"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.
Down the street you can hear her scream "you're a disgrace"
As she slams the door in his drunken face
And now he stands outside
And all the neighbours start to gossip and drool
He cries "Oh, girl you must be mad,
What happened to the sweet love you and me had?"
Against the door he leans and starts a scene,
And his tears fall and burn the garden green
And so castles made of sand fall in the sea, eventually
A little indian brave who before he was ten,
Played wargames in the woods with his indian friends
And he built up a dream that when he grew up
He would be a fearless warrior indian cheif
Many moons past and more the dream grew strong until
Tomorrow he would sing his first warsong and fight his first battle
But something went wrong, surprise attack killed him in his sleep that night
And so castles made of sand melts into the sea, eventually
There was a young girl, whos heart was a frown
'Cause she was crippled for life,
and she couldn't speak a sound
And she wished and prayed she could stop living,
So she decided to die
She drew her wheelchair to the edge of the shore
And to her legs she smiled "you won't hurt me no more"
But then a sight she'd never seen made her jump and say
"look a golden winged ship is passing my way"
And it really didn't have to stop, it just kept on going...
And so castles made of sand slips into the sea, eventually
As she slams the door in his drunken face
And now he stands outside
And all the neighbours start to gossip and drool
He cries "Oh, girl you must be mad,
What happened to the sweet love you and me had?"
Against the door he leans and starts a scene,
And his tears fall and burn the garden green
And so castles made of sand fall in the sea, eventually
A little indian brave who before he was ten,
Played wargames in the woods with his indian friends
And he built up a dream that when he grew up
He would be a fearless warrior indian cheif
Many moons past and more the dream grew strong until
Tomorrow he would sing his first warsong and fight his first battle
But something went wrong, surprise attack killed him in his sleep that night
And so castles made of sand melts into the sea, eventually
There was a young girl, whos heart was a frown
'Cause she was crippled for life,
and she couldn't speak a sound
And she wished and prayed she could stop living,
So she decided to die
She drew her wheelchair to the edge of the shore
And to her legs she smiled "you won't hurt me no more"
But then a sight she'd never seen made her jump and say
"look a golden winged ship is passing my way"
And it really didn't have to stop, it just kept on going...
And so castles made of sand slips into the sea, eventually
Lyrics submitted by , edited by SEA206MUSIC
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Fast Car
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I think I kind of agree with everybody. It is about broken dreams and the part about things changing applies too. The lines "What happened to sweet love you and me have?" and "He would be a fearless warrior Indian cheif" reinforces the part about things changing; Their sweet love is gone and he's not going to be an Indian cheif anymore. But at the same time these lines imply broken dreams!