"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.
Kinda like a cloud I was up, way up in the sky
And I was feeling some feelings you wouldn't believe
Sometimes I don't believe them myself
And I decided I was never coming down
Just then a tiny little dot caught my eye
It was just about too small to see
But I watched it way too long
It was pulling me down
I was up above it
I was up above it
(Now I'm down in it)
I was up above it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
Shut up
So what, what does it matter now?
I was swimming in the haze now I crawl on the ground
And everything I never liked about you
Is kind of seeping into me
I try to laugh about it now but isn't it funny how everything works out
I guess the jokes on me, she said
I was up above it
I was up above it
(Now I'm down in it)
I was up above it
I was up above it
(Now I'm down in it)
I used to be so big and strong
I used to know my right from wrong
I used to never be afraid
I used to be somebody
I used to have something inside
Now just this hole it's open wide
I used to want it all
I used to be somebody
I'll cross my heart, I'll hope to die
But the needle's already in my eye
And all the world's weight is on my back and I don't even know why
What I used to think was me is just a fading memory
I looked him right in the eye and said goodbye
I was up above it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
(Now I'm down in it)
I was up above it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
I was up above it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
I was up above it
Rain, rain go away
Come again some other day
Rain, rain go away
Come again some other day
Rain, rain go away
Come again some other day
Rain, rain go away
Come again some other day
I was up above it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
And I was feeling some feelings you wouldn't believe
Sometimes I don't believe them myself
And I decided I was never coming down
Just then a tiny little dot caught my eye
It was just about too small to see
But I watched it way too long
It was pulling me down
I was up above it
I was up above it
(Now I'm down in it)
I was up above it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
Shut up
So what, what does it matter now?
I was swimming in the haze now I crawl on the ground
And everything I never liked about you
Is kind of seeping into me
I try to laugh about it now but isn't it funny how everything works out
I guess the jokes on me, she said
I was up above it
I was up above it
(Now I'm down in it)
I was up above it
I was up above it
(Now I'm down in it)
I used to be so big and strong
I used to know my right from wrong
I used to never be afraid
I used to be somebody
I used to have something inside
Now just this hole it's open wide
I used to want it all
I used to be somebody
I'll cross my heart, I'll hope to die
But the needle's already in my eye
And all the world's weight is on my back and I don't even know why
What I used to think was me is just a fading memory
I looked him right in the eye and said goodbye
I was up above it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
(Now I'm down in it)
I was up above it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
I was up above it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
I was up above it
Rain, rain go away
Come again some other day
Rain, rain go away
Come again some other day
Rain, rain go away
Come again some other day
Rain, rain go away
Come again some other day
I was up above it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
Lyrics submitted by sean, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Down In It Lyrics as written by Trent Reznor
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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Here's what the song is actually about: SUICIDE. Trent said so, and the video confirms it. (Trent jumps off a building to escape his pursuers.)