you go, baby, there you go, mm
You'll be all right, too, huh huh, ha ha, yeah
I know it ain't funny, it ain't funny at all, baby,
Laying in the cool room, man, laying in the cool room,
In the cool room, in the cool room
It ain't natural for you to cry in the midnight
It ain't natural for you to cry way into midnight through,
Until the wee small hours long 'fore the break of dawn,
Oh Lord, mhm
Now Julie, an' there ain't nothin' on my mind
More further 'way than what you're lookin' for
I seen it when you jumped at me, Lord, from behind the door
And looked into my eyes
Your little star struck innuendos
Inadequacies an' foreign bodies,
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain,
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain, oh Lord
Ha, so open up the window and let me breathe
I said open up the window, shh shh shh shh shh and let me breathe
I'm looking down to the street below, Lord, I cried for you,
Ha ha, I cried, I cried for you, ha ha, oh, Lord
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
On your sick bed
I gotta go, I gotta go
And you said, "Please stay, I want to, I want to,
I want a drink of water, I want a drink of water,
Go in the kitchen get me a drink of water"
I said, "I gotta go, I gotta go, baby"
I said, "I'll send, I'll send somebody around here later
You know we got John comin' around here later
With a bottle of wine for you, baby, but I gotta go"
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room,
The cool room, Lord, Lord is a fool's room, a fool's room
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets,
I can almost smell your T.B. sheets, T.B.
I gotta go, I gotta go
I'll send around, send around one that grumbles later on, babe
I'll see what I can pick up for you, you know
Yeah, I got a few things going, too
Don't worry about it, don't worry about it, don't worry
Uh huh, go, go, go, I've gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go,
I gotta, all right, all right, huh huh huh
I turned on the radio,
And want to hear a few tunes, turn on the radio for you
There you go, there you go, there you go, baby, there you go, mm
You'll be all right, too, huh huh, ha ha, yeah
I know it ain't funny, it ain't funny at all, baby,
Laying in the cool room, man, laying in the cool room,
In the cool room, in the cool room
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira
TB Sheets Lyrics as written by John Lee Hooker
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I agree with you...it really set the tone for "Bringing out the dead". It's a song I can take a midnight drive to.