"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.
I'm a-runnin'
I'm a-runnin' from you
'Cause you're a-chasin'
You're a-chasin' me to
The end of the earth
Or the city of kingdom come
I can see ya
I can see you way back
You can see me
You're gonna stab me in the back
But not unless
I can outrun you
Well, will you ever let out?
Will you ever stumble and fall?
Because I'm never gonna let you get me
At all
I can see you
You're a bullet in flight
I'm a-runnin'
Through a star in the night
That will never shine
Upon this darkened earth
Oh, will you ever let out?
Will you ever stumble and fall?
Because I'm never gonna let you get me
At all
Over mountain
Over valley and sea
I'm a-runnin'
So that you can't catch me
And if the gods are there
They will pull me through
Because I'm never gonna let you get me
At all
Because I'm never gonna let you get me
At all
Runnin' away from you
Runnin' away from you
I'm a-runnin' from you
'Cause you're a-chasin'
You're a-chasin' me to
The end of the earth
Or the city of kingdom come
I can see ya
I can see you way back
You can see me
You're gonna stab me in the back
But not unless
I can outrun you
Well, will you ever let out?
Will you ever stumble and fall?
Because I'm never gonna let you get me
At all
I can see you
You're a bullet in flight
I'm a-runnin'
Through a star in the night
That will never shine
Upon this darkened earth
Oh, will you ever let out?
Will you ever stumble and fall?
Because I'm never gonna let you get me
At all
Over mountain
Over valley and sea
I'm a-runnin'
So that you can't catch me
And if the gods are there
They will pull me through
Because I'm never gonna let you get me
At all
Because I'm never gonna let you get me
At all
Runnin' away from you
Runnin' away from you
Lyrics submitted by ang
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Yay! I'm so glad this song is on here! I totally watched Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Travelor and have had this song stuck in my head since.
OH!!I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!!!! I dont really know it's meaning,probibly just pertaining to the movie.But he was an awesome singer/songwriter at 14!(Still is of coarse,but you know)
Oh I forgot to mention that alot of these lyrics are incorrect,sorry!
Oh wow. I just ran across a YouTube clip of Rufus singing this in that Tommy Tricker movie from 1988. I read where he wrote the lyrics and composed the song! So many of this facial expressions and singing style are exactly the same he has today. Plus you can hear a hint of the intriquing chord progressions he's known for today. He truely was an incredible child prodigy!
OMG! After seeing octo's post above... and realizing he would have been 14 or so when the movie was shot... that means this song could have been written after his horrible experience when he was raped in London's Hyde Park at age 14. If that is the case, then these lyrics are just so poignant, and so like Rufus to use emotional events in his life when writing a song.