"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.
You speak of Rastafari, but how can you justify belief in a God that's left you behind. You simply fill the gap between the upper and lower class and your faith merely keeps you in line. An amalgamation of jewish scripture and christian thought. What will that get you? Not a fucking fuck of a lot. Take a look at your promised land. Your deed is that gun in your hand. Mt. Zion's a minefield. The West Bank. The Gaza strip... Soon to be parking lots for American tourists and fascist cops. Fuck zionism. Fuck militarism. Fuck americanism. Fuck nationalism. Fuck religion.
Lyrics submitted by PLANES
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i think that this song is more directly aimed at the israeli jews who have become influenced by rastafari. many of them are hyper-nationalists and go off to the illegally occupied west bank and gaza strip to become settlers on stolen palestinian land. these territories are THEIR "promised land", NOT the promised land of the rastas. the zion that the rastas refer to is not israel/palestine, but ethiopia (and more generally, africa). unlike the jewish zionists, the rastas in jamaica, grenada, canada, etc dont believe in a physical migration to their promised land until freedom is achieved where they're living now. this is what hallie sellasse told the global rasta community upon his trip to jamaica in the 60s.
another line that makes it clear that this song is about zionists is "you simply fill the gap between the upper and lower class", referring to the middle class status that most of the rasta-influenced zionist settlers have. the upper class are the powerful white americans who need israel as a strategic US ally as well as the israeli power elite made up of mostly jews of european descent. conversely, the settlers are mostly poorer jews of middle eastern and african descent. the upper class puts them in extremely dangeous settlements in the middle of war zones so they can expand israel's territorial assets and serve as de facto military bases for the israeli army, in order to protect the rest of israel from the palestinians, who are the lower class. this situation is certainly not beneficial to the settlers, but their faith in religion and nationalism "keeps them in line".