"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.
Some of them were dreamers
And some of them were fools
Who were making plans and thinking of the future
With the energy of the innocent
They were gathering the tools
They would need to make their journey back to nature
While the sand slipped through the opening
And their hands reached for the golden ring
With their hearts they turned to each other's hearts for refuge
In the troubled years that came before the deluge
Some of them knew pleasure
And some of them knew pain
And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered
And on the brave and crazy wings of youth
They went flying around in the rain
And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered
And in the end they traded their tired wings
For the resignation that living brings
And exchanged love's bright and fragile glow
For the glitter and the rouge
And in a moment they were swept before the deluge
Let the music keep our spirits high
Let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal its secrets by and by, by and by
When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky
Some of them were angry
At the way the earth was abused
By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power
And they struggled to protect her from them
Only to be confused
By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour
And when the sand was gone and the time arrived
In the naked dawn only a few survived
And in attempts to understand a thing so simple and so huge
Believed that they were meant to live after the deluge
Let the music keep our spirits high
Let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal it's secrets by and by, by and by
When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky
And some of them were fools
Who were making plans and thinking of the future
With the energy of the innocent
They were gathering the tools
They would need to make their journey back to nature
While the sand slipped through the opening
And their hands reached for the golden ring
With their hearts they turned to each other's hearts for refuge
In the troubled years that came before the deluge
Some of them knew pleasure
And some of them knew pain
And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered
And on the brave and crazy wings of youth
They went flying around in the rain
And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered
And in the end they traded their tired wings
For the resignation that living brings
And exchanged love's bright and fragile glow
For the glitter and the rouge
And in a moment they were swept before the deluge
Let the music keep our spirits high
Let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal its secrets by and by, by and by
When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky
Some of them were angry
At the way the earth was abused
By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power
And they struggled to protect her from them
Only to be confused
By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour
And when the sand was gone and the time arrived
In the naked dawn only a few survived
And in attempts to understand a thing so simple and so huge
Believed that they were meant to live after the deluge
Let the music keep our spirits high
Let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal it's secrets by and by, by and by
When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky
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Great version of a great song,
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I saw Jackson Browne at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium last night, and he closed with this song as the second encore. First, I agree with the comment that what a song means is whatever it means to you. That being said, here's what this song means to me. I'm the same age as Jackson Browne, and I've followed his music since I was in my twenties. When he says, "Some of them were dreamers, some of them were fools...," "Some of them knew pleasure, some of them knew pain...," and "Some of them were angry at the way the earth was abused..." he is talking about the generation who came of age in the '60s. We thought we could make big changes by embracing the natural world and protecting the earth from the corporate abusers who learned "..to forge her beauty into power." But our wings became tarnished by live-for-moment hedonism (shallow sexuality and drug use), and we either burned out or gave in to the need to compromise our ideals to survive in the material world. And though we may have continued to struggle to protect the fragile environment, in his chilling pre-apocalyptic vision, the artist realized that it was too late--the tipping point had been reached. We were "..confused by the magnitude of her fury in the final hour." This song is more relevant today than ever, as we begin to understand that it is the abuse of the earth rather than nuclear Armageddon that is likely to seal our fate. As it says in Ecclesiastes, "Men go and come, but the earth abides." those of us with children can only hope that they might be among the ones who are spared in the "naked dawn" when "only a few survived." We are blessed by the beauty and artistry we are capable of creating; cursed by the greed and short-sightedness that have lead us to the brink of the seemingly inevitable massive die-off of our species. "Let creation reveal its secrets by and by."
Bortin,<br /> Your comment was so very well stated. I agree completely. Like you I also believe that the interpretation of the lyric's to a song are/should be from one's personal perspective and I also believe this is the goal of most songwriters....personal interpretation, for which, there is no right or wrong. <br /> While I believe I may be a few years younger than you (born in '60), I do recall the attitudes of that period of time. When I hear the lyrics, I get the same impression as you. The line "Confused by the magnitude of her fury in the final hour" speaks volumes. The destruction of the planet and our own demise, is at our own hand. But it's cause is not from a nuclear holocaust, but from thoughtless disregard and abuse of this place we call home. Man is so arrogant to believe because he walks upright, that he controls the planet and may do as he chooses, no matter the consequences.. He/she fail to remember that we share this planet with one of this worlds greatest treasures.....Animals. We are doing a grand job at destroying their natural habitats and we have effectively caused the extinction of more than a few species of animals by a variety of means including slaughter for profit. Even worse yet, consideration of what we leave for our children and our children's children, doesn't appear to be of high priority. I can't begin to imagine the condition of the place THEY will be calling home. <br /> We start with the best of intentions, but fail in maintaining the integrity of our youthful, untarnished beliefs. <br /> In the end, nature will certainly remind us who is in charge and it certainly isn't us. We will see her wrath. We are wise to realize it and act accordingly, while we have the chance to do so, on the outside chance that it isn't already to late to reverse that which we have already so thoughtlessly and carelessly done.
Love your interpretation Bortin. I, too, grew up on Jackson Browne and follow him now, via acoustic tours, etc. Prophetic voice to be reckoned with.
@Bortin <br /> They would need to make their journey back to nature....<br /> And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered...<br /> By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power<br /> And they struggled to protect her from them......<br /> By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour<br /> In the naked dawn only a few survived...........<br /> <br /> So many great lines and it's clearly a warning that the direction the world and the people with power are taking will eventually lead to it's destruction unless we change our course to simpler times.<br />
@Bortin Thank you for your heartfelt response to this song. What you said makes total sense to me. I'm 2 years younger than you, but we lived through the 60s together. We have one son and I feel the same way that you do about his (and our) future.<br />
@Bortin Love your take on BTD, your words make me reflect on an idea that’s been floating around my brain for a week or two (but which also connect back to my thoughts after the Drumpf was elected in November 2016)…<br /> <br /> This is NOT to say that we should stop trying to make improvements afa emissions, methane, etc etc, (anybody caught “fiddling while Rome burns” should be immediately put into the stocks and rotten tomatoes thrown at their empty heads until people are tired of Throwing them), but I digress…<br /> <br /> But as soon as Hillary conceded, the thought “The Earth is now absolutely doomed to drown” went thru my head…and I feel even more strongly about that now, sadly:<br /> <br /> It’s OVER. We will suffer BADLY and die for “letting it go” until it was TOO LATE, which I truly believe it is. It’s OVER.