"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.
Chorus:
Mother Mary, Mother Mary.
I want the power,
I want the power,
I want the power,
I want the power,
I want the power,
I want the power.
Mother Mary,
Please answer my prayers,
I want to run free,
And I need you to be there.
I'm going to take some chances
I never took before,
I've got to live my life,
And I'm gonna risk it all.
I look to the sky,
And suddenly I know,
I've made up my mind,
I'm never letting go.
It's the power I want,
It's the power I need,
To make me run,
To make me see for real.
It's the power I want,
To let me do what I feel,
To make me run,
To make me be for real.
Unlike a miracle,
Or a wish upon a star,
The power to be me,
Is all I need to start,
To do things I'll never regret,
And to leave the rest behind.
Chorus x 2
You're the one to only help me,
The only one, so help me, help me,
Give it to me, to me, to me,
Oh Mother Mary,
Please, please, please, please,
Please just help and watch me shine,
Then watch the power, make me fly away.
Mother Mary, Mother Mary.
Chorus x 3
Mother Mary, Mother Mary.
I want the power,
I want the power,
I want the power,
I want the power,
I want the power,
I want the power.
Mother Mary,
Please answer my prayers,
I want to run free,
And I need you to be there.
I'm going to take some chances
I never took before,
I've got to live my life,
And I'm gonna risk it all.
I look to the sky,
And suddenly I know,
I've made up my mind,
I'm never letting go.
It's the power I want,
It's the power I need,
To make me run,
To make me see for real.
It's the power I want,
To let me do what I feel,
To make me run,
To make me be for real.
Unlike a miracle,
Or a wish upon a star,
The power to be me,
Is all I need to start,
To do things I'll never regret,
And to leave the rest behind.
Chorus x 2
You're the one to only help me,
The only one, so help me, help me,
Give it to me, to me, to me,
Oh Mother Mary,
Please, please, please, please,
Please just help and watch me shine,
Then watch the power, make me fly away.
Mother Mary, Mother Mary.
Chorus x 3
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