"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.
On a string
On a string
On a string, I was held
The way I move, can you tell?
My actions are orchestrated from above
And so I swing, and I sway
Wave my hand, kick my leg
And it's always right with the music
('Til all that swaying starts to make you sick)
For a song, I was bought
Now I lie when I talk
With a careful eye on the cue cards
Onto a stage, I was pushed
With my sorrow well-rehearsed
So, give me all your pity and your money now
All of it
(We used to think the sound was something good)
But if I could act like this was my real life
And not some cage where I've been placed
Well, then I could tell you
The truth like I used to
And not be afraid of sounding fake
Now all anyone's listening for are the mistakes
(Oh, I'm sorry)
No, it's okay, it's okay
One, two, three, one, two, three
In a house, by myself
I hear the ice start to melt
And I watch the rooftops weep for the sunlight
And I know what must change
Fuck my face, fuck my name
They are brief and false advertisements
For a soul, I don't have
Something true I have lacked
And spent my whole life trying to make up for
But I found, in a song
And in the people I love
They will lift me up out of darkness
And now my door, it stands open
I'm inviting everyone in
We're gonna laugh, we're gonna drink until the morning comes
That's what we're gonna do
Come on, come on
On a string
On a string, I was held
The way I move, can you tell?
My actions are orchestrated from above
And so I swing, and I sway
Wave my hand, kick my leg
And it's always right with the music
('Til all that swaying starts to make you sick)
For a song, I was bought
Now I lie when I talk
With a careful eye on the cue cards
Onto a stage, I was pushed
With my sorrow well-rehearsed
So, give me all your pity and your money now
All of it
(We used to think the sound was something good)
But if I could act like this was my real life
And not some cage where I've been placed
Well, then I could tell you
The truth like I used to
And not be afraid of sounding fake
Now all anyone's listening for are the mistakes
(Oh, I'm sorry)
No, it's okay, it's okay
One, two, three, one, two, three
In a house, by myself
I hear the ice start to melt
And I watch the rooftops weep for the sunlight
And I know what must change
Fuck my face, fuck my name
They are brief and false advertisements
For a soul, I don't have
Something true I have lacked
And spent my whole life trying to make up for
But I found, in a song
And in the people I love
They will lift me up out of darkness
And now my door, it stands open
I'm inviting everyone in
We're gonna laugh, we're gonna drink until the morning comes
That's what we're gonna do
Come on, come on
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