"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.
Maybe it's not
That I don't care anymore
Maybe I just never did
You can't say
That I have ever lied
Because I keep the truth well hid
Tell me what's wrong
Is something wrong?
You can't be sad
When something you have never had
Suddenly feels gone
I wish you health
I wish happiness
But absolutely nothing else
I'm not here to keep an eye on you
I think you misunderstood
I could make things easy for you
I won't
But I could
Does that make you sad?
Cause you look sad
You should be glad
For what you've had
And don't feel bad
I could wish less for you
I wish you health
I wish you happiness
But absolutely nothing else
There is no distance here
To get across
There's nothing to grip
Or get a hold
The emptiness you feel
Is nothing at all
Now nobody broke any bones
It could be worse
Yeah, it can get worse
You've got your strength
And you have got your health
You should be worried 'bout
Somebody else
(chorus)
That I don't care anymore
Maybe I just never did
You can't say
That I have ever lied
Because I keep the truth well hid
Tell me what's wrong
Is something wrong?
You can't be sad
When something you have never had
Suddenly feels gone
I wish you health
I wish happiness
But absolutely nothing else
I'm not here to keep an eye on you
I think you misunderstood
I could make things easy for you
I won't
But I could
Does that make you sad?
Cause you look sad
You should be glad
For what you've had
And don't feel bad
I could wish less for you
I wish you health
I wish you happiness
But absolutely nothing else
There is no distance here
To get across
There's nothing to grip
Or get a hold
The emptiness you feel
Is nothing at all
Now nobody broke any bones
It could be worse
Yeah, it can get worse
You've got your strength
And you have got your health
You should be worried 'bout
Somebody else
(chorus)
Lyrics submitted by planetearth
Health and Happiness Lyrics as written by Jakob Dylan
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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That's not a bad interpretation, Conicaxx, but I got something different from it. It seems to me, honestly, to be almost the inversive. It sounds like the point-of-view of a wronged party, expressing a sort of bitter, grudging acceptance of an ex-partner's new relationship, when the ex-partner expects the two to be the best of friends. I think a lot of people have been in that situation, as well. The narrator seems to be addressing the ex with a clear definition of his intent, but the last line, "You should be worried about somebody else" almost comes off as vaguely threatening, as if he wishes the ex-partner's new lover harm. Maybe I'm reading too deep into that, but, that's how it seems to me.