"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.
Your body may be gone, I'm gonna carry you in
In my head, in my heart, in my soul
And maybe we'll get lucky and we'll both live again
Well, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, don't think so
Well, that is that and this is this
You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get
You get away from me, you get away from me
Collected my belongings and I left the jail
Well, thanks for the time, I needed to think a spell
I had to think awhile, I had to think awhile
The ocean breathes salty, won't you carry it in?
In your head, in your mouth, in your soul
And maybe we'll get lucky and we'll both grow old
Well, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I hope so
Well, that is that and this is this
You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get
You get away from me (you get away from me)
You get away from me
Collected my belongings and I left the jail
Well, thanks for the time, I needed to think a spell
I had to think awhile (I had to think awhile)
I had to think awhile
Well, that is that and this is this
Will you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what you missed
When the ocean met the sky (you missed)
You missed when time and life shook hands and said goodbye (you missed)
When the earth folded in on itself (you missed)
And said "good luck, for your sake I hope heaven and hell
(You missed, you missed) are really there
But I wouldn't hold my breath" (you missed, you missed)
You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death? (You missed, you missed)
You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death?
The ocean breathes salty, won't you carry it in?
In your head, in your mouth, in your soul
The more we move ahead the more we're stuck in rewind
Well, I don't mind I don't mind
How the hell could I mind? Huh
Well, that is that and this is this
You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get
You get away from me (you get away from me), you get away from me
Well, that is that and this is this
Will you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what you missed
When the ocean met the sky (you missed, you missed)
You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste the afterlife?
In my head, in my heart, in my soul
And maybe we'll get lucky and we'll both live again
Well, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, don't think so
Well, that is that and this is this
You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get
You get away from me, you get away from me
Collected my belongings and I left the jail
Well, thanks for the time, I needed to think a spell
I had to think awhile, I had to think awhile
The ocean breathes salty, won't you carry it in?
In your head, in your mouth, in your soul
And maybe we'll get lucky and we'll both grow old
Well, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I hope so
Well, that is that and this is this
You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get
You get away from me (you get away from me)
You get away from me
Collected my belongings and I left the jail
Well, thanks for the time, I needed to think a spell
I had to think awhile (I had to think awhile)
I had to think awhile
Well, that is that and this is this
Will you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what you missed
When the ocean met the sky (you missed)
You missed when time and life shook hands and said goodbye (you missed)
When the earth folded in on itself (you missed)
And said "good luck, for your sake I hope heaven and hell
(You missed, you missed) are really there
But I wouldn't hold my breath" (you missed, you missed)
You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death? (You missed, you missed)
You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death?
The ocean breathes salty, won't you carry it in?
In your head, in your mouth, in your soul
The more we move ahead the more we're stuck in rewind
Well, I don't mind I don't mind
How the hell could I mind? Huh
Well, that is that and this is this
You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get
You get away from me (you get away from me), you get away from me
Well, that is that and this is this
Will you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what you missed
When the ocean met the sky (you missed, you missed)
You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste the afterlife?
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Fast Car
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
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This song has nothing to do with a girl, the "Get away from me" may make it seem like that but it is Modest Mouse expressing their feelings about Life/Death. "For your sake I hope heaven and hell.... are really there but i wouldn't hold my breath" That is stating that the religious are wasting their times and if the afterlife isn't like what they thought it was it was basically nought. "You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death?" is stating that the religious basically wasted life praying to gods that did not exist, it is like a kick in the pants for those who's entire lives were spent praying to nothing but air.
Yes and if yOu waste life praying, the afterlife can be just as much of a waste