"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.
God never really did like man anyway
At least not after they started walking around
On their hind leg(s)
And talking on the telephone
Of course poor God's point of view wasn't easy now (to) understand
He had invented man from dead things
At that time there were no grave yards to rob
So He had been forced to use dead worms, some sea weed
That had laid out on the beach for quite a while
For quite a while.
At that time man had four legs and no telephone
A major mistake came when God decided that man should think
(A trait that He'd long desired for Himself)
What God no doubt intended was
For man to think about Him
And that was important because
God just wanted to be
Just another normal deity
Deity Deity Ty Ty Ty Ty Ty
All that God wanted to be
Was just a normal deity
All that God wanted to be
Was just another normal deity
All that God wanted to be
Was just a deity
Just a normal deity
All that God wanted to be
Just a normal deity
All that God wanted to be
Just a normal deity
All went well for quite a while
Man was a wonderful creature
With long rich engraved face
Four fine legs ending in five mini-legs
And a coat of satiney hair
And large genitals
His thoughts were pure and
Full of wonder
The wonder part was God's favorite,
(at least at first)
Because that's the part that gave Him
His Identity Identity Identity Identity
Oh, it was so wonderful for God
Man's... Man's questions turned to visions
And visions gave God
All kinds of exciting things to do
Someday He would be a God of wrath
Reeking havoc upon undiscipline mankind
And at other times He'd be a God of love and compassion
Of course these were all things that man had invented
So God had a hard time getting the full grasp
But...
One of His favorite things
Was man's believing in Him, and then not believing in Him
One of His favorite things
Was man's believing in Him, and then not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Like some hide and seek game
Over
And
Over
And
Over and Over
Believing in Him
Believing in Him
Believing in Him
Not believing in Him...
Not believing in Him?
I think He liked believing in Him much better...
But I'm not sure...
At least not after they started walking around
On their hind leg(s)
And talking on the telephone
Of course poor God's point of view wasn't easy now (to) understand
He had invented man from dead things
At that time there were no grave yards to rob
So He had been forced to use dead worms, some sea weed
That had laid out on the beach for quite a while
For quite a while.
At that time man had four legs and no telephone
A major mistake came when God decided that man should think
(A trait that He'd long desired for Himself)
What God no doubt intended was
For man to think about Him
And that was important because
God just wanted to be
Just another normal deity
Deity Deity Ty Ty Ty Ty Ty
All that God wanted to be
Was just a normal deity
All that God wanted to be
Was just another normal deity
All that God wanted to be
Was just a deity
Just a normal deity
All that God wanted to be
Just a normal deity
All that God wanted to be
Just a normal deity
All went well for quite a while
Man was a wonderful creature
With long rich engraved face
Four fine legs ending in five mini-legs
And a coat of satiney hair
And large genitals
His thoughts were pure and
Full of wonder
The wonder part was God's favorite,
(at least at first)
Because that's the part that gave Him
His Identity Identity Identity Identity
Oh, it was so wonderful for God
Man's... Man's questions turned to visions
And visions gave God
All kinds of exciting things to do
Someday He would be a God of wrath
Reeking havoc upon undiscipline mankind
And at other times He'd be a God of love and compassion
Of course these were all things that man had invented
So God had a hard time getting the full grasp
But...
One of His favorite things
Was man's believing in Him, and then not believing in Him
One of His favorite things
Was man's believing in Him, and then not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Believing in Him, Not believing in Him
Like some hide and seek game
Over
And
Over
And
Over and Over
Believing in Him
Believing in Him
Believing in Him
Not believing in Him...
Not believing in Him?
I think He liked believing in Him much better...
But I'm not sure...
Lyrics submitted by JofaGuht
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I don't think this is all about God. I think they are using God as just a metaphor for any artist, trying to create something bigger and better than Him, but just turning out to be identical to him. Though trying to make it bigger and better than him, he also wants it to reflect him in a way to make him a true artist(What God no doubt intended was fr man to think about him and that was important because God just wanted to be just another deity). That's like one's piece of art. Though trying to make it bigger and better than him, he also wants it to reflect him in a way to make him a true artist(What God no doubt intended was fr man to think about him and that was important because God just wanted to be just another deity). The meaning of the painting or whatever is always changing, and the artist likes these view, but then again couldn't get the full grasp.
I also think that the fact the term of man using the telephone is also very important. The telephone could mean the transferring of ideas and cultures.
That's an interesting perspective, but i don't agree at all. I think it's much more straight forward than that, and the god song is named so because its about humans invention of god (rather than the other way around).
Absolutely love it's irony. It criticize the way God has been represented these days. But also says that it isn't God responsibility, but only of the people who see him that way. God can still be pure in one's mind