"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.
Every official that come in
Cripples us leaves us maimed
Silent and tamed
And with our flesh and bones
He builds his homes
Southern fist
Rise through tha jungle mist
Clenched to smash power so cancerous
Black flag and a red star
A rising sun loomin over Los Angeles
Yes for Raza livin in La La
Like Gaza on to tha dawn Intifada
Reach for the lessons tha masked pass on
Seize tha metropolis
It's you it's built on
Everything can change on new years day
As everything changes on new years day
Everything can change on a new years day
As everything changes on new years day
War within a breath
It's land or death
Their existence is a crime
Their seat, their robe, their tie
Their land deeds
Their hired guns
They're tha crime
Shots heard underground round the rapture
Worlds eye captured
At last is a Mexican pasture
Tha masked screaming land or death within a breath
A war from the depth of time
Shot four puppet governors in a line
Shook all tha world bankers
Who think they can rhyme
Shot the landlords who knew it was mine
Yes its a war from the depth of time
Everything can change on new years day
As everything changes on new years day
Everything can change on a new years day
As everything changes on new years day
War within a breath
It's land or death
Cripples us leaves us maimed
Silent and tamed
And with our flesh and bones
He builds his homes
Southern fist
Rise through tha jungle mist
Clenched to smash power so cancerous
Black flag and a red star
A rising sun loomin over Los Angeles
Yes for Raza livin in La La
Like Gaza on to tha dawn Intifada
Reach for the lessons tha masked pass on
Seize tha metropolis
It's you it's built on
Everything can change on new years day
As everything changes on new years day
Everything can change on a new years day
As everything changes on new years day
War within a breath
It's land or death
Their existence is a crime
Their seat, their robe, their tie
Their land deeds
Their hired guns
They're tha crime
Shots heard underground round the rapture
Worlds eye captured
At last is a Mexican pasture
Tha masked screaming land or death within a breath
A war from the depth of time
Shot four puppet governors in a line
Shook all tha world bankers
Who think they can rhyme
Shot the landlords who knew it was mine
Yes its a war from the depth of time
Everything can change on new years day
As everything changes on new years day
Everything can change on a new years day
As everything changes on new years day
War within a breath
It's land or death
Lyrics submitted by piesupreme
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this is song is about the zapatista movement in mexico. MARCOS is leading the indenginous poor people in a revolt angainst the mexican government. southern fist- the first city the zapatistas took was in the very south of mexico. black flag, red star- those are the colors of communism/socialism. and thats what the zapatistas want reach for the lessons the masked pass on-this is talking about the zapatista leader MARCOS who when he gives speeches always has on a black ski mask. rising sun looming over LA-this refers to the number of mexicans that are living in LA.