"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.
Take a look again
I'm running
I'm running
Hold me back again
Now sliding through my fingers
Throw me back
And forth my own yo yo metaphor
Take a look again
I'm running
And I
And I don't look at you when the light is shining
And I
And I don't feel warm until the water's lapping
Against my feet
Around my knees
Around my waist
Please breathe again
It's thick here
It's hollow
Closing in on me
Four walls getting closer
Pull me back
And forth my own swinging pendulum
Take a look again
I'm running
And I
And I don't look at you when the light is shining
And I
And I don't feel warm until the water's lapping
Against my feet
Around my knees
Around my waist
Against my feet
Around my knees
Around my waist
Swiftly as the tide comes in
You're there
Rolling thunder breaking out
Through our warming
Through our embracing
Through our shaking
Everything I pull here
I'm running
I'm running
Hold me back again
Now sliding through my fingers
Throw me back
And forth my own yo yo metaphor
Take a look again
I'm running
And I
And I don't look at you when the light is shining
And I
And I don't feel warm until the water's lapping
Against my feet
Around my knees
Around my waist
Please breathe again
It's thick here
It's hollow
Closing in on me
Four walls getting closer
Pull me back
And forth my own swinging pendulum
Take a look again
I'm running
And I
And I don't look at you when the light is shining
And I
And I don't feel warm until the water's lapping
Against my feet
Around my knees
Around my waist
Against my feet
Around my knees
Around my waist
Swiftly as the tide comes in
You're there
Rolling thunder breaking out
Through our warming
Through our embracing
Through our shaking
Everything I pull here
Lyrics submitted by Belladonna
Throw Me Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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