"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 don't know this boogie is for real
I used to put my faith in worship
But then my chance to get to Heaven slipped
Oh, I used to worry about the future
But then I throw my caution to the wind
I have no reason to be care free (no, no, no)
Until I took a trip to the other side of town (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I heard that boogie rhythm, hey
I had no choice but to get down, down, down, down
Dance, woo, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through just dance
Got canned heat in my heels tonight, baby, woo-oh
I feel the thunder see the lightning
I know this anger's heaven sent
So I've got to hang out all my hang-ups
'Cause of the boogie I feel so hell bent, hey, hey
It's just an instant gut reaction, that I got
I know I've never ever felt like this before
I don't know what to do
But then that's nothing new
Stuck between hell and high water
I need a cure to make it through, hey
Dance, yeah, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through just dance, hey
Got canned heat in my heals tonight, baby
You know I got canned heat in my heels
You know this boogie is for real
Only the wind can know the answer
And she cries to me when I'm asleep
She says you know that you can go much faster
I know that people's talk can be so cheap, hey, hey
I've got this voodoo child in-veined on me
I'm gonna use my power to ascend
You know I've got these running heels to use
Sometimes there's no way I lose
I was born to run and built to last
You'll never see my feet 'cause they move so fast
Dance, yeah, hey, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through, just dance, hey
Got canned heat in my heels, tonight, baby
Dance
Hey, DJ, let the music play (let the music play, yeah)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, throw my cares away (let the music play, yeah)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, let the music play (I wanna live this party life)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, throw my cares away (party life, party life)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanted, I wanted to go home)
You know that this boogie is for real (dance)
Got so much canned heat in my heels (dance)
Gon' dance, gonna dance my blues away tonight (dance)
You know, you know this boogie, this boogie is for real (dance)
Got so much canned heat, canned heat in my heels (dance)
You know, I'm gonna dance my blues away tonight (dance)
I used to put my faith in worship
But then my chance to get to Heaven slipped
Oh, I used to worry about the future
But then I throw my caution to the wind
I have no reason to be care free (no, no, no)
Until I took a trip to the other side of town (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I heard that boogie rhythm, hey
I had no choice but to get down, down, down, down
Dance, woo, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through just dance
Got canned heat in my heels tonight, baby, woo-oh
I feel the thunder see the lightning
I know this anger's heaven sent
So I've got to hang out all my hang-ups
'Cause of the boogie I feel so hell bent, hey, hey
It's just an instant gut reaction, that I got
I know I've never ever felt like this before
I don't know what to do
But then that's nothing new
Stuck between hell and high water
I need a cure to make it through, hey
Dance, yeah, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through just dance, hey
Got canned heat in my heals tonight, baby
You know I got canned heat in my heels
You know this boogie is for real
Only the wind can know the answer
And she cries to me when I'm asleep
She says you know that you can go much faster
I know that people's talk can be so cheap, hey, hey
I've got this voodoo child in-veined on me
I'm gonna use my power to ascend
You know I've got these running heels to use
Sometimes there's no way I lose
I was born to run and built to last
You'll never see my feet 'cause they move so fast
Dance, yeah, hey, nothing left for me to do but dance
Off these bad times I'm going through, just dance, hey
Got canned heat in my heels, tonight, baby
Dance
Hey, DJ, let the music play (let the music play, yeah)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, throw my cares away (let the music play, yeah)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, let the music play (I wanna live this party life)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanna live this party life)
Hey, DJ, throw my cares away (party life, party life)
I'm gonna live this party life (I wanted, I wanted to go home)
You know that this boogie is for real (dance)
Got so much canned heat in my heels (dance)
Gon' dance, gonna dance my blues away tonight (dance)
You know, you know this boogie, this boogie is for real (dance)
Got so much canned heat, canned heat in my heels (dance)
You know, I'm gonna dance my blues away tonight (dance)
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Fast Car
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