"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.
One, two, one, two
Know a man his face seemed pulled and tense
Like he's riding on a motorbike in the strongest winds
So I approach with tact
Suggest that he should relax
But he's always movin' much too fast
Said he'll see me on the flip side
On this trip he's taken for a ride
He's been takin' too much on
There he goes with his perfectly unkept clothes
There he goes
He's yet to come back
But I've seen his picture
It doesn't look the same up on the racks
We go way back
I wonder 'bout his insides
It's like his thoughts are too big for his size
He's been taken where, I don't know?
Off he goes with his perfectly unkept hope
There he goes
And now I rub my eyes for he has returned
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned
For he still smiles and he's still strong
Nothing's changed, but the surrounding bullshit, that has grown
And now he's home, and we're laughing, like we always did
My same old, same old friend
Until a quarter-to-ten
I saw the strain creep in
He seems distracted and I know just what is gonna happen next
Before his first step, he is off again
Know a man his face seemed pulled and tense
Like he's riding on a motorbike in the strongest winds
So I approach with tact
Suggest that he should relax
But he's always movin' much too fast
Said he'll see me on the flip side
On this trip he's taken for a ride
He's been takin' too much on
There he goes with his perfectly unkept clothes
There he goes
He's yet to come back
But I've seen his picture
It doesn't look the same up on the racks
We go way back
I wonder 'bout his insides
It's like his thoughts are too big for his size
He's been taken where, I don't know?
Off he goes with his perfectly unkept hope
There he goes
And now I rub my eyes for he has returned
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned
For he still smiles and he's still strong
Nothing's changed, but the surrounding bullshit, that has grown
And now he's home, and we're laughing, like we always did
My same old, same old friend
Until a quarter-to-ten
I saw the strain creep in
He seems distracted and I know just what is gonna happen next
Before his first step, he is off again
Lyrics submitted by Lucky1869_420, edited by NothingMann
Off He Goes Lyrics as written by Eddie Jerome Vedder
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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Fast Car
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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Great version of a great song,
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I'd say this song is deffinitly about Layne Staley of alice in chains and how due to his addiction to drugs he seemed to come and go from the music scene quite frequently.
the lyrics all fit perfectly to him too:
Know a man His face seemed pulled and tense Like he's ridin' on a motorbike In the strongest winds So I approach with tact Suggest that he should relax But he's movin' much too fast
Said he'll see me on the flip side On this trip he's taken for a ride He's been takin' too much on There he goes with his perfectly unkept clothes There he goes
He's yet to come back But I seen his picture It doesn't look the same up on the rack We go way back I wonder 'bout his insides It's like his thoughts are too big for his size
And now I rub my eyes, for he has returned Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned For he still smiles... And he's still strong Nothing changed but the surroundin' bullshit That has grown
And now he's home and we're laughin' Like we did, my same old, same old friend Until a quarter to ten I saw the strain creep in He seems distracted and I know just what is going to happen next
Before his first step, he's off again
this theory kind of makes sence because the song came out around '97 i think and the last time most people saw Layne was in '96 after the unplugged.
Nope. Not about Layne though it could be. Eddie has said in concerts going back to 2000 that he was talking about himself, being a shit friend as he became famous.