"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.
It's quite possible that I'm your third man, girl
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
It's quite possible that I'm your third man, girl
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
And right now you could care less about me
But soon enough you will care, by the time I'm done
Let's have a ball and a biscuit, sugar
And take our sweet little time about it
Let's have a ball, girl
And take our sweet little time about it
Tell everybody in the place to just get out
And we'll get clean together
And I'll find me a soap box where I can shout it
Yeah
Hey
Yeah, read it in the newspaper
Ask your girlfriends and see if they know
Read it in the newspaper
Ask your girlfriends and see if they know
That my strength is ten fold, girl
I'll let you see if you want to before you go
Let's have a ball and a biscuit, sugar
And take our sweet little time about it
Let's have a ball
And take our sweet little time about it
Tell everybody in the place to just get out
We'll get clean together
And I'll find me a soap box where I can shout it
Yeah, I can think of one or two things to say about it
Alright, listen
You get the point now?
Yeah, it's quite possible that I'm your third man
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
It was the other two which made me your third
But it's my mother who made me the seventh son
And right now you could care less about me
But soon enough you will care by the time I'm done
Yeah, you just wait
Yeah, stick around
You'll figure it out
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
It's quite possible that I'm your third man, girl
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
And right now you could care less about me
But soon enough you will care, by the time I'm done
Let's have a ball and a biscuit, sugar
And take our sweet little time about it
Let's have a ball, girl
And take our sweet little time about it
Tell everybody in the place to just get out
And we'll get clean together
And I'll find me a soap box where I can shout it
Yeah
Hey
Yeah, read it in the newspaper
Ask your girlfriends and see if they know
Read it in the newspaper
Ask your girlfriends and see if they know
That my strength is ten fold, girl
I'll let you see if you want to before you go
Let's have a ball and a biscuit, sugar
And take our sweet little time about it
Let's have a ball
And take our sweet little time about it
Tell everybody in the place to just get out
We'll get clean together
And I'll find me a soap box where I can shout it
Yeah, I can think of one or two things to say about it
Alright, listen
You get the point now?
Yeah, it's quite possible that I'm your third man
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
It was the other two which made me your third
But it's my mother who made me the seventh son
And right now you could care less about me
But soon enough you will care by the time I'm done
Yeah, you just wait
Yeah, stick around
You'll figure it out
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I was listening to a Son House radio on pandora and a song came on.. I think it was 'the one they call the seventh son' by Willie Dixon. I immediately thought of this ball and biscuit song. It does seem like a reference to that old blues. It doesn't sound much like zeppelin to me though. I think it's just because Jack listens to all that old blues. Anyways, love this song. Crazy awesome guitar.