"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.
Well I hope God protects your soul
I don't know if you should leave home alone
Maybe you've been drinking from the Devil's bowl
I can't express myself 'cause I'm not fully grown
My heartache, is my mistake you see
My heartache, is my mistake you see
Well I am conscious of the way that I act
But I won't betray you, you can be sure of that
I'm not a pet who does tricks at the drop of a hat
I wish I was fiction, I wish I was fact
My heartache, is my mistake you see
My heartache, is my mistake you see
I need to build a wall around me
I need to build a wall around me
But I want to smile with everybody
Would you say that is possessive of me?
Would you say that is possessive of me?
Yes we feel bad in winter
We act a little bit strange
The dark sky threatens me daily
Makes me alter and change, change, change, change
I need to build a wall around me
I need to build a wall around me
But I want to smile with everybody
Would you say that is possessive of me?
Would you say that is possessive of me?
I need to build a wall around me
I need to build a wall around me
But I want to smile with everybody
Would you say that is possessive of me?
Would you say that is possessive of me?
I don't know if you should leave home alone
Maybe you've been drinking from the Devil's bowl
I can't express myself 'cause I'm not fully grown
My heartache, is my mistake you see
My heartache, is my mistake you see
Well I am conscious of the way that I act
But I won't betray you, you can be sure of that
I'm not a pet who does tricks at the drop of a hat
I wish I was fiction, I wish I was fact
My heartache, is my mistake you see
My heartache, is my mistake you see
I need to build a wall around me
I need to build a wall around me
But I want to smile with everybody
Would you say that is possessive of me?
Would you say that is possessive of me?
Yes we feel bad in winter
We act a little bit strange
The dark sky threatens me daily
Makes me alter and change, change, change, change
I need to build a wall around me
I need to build a wall around me
But I want to smile with everybody
Would you say that is possessive of me?
Would you say that is possessive of me?
I need to build a wall around me
I need to build a wall around me
But I want to smile with everybody
Would you say that is possessive of me?
Would you say that is possessive of me?
Lyrics submitted by Selfmutilized
God Protect Your Soul Lyrics as written by Ed Harcourt
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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Great version of a great song,
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I think the song's about always putting a wall between you and the world, being defensive and not letting people see the real 'you'. But there's a desire within you to get to know people better and have them know the real you and not the 'pantomime' you perform for the public, but being too insecure or afraid to do so. So you want others to show themselves to you while you still keep your true self hidden away from the world, like a two-way mirror; you can see them, but they can't see you - perhaps they only think they can but you know better... and in a way it's killing you inside to not be able to let your guard down.