"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.
When the bus shelter windows and napkin dispensers surprise
With distorted reflections, it's never the someone you're hoping to recognize
And the rent is too high living here between reasons to live
Where you can't sleep alone and your memories groan and the borders of night start to give
When you can't save
Cash or conviction, you're broke and you're breaking
A tired shoelace or a wave
So long past past-due, a new name for everything
When the one-ways collude with the map that you folded wrong
And the route you abandoned is always the path that you probably should be upon
When the bottle cap ashtrays and intimates' ears are all full
With results of your breath, and the threads of your fear are unfurled with the tiniest pull
One more time, try
Stand with your hands in your pockets and stare
At the smudge on a newspaper sky
And ask it to rain a new name for everything
Fire every phrase
They don't want to work for us anymore
Dot and Dash our days
Make your face the flag of a semaphore
All you won't show
The boxes you brought here and never unpacked are still patiently waiting to go
So put on those clothes you never grew into, and smile like you mean it for once
If you come back, bring a new name for everything
A new name for everything
A new name for everything
With distorted reflections, it's never the someone you're hoping to recognize
And the rent is too high living here between reasons to live
Where you can't sleep alone and your memories groan and the borders of night start to give
When you can't save
Cash or conviction, you're broke and you're breaking
A tired shoelace or a wave
So long past past-due, a new name for everything
When the one-ways collude with the map that you folded wrong
And the route you abandoned is always the path that you probably should be upon
When the bottle cap ashtrays and intimates' ears are all full
With results of your breath, and the threads of your fear are unfurled with the tiniest pull
One more time, try
Stand with your hands in your pockets and stare
At the smudge on a newspaper sky
And ask it to rain a new name for everything
Fire every phrase
They don't want to work for us anymore
Dot and Dash our days
Make your face the flag of a semaphore
All you won't show
The boxes you brought here and never unpacked are still patiently waiting to go
So put on those clothes you never grew into, and smile like you mean it for once
If you come back, bring a new name for everything
A new name for everything
A new name for everything
Lyrics submitted by lakeoffire23, edited by eunoia
A New Name for Everything Lyrics as written by Jason Tait John K Samson
Lyrics © CCS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT CORP
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Great version of a great song,
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Shit, John Samson writes so much stuff that we can all relate to, he is really good, and knows what he's doing, he's not just some guy who can make up some bullshit lyric and try to get rich of of it. I respect that. I'm a bit of a songwriter myself, and I get a LOT of inspiration from this guy, but I'll never be able to compare to him. I wish I could meet him and learn some good poetry techniques or something:-) That'd be the greatest.