"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.
Man this town will drive you insane
Check my thoughts to check my brain
Hold my wallet like it's glued
In one square block it'll tell you
What it thinks of you
And there's nothing you can do
And all that's left to say
And all that's left to say, now
Is feet don't fail me now
Man I must be out of my mind
This town can be so unkind
Forget about sleep there's nothing you can do
In 24 hours this town has become a living hell
And there's nothing you can do
10-9-8 forty ounces fill this place
7-6-5 then watch the bullets to stay alive
4-3-2 no one way out of this
It's been 24 hours in paramus
Check my thoughts to check my brain
Hold my wallet like it's glued
In one square block it'll tell you
What it thinks of you
And there's nothing you can do
And all that's left to say
And all that's left to say, now
Is feet don't fail me now
Man I must be out of my mind
This town can be so unkind
Forget about sleep there's nothing you can do
In 24 hours this town has become a living hell
And there's nothing you can do
10-9-8 forty ounces fill this place
7-6-5 then watch the bullets to stay alive
4-3-2 no one way out of this
It's been 24 hours in paramus
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Vinnie used to live in New Jersey! Presumably around Paramus... this actually links this song to both "Never Going Back to New Jersey" (which you may already have guessed), and "Last Hour of the Last Day of Work"... as the reason Vinnie always talks about hating NJ/Paramus is his dad. but Last Hour talks about the good things about his dad