"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.
Valerie's dancin', on the room above my bed, you know
For all of the world below to see
Valerie's leaving, in a car outside my house, you know
Such a shame she's not with me and all the pretty things
And all the love my heart would bring
I would give my whole life to her
Valerie loves me!
Valerie's driving, in a car around my neighborhood
Thinking of all the men she'll meet
I could only hope for a stolen moment of her thoughts
Between the walk to the club and all the pretty peoples stare/people's there
And no one ??????? anywhere
Yeah, I would give my whole life to her
Valerie loves me!
Valerie loves me!
Valeries's lonely, in an apartment down the street, you know
And her hair has turned so grey
But she's so happy for the memories she has, you know
She can believe in the day when love was always on a string
And she could have had anything
But she will not ever have had me
Valerie loves me!
For all of the world below to see
Valerie's leaving, in a car outside my house, you know
Such a shame she's not with me and all the pretty things
And all the love my heart would bring
I would give my whole life to her
Valerie loves me!
Valerie's driving, in a car around my neighborhood
Thinking of all the men she'll meet
I could only hope for a stolen moment of her thoughts
Between the walk to the club and all the pretty peoples stare/people's there
And no one ??????? anywhere
Yeah, I would give my whole life to her
Valerie loves me!
Valerie loves me!
Valeries's lonely, in an apartment down the street, you know
And her hair has turned so grey
But she's so happy for the memories she has, you know
She can believe in the day when love was always on a string
And she could have had anything
But she will not ever have had me
Valerie loves me!
Lyrics submitted by SMUSER35620
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Fast Car
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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the part that is missing is..
"between the walk to the club and all the drinks she'll have in a crowded room where everybody leaves too soon I only hope that she remembers me"
and yes it is a material issue cover, but whore?..umm hardly.. i think what Jim Ellison was trying to describe valerie as a girl who was in the center of the social scene.. parties, clubs, men at her feet...
obviously the narrator and valerie know each other very well.... in his heart he tells himself that 'valerie loves me', as i really do believe she does (but that's just my opinion).. but she's so tied up in this world that she lets him sit, wait and watch her as she continues on from man to man, party to party, believing he'll still be there when she's ready to settle down, because his dedication is shown in this song 'i would give my whole life to her'.. and he does wait for her.. hoping that between her life that she deems important she stops and thinks of him every once and a while ('stolen moment of her thoughts)'
..there's no real transition to show you the change of mood.. but obviously as it would us all, tired him out waiting for her...
so now he reflects on her being older and holding on to the memories of her youth, because only then did she have the world in her hands, and could take love for granted..... and now she lost her chance of ever having someone who would truly appreciate her, and maybe taking it for granted because she never took the time to appreciate him
xphsyicheartsx you've said exactly in words the feel I get from the song but could never verbalise - thank you for exaggerating my enjoyment of this song even further. <br /> <br /> The missing bit: It's missing because Courtney doesn't really sing that part in the Hole version, although it's evident in the original.
@xpsychicheartsx I love this.