"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.
If it seems like I've been lost
In let's remember
If you think I'm feeling older
And missing my younger days
Oh, then you should have known
Me much better
Cause my past is something that never
Got in my way
Oh no
Still I would not be here now
If I never had the hunger
And I'm not ashamed to say
The wild boys were my friends
Oh
Cause I never felt the desire
'Til their music set me on fire
And then I was saved, yeah
That's why I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
We wore matador boots
Only Flagg Brothers had them with the Cuban heel
Iridescent socks with the same color shirt
And a tight pair of chinos
Oh
I put on my shark skin jacket
You know the kind with the velvet collar
And ditty-bop shades
Oh yeah
I took a fresh pack of Luckies
And a mint called Sen-Sen
My old man's Trojans
And his Old Spice after shave
Oh
Combed my hair in a pompadour
Like the rest of the Romeos wore
A permanent wave
Yeah
We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
You can get just so much
From a good thing
You can linger too long
In your dreams
Say goodbye to the
Oldies but goodies
Cause the good ole days weren't
Always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems
Learned stickball as a formal education
Lost a lot of fights
But it taught me how to lose O.K.
Oh
I heard about sex
But not enough
I found you could dance
And still look tough anyway
Oh yes I did
I found out a man ain't just being macho
Ate an awful lot of late night drive-in food
Drank a lot of take-home pay
I thought I was the Duke of Earl
When I made it with a red-haired girl
In the Chevrolet
Oh yeah
We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
You know the good ole days weren't
Always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems
Now I told you my reasons
For the whole revival
Now I'm going outside to have
An ice cold beer in the shade
Oh
I'm going to listen to my 45's
Ain't it wonderful to be alive
When the rock 'n' roll plays
Yeah
When the memory stays
Yeah
I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
I'm keeping the faith
Yes I am
In let's remember
If you think I'm feeling older
And missing my younger days
Oh, then you should have known
Me much better
Cause my past is something that never
Got in my way
Oh no
Still I would not be here now
If I never had the hunger
And I'm not ashamed to say
The wild boys were my friends
Oh
Cause I never felt the desire
'Til their music set me on fire
And then I was saved, yeah
That's why I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
We wore matador boots
Only Flagg Brothers had them with the Cuban heel
Iridescent socks with the same color shirt
And a tight pair of chinos
Oh
I put on my shark skin jacket
You know the kind with the velvet collar
And ditty-bop shades
Oh yeah
I took a fresh pack of Luckies
And a mint called Sen-Sen
My old man's Trojans
And his Old Spice after shave
Oh
Combed my hair in a pompadour
Like the rest of the Romeos wore
A permanent wave
Yeah
We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
You can get just so much
From a good thing
You can linger too long
In your dreams
Say goodbye to the
Oldies but goodies
Cause the good ole days weren't
Always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems
Learned stickball as a formal education
Lost a lot of fights
But it taught me how to lose O.K.
Oh
I heard about sex
But not enough
I found you could dance
And still look tough anyway
Oh yes I did
I found out a man ain't just being macho
Ate an awful lot of late night drive-in food
Drank a lot of take-home pay
I thought I was the Duke of Earl
When I made it with a red-haired girl
In the Chevrolet
Oh yeah
We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
You know the good ole days weren't
Always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems
Now I told you my reasons
For the whole revival
Now I'm going outside to have
An ice cold beer in the shade
Oh
I'm going to listen to my 45's
Ain't it wonderful to be alive
When the rock 'n' roll plays
Yeah
When the memory stays
Yeah
I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
I'm keeping the faith
Yes I am
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This is another Billy Joel song with many historical markers (Much like "We didn't Start the Fire) as well as references to HIS actual life. He says "I'm not ashamed to say the wild boys were my friends" in reference both to the novel/film "The Wild Boys" and as that is about a gay gang it is his real life reference that he got his New York start in the gay community! (As in his bio-theme song Piano Man is about playing in a gay piano bar!) "Til the music set me on fire" refers to the Hendrix song "come on baby Light my Fire" as is shown by the official video having in the court gallery Jimmy Hendrix as he appeared at Woodstock. (I was there!)
"Matador boots, only Flagg Brothers had them with the Cuban Heels" refers to the typical stage outfit of Sergio Mendez & Brazil 66 as well as bob Cuban and the in men and so much Cuban, Puerto Rican, and South American influence to some of the Billy Joel sound! (Also that the "upscale" shoe store for most stage wear was a store named "Flagg Brothers Shoes" in Brooklyn!) And again in the video we see a reference to "West Side Story" with a dance troupe routine from the play! The "Shark skin jacket with the velvet collar" is the reference to stage wear of Sha na na who did the referred to song "The Duke of Earl" The "Red haired girl in a Chevrolet" refers to Lucille Ball and her show "I Love Lucy" being sponsored by Chevrolet and that brought the Cuban sound to him as a child via Desi Arnez (I Love Lucy husband Ricky) The line "Learned how to dance and still look tough" refers to John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever" as does the "stick ball" reference, etc. "Learned about sex, but not enough" is referring to the Aides crisis and those he lost in his life. Also the "good ole day weren't always that good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems" refers to the hit TV show "Happy Days" and it showing that teen struggles are time/era universal. As I've said, this whole song is his strolls through the events and influences throughout his live up to then and that absorbing everything thrown at you is "keeping the Faith" in the music world. The video has so very many portrayals of icons that it is a whole presentation of it's own to compliment the song! Nowhere in the song does he reference The Supremes yet he shows them in their final stage outfit of gold lame when the judge says "that's not appropriate dress for a courtroom" Watch it and see if you can spot some music icons! Scotty