"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.
A warrior so proud of the woman by his side,
His faithful heart would take no other bride,
For three years they lived,
Midst the forests of the land,
Strong and proud was the love
Of this woman and man
Like the sky high above,
No beginning and no end,
The woman that he loves,
His life and best friend.
Until that day in December
When the snowstorms did start,
Stalked the Norseman with his bow,
Put an arrow through his heart.
Hear the cry, the cry of the winter wind,
Blowing across the land,
Stealing his life from him,
From the earth, and into the otherworld,
The land of Tír Na n-Óg,
Is the place where he must go.
"Woman come to my side,
Let your arms shield my pain,
For I know will not spend
Another day with you again."
They say she will not move
From the place where he did die,
Once so strong and so proud,
She cannot talk but cry.
His faithful heart would take no other bride,
For three years they lived,
Midst the forests of the land,
Strong and proud was the love
Of this woman and man
Like the sky high above,
No beginning and no end,
The woman that he loves,
His life and best friend.
Until that day in December
When the snowstorms did start,
Stalked the Norseman with his bow,
Put an arrow through his heart.
Hear the cry, the cry of the winter wind,
Blowing across the land,
Stealing his life from him,
From the earth, and into the otherworld,
The land of Tír Na n-Óg,
Is the place where he must go.
"Woman come to my side,
Let your arms shield my pain,
For I know will not spend
Another day with you again."
They say she will not move
From the place where he did die,
Once so strong and so proud,
She cannot talk but cry.
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Fast Car
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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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.
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ooooo, nice. I wonder what the song sounds like? The meaning sounds like it is self-explanatory to me, unless there is some hidden meaning I didn't get.