"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.
Say you little son of a bitch what choo tryin' to be
When I'm big I want to be a thug
You want to be a thug huh (Yeah yeah)
What choo know (About) a thug huh (Yeah yeah)
You want to see the bad guy
Look at Ice Cube (Yeah yeah) that's the bad guy
You need people like him can point cha fingas
Huh? (Yeah yeah) the fuck you know about this shit
You ready to die, OK a-why
Where is that, you ready
'Cause they ain't touch the bad guy, OK
I'm the nigga of the century
Oh, so choo a bad guy, c'mon prove it
C'mon, you think you bad
How bad you are
I'm the nigga of the century
C'mon lets see how bad you are
C'mon bad guy, see'moawnl
We the worsest, all purpose
You want murderers
Well you serve us, hattin' motherfuckers with curb dust
You heard us, don't shit make us nervous
Not even when these fuckin' feds try to serve us
Mention me, when you write it in your history
As a nigger with the key to the mystery
Grand motta ain word don't mean shit to me
Who gives a fuck what they think, and what they see
Live how I got to live
Give what I got to give
Teach my kids positive, as well as the negative
Hope to raise better kids
The world needs a sedative, pray to god that we let him live
[Chorus:]
'Cause you bad guy, I'm the nigga of the century
The diamond scruff, all you niggas better mention me
Me that's who, it ain't no mystery
Goin' down in history, niggas better mention me
You better mention me, I'm the nigga of the century
Ok a-why, all you niggas better mention me
Me that's who, it ain't no mystery
Goin' down in history, niggas better mention me
A nigga told me to keep hope alive
Survive, and 95 I'll get you paradise
So I tried, nigga had to swallow his pride
But look into my eyes, I'm too wise to cook fries
Twelfth grade graduation, summer vacation
Mama said get the facin' on them applications
Didn't know back then, I was too young
Public school made me dumb as a motherfucker
What should I do in my life
Reverend price, do you got some advice
Before I roll the dice
A nigga don't want to shoot craps, 'cause it ain't all fun and games
When you tryin' to get that money mang
Gangbang, maintain or slang cane
T.V. got a nigga where he can't use his brain
What the fuck you talkin' bout, choose or loose
Bitch I don't know the motherfuckin' rules (For real)
[Chorus]
Who am I when it's do or die
You can see a man's soul through the human eye
Can't spend all your lifetime gettin' high
'Cause you and I got to do, for you and I
Actin' wild as a juvenile
Now my whole life depends on the outcome of a trial
Wait-pow; these people ain't playin' now
Got to bring 85 percent of the time now
Fuck that, rather roll with the ruff pack
In the jet black, listenin' to ruff rap
See it's quite simple, you bitches ass niggas don't know
What I've been through, the weather's presidential
The warfare's mental, I sell my soul to the lord
For the perfect instrumental
And the number two pencil
And all the hustle found in chromosomes of my kinfolk
[Chorus]
Yeah, OK, OK, ok, OK, call loko take it easy mang, choo got it
Choo leave it the fuckin' illest nigga to fuckin' shit you
Dess no problem withs that, gawn'na fuck dat
June have a fuckin' heart attack
It's over, everybody knows now
It's no fuckin' secret
Choo know dis motherfucker, OK a-why
It's over, that's it, die
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
I got that bomb, bomb, tit-tit...
Tity-tit, tity-tity, tity, bomb, bomb, bomb...
When I hit you, uhh, uhh, uhh...
When I'm big I want to be a thug
You want to be a thug huh (Yeah yeah)
What choo know (About) a thug huh (Yeah yeah)
You want to see the bad guy
Look at Ice Cube (Yeah yeah) that's the bad guy
You need people like him can point cha fingas
Huh? (Yeah yeah) the fuck you know about this shit
You ready to die, OK a-why
Where is that, you ready
'Cause they ain't touch the bad guy, OK
I'm the nigga of the century
Oh, so choo a bad guy, c'mon prove it
C'mon, you think you bad
How bad you are
I'm the nigga of the century
C'mon lets see how bad you are
C'mon bad guy, see'moawnl
We the worsest, all purpose
You want murderers
Well you serve us, hattin' motherfuckers with curb dust
You heard us, don't shit make us nervous
Not even when these fuckin' feds try to serve us
Mention me, when you write it in your history
As a nigger with the key to the mystery
Grand motta ain word don't mean shit to me
Who gives a fuck what they think, and what they see
Live how I got to live
Give what I got to give
Teach my kids positive, as well as the negative
Hope to raise better kids
The world needs a sedative, pray to god that we let him live
[Chorus:]
'Cause you bad guy, I'm the nigga of the century
The diamond scruff, all you niggas better mention me
Me that's who, it ain't no mystery
Goin' down in history, niggas better mention me
You better mention me, I'm the nigga of the century
Ok a-why, all you niggas better mention me
Me that's who, it ain't no mystery
Goin' down in history, niggas better mention me
A nigga told me to keep hope alive
Survive, and 95 I'll get you paradise
So I tried, nigga had to swallow his pride
But look into my eyes, I'm too wise to cook fries
Twelfth grade graduation, summer vacation
Mama said get the facin' on them applications
Didn't know back then, I was too young
Public school made me dumb as a motherfucker
What should I do in my life
Reverend price, do you got some advice
Before I roll the dice
A nigga don't want to shoot craps, 'cause it ain't all fun and games
When you tryin' to get that money mang
Gangbang, maintain or slang cane
T.V. got a nigga where he can't use his brain
What the fuck you talkin' bout, choose or loose
Bitch I don't know the motherfuckin' rules (For real)
[Chorus]
Who am I when it's do or die
You can see a man's soul through the human eye
Can't spend all your lifetime gettin' high
'Cause you and I got to do, for you and I
Actin' wild as a juvenile
Now my whole life depends on the outcome of a trial
Wait-pow; these people ain't playin' now
Got to bring 85 percent of the time now
Fuck that, rather roll with the ruff pack
In the jet black, listenin' to ruff rap
See it's quite simple, you bitches ass niggas don't know
What I've been through, the weather's presidential
The warfare's mental, I sell my soul to the lord
For the perfect instrumental
And the number two pencil
And all the hustle found in chromosomes of my kinfolk
[Chorus]
Yeah, OK, OK, ok, OK, call loko take it easy mang, choo got it
Choo leave it the fuckin' illest nigga to fuckin' shit you
Dess no problem withs that, gawn'na fuck dat
June have a fuckin' heart attack
It's over, everybody knows now
It's no fuckin' secret
Choo know dis motherfucker, OK a-why
It's over, that's it, die
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
I got that bomb, bomb, tit-tit...
Tity-tit, tity-tity, tity, bomb, bomb, bomb...
When I hit you, uhh, uhh, uhh...
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Nigga of the Century Lyrics as written by O'shea Jackson Charly Charles
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Missing Link Music
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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