"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.
Fifty thousand men were sent to do the will of one
His claim was phrased quite simply
Though He never voiced it loud
I am He, the chosen one
In His name they could slaughter
For His name they could die
Though many there were believed in Him
Still more were sure He lied
But they'll fight the battle on
Then one whose faith had died
Fled back up the mountainside
But before the top was made
A misplaced footfall made Him stray
From the path prepared for Him
Off of the mountain on to a wilderness of ice
This unexpected vision
Made them stand and shake with fear
But nothing was His fright compared
With those who saw him appear
Terror filled their minds with awe
Simple were the folk who lived
Upon this frozen wave
So not surprising was their thought
This is He, Gods chosen one
Who's come to save us from
All our oppressors
We shall be kings on this world
"Follow me
I'll play the game you want me
Until I find a way back home"
"Follow me
I give you strength inside you
Courage to win your battles"
No, no, no, this can't go on
This will be all that I fled from
Let me rest for a while
He walked into a valley
All alone
There He talked with water
And then with the vine
They leave me no choice
I must lead them to glory
Or most likely to death
They traveled cross the plateau
Of ice up to its edge
Then they crossed a mountain range
And saw the final plain
Still He urged the people on
Then, on a distant slope
He observed one without hope
Flee back up the mountainside
He thought He recognized Him by His walk
And by the way He fell
And by the way He stood up
And vanished into air
His claim was phrased quite simply
Though He never voiced it loud
I am He, the chosen one
In His name they could slaughter
For His name they could die
Though many there were believed in Him
Still more were sure He lied
But they'll fight the battle on
Then one whose faith had died
Fled back up the mountainside
But before the top was made
A misplaced footfall made Him stray
From the path prepared for Him
Off of the mountain on to a wilderness of ice
This unexpected vision
Made them stand and shake with fear
But nothing was His fright compared
With those who saw him appear
Terror filled their minds with awe
Simple were the folk who lived
Upon this frozen wave
So not surprising was their thought
This is He, Gods chosen one
Who's come to save us from
All our oppressors
We shall be kings on this world
"Follow me
I'll play the game you want me
Until I find a way back home"
"Follow me
I give you strength inside you
Courage to win your battles"
No, no, no, this can't go on
This will be all that I fled from
Let me rest for a while
He walked into a valley
All alone
There He talked with water
And then with the vine
They leave me no choice
I must lead them to glory
Or most likely to death
They traveled cross the plateau
Of ice up to its edge
Then they crossed a mountain range
And saw the final plain
Still He urged the people on
Then, on a distant slope
He observed one without hope
Flee back up the mountainside
He thought He recognized Him by His walk
And by the way He fell
And by the way He stood up
And vanished into air
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae, edited by musictomyear
One For The Vine Lyrics as written by Anthony George Banks
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Favorite Banks/Genesis song. The story is simple enough, but the "catch-22" element is what makes it brilliant. He's fed up as a follower, gets thrust into being a leader, starts to get fed up again until convinced by water and the vine (more on that below) then continues on, and what happened to him happens to one of his fed up followers (I don't think "he thought he recognized him by his walk and by the way he fell..." means himself, it's one of the followers that reminds him of what happened to himself).
So what about the title, and the water and the vine??? Well, in typical Banks fashion, it either means something incredibly special to the writer that we will never know for sure unless there's an interview quote somewhere, or it is just typcial 70s "prog rock imagery" that seemed cool to write. lol But I think Banks is brilliant, so it must have meaning. What I can come up with is water represents life, and the vine represents growth (or even escape). So when he "talks" with water and the vine, they convince him to carry on, I assume the idea is that he will allow his followers to live and grow (or escape their oppressors) by not giving up (again).