"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.
All you slingers and fiends hide behind your rocks
Put down your guard I'm not here to box
This is no showdown so throw down your guns
You see it doesn't matter where you come from
You could be from park ave or from a park bench
You could be a politician or a bitchy princess
But if you're lookin' for a fist and you're lookin' to unite
Put your knuckleheads together make a fist and fight
Not to your death and not to your grave
I'm talking about t hat freedom fight like a brave
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
If you're sick-a-sick'n'tired of being sick and tired
If you're sick of all the bullshit and you're sick of all the lies
It's better late than never to set-a-set it straight
You know the lie is dead so give your self a break
Get it through your head get if off your chest
Get it out your arm because it's time to start fresh
You want to stop dying the life you could be livin'
I'm here to tell a story but I'm also here to listen
No I'm not your preacher and I'm not your physician
I'm just trying to reach you I'm a rebel with a mission
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
I'm here today to pump up the uplift mofo party plan
A plan based on a band, a band based on a plan
There should be no in the land of lands
It's a Hollywood jam
You say you're running and you're running and you're running afraid
You say you ran across the planet but you couldn't get away
The fire in your brain was driving you insane
You were looking for a day in a life that never came
So don't tell me that I've got to take a number
'Cause I've been to that doctor and believe me that's a bummer
Here's a one of a kind convention of the mind
And don't forget to mention that it doesn't cost a dime
Come as you like and leave any time
And one more thing you know it doesn't have to rhyme
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Put down your guard I'm not here to box
This is no showdown so throw down your guns
You see it doesn't matter where you come from
You could be from park ave or from a park bench
You could be a politician or a bitchy princess
But if you're lookin' for a fist and you're lookin' to unite
Put your knuckleheads together make a fist and fight
Not to your death and not to your grave
I'm talking about t hat freedom fight like a brave
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
If you're sick-a-sick'n'tired of being sick and tired
If you're sick of all the bullshit and you're sick of all the lies
It's better late than never to set-a-set it straight
You know the lie is dead so give your self a break
Get it through your head get if off your chest
Get it out your arm because it's time to start fresh
You want to stop dying the life you could be livin'
I'm here to tell a story but I'm also here to listen
No I'm not your preacher and I'm not your physician
I'm just trying to reach you I'm a rebel with a mission
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
I'm here today to pump up the uplift mofo party plan
A plan based on a band, a band based on a plan
There should be no in the land of lands
It's a Hollywood jam
You say you're running and you're running and you're running afraid
You say you ran across the planet but you couldn't get away
The fire in your brain was driving you insane
You were looking for a day in a life that never came
So don't tell me that I've got to take a number
'Cause I've been to that doctor and believe me that's a bummer
Here's a one of a kind convention of the mind
And don't forget to mention that it doesn't cost a dime
Come as you like and leave any time
And one more thing you know it doesn't have to rhyme
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Fight like a brave
Don't be a slave
No one can tell you
You've got to be afraid
Lyrics submitted by PrismPuck, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Fight Like a Brave Lyrics as written by Jack Irons Michael Peter Balzary
Lyrics © MIMIL LTD, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I agree. Don't fight because someone tells you that what you are fighting against is wrong, or fearful, fight because you believe in your cause. Why were US and ANZAC troops sent to Vietnam? Because "Communism is bad" My mother was told by the nuns at her school to behave and say her prayers, or "The Communists will come and get you" Of course there were more issues and reasons behind it than that, but for a lot of people, that was the extent of their understanding.