"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.
South of the river's mouth
Migration slopes slowly towards mainland.
There, the salt air
Fills the gills of the dead bait in hand.
The deep is in riot, the coastline is quiet
Asleep and divided in bands.
While beer halls all revel, drunk and disheveled,
Helplessly waiting the diver is down.
And they're chumming the oceans.
The signal is sent,
Received and responded to.
The water is red, red, red, red.
We're downed, downed as the hand of God
Chokes the driftwood with dead weight and brine.
And spawning the detailed decline
Via dorsal cuts, hooks, sink and line.
The anchors have settled, the tanks are full level.
The flag has been raised half-mast on the bow.
And harpoons are loaded, the cage has been lowered.
The mask is on, the diver is down, now.
And they're chumming the oceans.
The signal is sent
I think he's in trouble.
The water is red, red, red, red.
Migration slopes slowly towards mainland.
There, the salt air
Fills the gills of the dead bait in hand.
The deep is in riot, the coastline is quiet
Asleep and divided in bands.
While beer halls all revel, drunk and disheveled,
Helplessly waiting the diver is down.
And they're chumming the oceans.
The signal is sent,
Received and responded to.
The water is red, red, red, red.
We're downed, downed as the hand of God
Chokes the driftwood with dead weight and brine.
And spawning the detailed decline
Via dorsal cuts, hooks, sink and line.
The anchors have settled, the tanks are full level.
The flag has been raised half-mast on the bow.
And harpoons are loaded, the cage has been lowered.
The mask is on, the diver is down, now.
And they're chumming the oceans.
The signal is sent
I think he's in trouble.
The water is red, red, red, red.
Lyrics submitted by halo82, edited by DrMacMusic
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Ok... Perhaps I'm simply [perverted]. But this song was about sex the minute i heard it! Well, very uncoordinated "can't get it up" sex.
"South of the river's mouth, migration slopes slowly towards mainland" that's the advancing...
The "salt air" possibly referring to the not-so-great smell... filling the gills of the "dead bait" in hand. Quite obviously, a flaccid guy.
The deep in riot, referring to the "wanting it" mindset, but the coastline is quiet (no action going on, due to the awkward situation) and everything is asleep and "divided" in bands - waiting for something to happen.
The chumming, possibly referring to "chum" as a sort of friendly intimacy (much like a random drunk encounter) as opposed to spreading bait around.
Signals sent out... and a response recieved. Even something as simple as "you ready? yeah"
but here's where the sexual metaphor gets strange...
the water being red. Let's hope not!
Driftwood, dead weight, all referring further towards the flaccid guy.
The next verse is where he seems to be regaining some composure, with him finally staying in place, with a "full tank", his flag's at least raised up a little, he's ready to shoot, a "mask" is on and he's down and ready to go.