"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 workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
Man, man, man
If my manager insults me again I will be assaulting him
After I fuck the manager up then I'm gonna shorten the register up
Let's go back, back to the Gap
Look at my check, wasn't no scratch
So if I stole, wasn't my fault
Yeah I stole, never got caught
They take me to the back and pat me
Askin' me about some khakis
But let some black people walk in
I bet they show off their token blacky
Oh now they love Kanye, let's put him all in the front of the store
Saw him on break next to the "No Smoking" sign with a blunt in the mall
Takin' my hits, writin' my hits
Writin' my rhymes, playin' my mind
This fuckin' job can't help him
So I quit, y'all welcome
Y'all don't know my struggle
Y'all can't match my hustle
You can't catch my hustle
You can't fathom my love dude
Lock yourself in a room doin' five beats a day for three summers
That's a different world like three summers
I deserve to do these numbers
The kid that made that deserves that Maybach
So many records in my basement
I'm just waitin' on my spaceship, blaow
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
Man, I'm talkin' way past the sky
Let's go, yeah
And I didn't even try to work a job
Represent the mob
At the same time thirsty on the grind
Chi state of mind
Lost my momma, lost my mind
My life, my love that's not mine
Why you ain't signed?
Wasn't my time
Leave me alone, work for y'all
Half of it's yours, half of it's mine
Only one to ball
Never wanna to fall
Gotta get mine
Gotta take mine
Got a tech nine
Reach my prime
Gotta make these haters respect mine
In the mall 'til 12 when my schedule headset nine
Puttin' them pants shelves
Waitin' patiently I ask myself
Where I want to go, where I want to be
Life is much more than runnin' in the streets
Holla at 'ye, hit me with the beat
Put me on my feet
Sound so sweet
Yes I'm the same ol' G, same goatee
Stayin' low key, nope
Holler at God "Man why'd you had to take my folks?"
Hope to see Freddy G., Yusef G
Love my G, Rolly G
Police watch me smoke my weed and count my G's
Got a lot of people countin' on me
And I'm just tryin' to find my peace
Should of finished school like my niece
Then I wouldn't finally wouldn't use my piece, blaow
Aw man, all this pressure
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I remember havin' to take the dollar cab
Comin' home real late at night
Standin' on my feet all damn day
Tryin' to make this thing right
And havin' one of my co-workers say "Yo you look just like
This kid I seen in the old Busta Rhymes video the other night"
Well easy come, easy go
How that sayin' goes
No more broad service, cars, and them TV shows
I all had that snatched from me
A and R's and their faculties all turn their back on me
And didn't want to hear a rap from me
So naturally actually had to face things factually
Had to be a catastrophe with the fridgest starin' back at me
'Cause nothing's there, nothing's fair
I don't want to ever go back there
So I won't be takin' no days off 'til my spaceship takes off
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I want to fly, I want to fly
I said I want my chariot to pick me up
And take a brother for a ride
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
Man, man, man
If my manager insults me again I will be assaulting him
After I fuck the manager up then I'm gonna shorten the register up
Let's go back, back to the Gap
Look at my check, wasn't no scratch
So if I stole, wasn't my fault
Yeah I stole, never got caught
They take me to the back and pat me
Askin' me about some khakis
But let some black people walk in
I bet they show off their token blacky
Oh now they love Kanye, let's put him all in the front of the store
Saw him on break next to the "No Smoking" sign with a blunt in the mall
Takin' my hits, writin' my hits
Writin' my rhymes, playin' my mind
This fuckin' job can't help him
So I quit, y'all welcome
Y'all don't know my struggle
Y'all can't match my hustle
You can't catch my hustle
You can't fathom my love dude
Lock yourself in a room doin' five beats a day for three summers
That's a different world like three summers
I deserve to do these numbers
The kid that made that deserves that Maybach
So many records in my basement
I'm just waitin' on my spaceship, blaow
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
Man, I'm talkin' way past the sky
Let's go, yeah
And I didn't even try to work a job
Represent the mob
At the same time thirsty on the grind
Chi state of mind
Lost my momma, lost my mind
My life, my love that's not mine
Why you ain't signed?
Wasn't my time
Leave me alone, work for y'all
Half of it's yours, half of it's mine
Only one to ball
Never wanna to fall
Gotta get mine
Gotta take mine
Got a tech nine
Reach my prime
Gotta make these haters respect mine
In the mall 'til 12 when my schedule headset nine
Puttin' them pants shelves
Waitin' patiently I ask myself
Where I want to go, where I want to be
Life is much more than runnin' in the streets
Holla at 'ye, hit me with the beat
Put me on my feet
Sound so sweet
Yes I'm the same ol' G, same goatee
Stayin' low key, nope
Holler at God "Man why'd you had to take my folks?"
Hope to see Freddy G., Yusef G
Love my G, Rolly G
Police watch me smoke my weed and count my G's
Got a lot of people countin' on me
And I'm just tryin' to find my peace
Should of finished school like my niece
Then I wouldn't finally wouldn't use my piece, blaow
Aw man, all this pressure
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I remember havin' to take the dollar cab
Comin' home real late at night
Standin' on my feet all damn day
Tryin' to make this thing right
And havin' one of my co-workers say "Yo you look just like
This kid I seen in the old Busta Rhymes video the other night"
Well easy come, easy go
How that sayin' goes
No more broad service, cars, and them TV shows
I all had that snatched from me
A and R's and their faculties all turn their back on me
And didn't want to hear a rap from me
So naturally actually had to face things factually
Had to be a catastrophe with the fridgest starin' back at me
'Cause nothing's there, nothing's fair
I don't want to ever go back there
So I won't be takin' no days off 'til my spaceship takes off
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I've been workin' this grave shift and I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
I want to fly, I want to fly
I said I want my chariot to pick me up
And take a brother for a ride
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira
Spaceship Lyrics as written by Marvin Gaye Gwendolyn Gordy Fuqua
Lyrics © Ultra Tunes, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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Another beautiful song by Kanye. Man I dig his music!