"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.
I've been driving around town
With my head spinning around
Everywhere I look, I see
Your '96 Jeep Cherokee
You're a bully and a clown
You made me cry and put me down
After all that I've been through
You think I'd hate the sight of you
But with every jeep I see
My broken heart still skips a beat
I guess it's just my stupid luck
That all of Boston drives the same black, fucking truck
It could be him or am I tripping
And I'm crashing into everything
And thinking about skipping town a while
Until these cars go out of style
I try to see it in reverse
It makes the situation hundreds of times worse
When I wonder if it makes you want to cry
Every time you see a light blue Volvo driving by
So don't tell me if you're off to see the world
I know you won't get very far
Don't tell me if you get another girl
Baby, just tell me if you get another car
It could be him or am I tripping
It could be him
The number of them is insane
Every exit's an ex-boyfriend memory lane
Every major street's a minor heart attack
I see a red jeep and I want to paint it black
It could be him or am I tripping
And I'm crashing into everything
I can't wait till you trade the damn thing in
By then they will have put me in the looney bin
It could be him my heart is pounding
It's just no use, I'm surrounded
But one day I'll steal your car and switch the gears
And drive that Cherokee straight off this trail of tears
With my head spinning around
Everywhere I look, I see
Your '96 Jeep Cherokee
You're a bully and a clown
You made me cry and put me down
After all that I've been through
You think I'd hate the sight of you
But with every jeep I see
My broken heart still skips a beat
I guess it's just my stupid luck
That all of Boston drives the same black, fucking truck
It could be him or am I tripping
And I'm crashing into everything
And thinking about skipping town a while
Until these cars go out of style
I try to see it in reverse
It makes the situation hundreds of times worse
When I wonder if it makes you want to cry
Every time you see a light blue Volvo driving by
So don't tell me if you're off to see the world
I know you won't get very far
Don't tell me if you get another girl
Baby, just tell me if you get another car
It could be him or am I tripping
It could be him
The number of them is insane
Every exit's an ex-boyfriend memory lane
Every major street's a minor heart attack
I see a red jeep and I want to paint it black
It could be him or am I tripping
And I'm crashing into everything
I can't wait till you trade the damn thing in
By then they will have put me in the looney bin
It could be him my heart is pounding
It's just no use, I'm surrounded
But one day I'll steal your car and switch the gears
And drive that Cherokee straight off this trail of tears
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Fast Car
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I like the way THe Dolls reference other classic songs in their works. The Rolling Stones in this, the Doors on The Perfect Fit, etc. It's an interesting device. Great song this, really catchy.