"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 went out walking the other day
The heat hung wet around my neck
My head it rung with screams and groans
From the night I spent amongst her bones
And I passed beside the mission house
Where that mad old buzzard, the reverend
Shrieked and flapped about life after you're dead
Well, I thought about my friend, Michel
How they rolled him in linoleum
And they shot him in the neck
A bloody halo, like a think-bubble
Circling his head
And I bellowed at the firmament
Looks like the rains are hear to stay
And the rain pissed down upon me
And washed me all away
Saying
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Well, the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
But Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Oh yeah, I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Well, the moon it looked exhausted
Like something you should pity
Spent an age-spotted
Above the sizzling wires of the city
Well, it reminded me of her face
Her bleached and hungry eyes
Her hair was like a curtain
Falling open with the laughter
And closing with the lies
And the ghost of her still lingers on
Though she's passed through me
And is gone
Well the slum dogs, they are barking
The rain children on the streets
And the tears that we will weep today
Will all be washed away
By the tears that we will weep
Will weep again tomorrow
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
For the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
Well, Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Oh yeah, I went on down the road
He went on down the road
And I came upon a little house
A little house upon a hill
And I entered through, and the curtain hissed
Into the house with its blood-red bowels
Where wet-lipped women with greasy fists
Crawled the ceilings and the walls
They filled me full of drink
And they led me round the rooms
Naked and cold and grinning
Until everything went black
And I came down spinning
I awoke so drunk and full of rage
That I could hardly speak
A fag in a whale-bone corset
Draping his dick across my cheek
Well its into the shame
And its into the guilt
And its into the fucking fray
And the walls ran red around me
A warm arterial spray
Saying
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Well, the night is dark
And the night is deep
And its jaws are open wide
Yeah, well Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Oh yeah, I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Yeah, woah, woah
It's the rainy season where I'm living
Death comes leaping out of every doorway
Wasting you for money, for your clothes
And for your nothing
Entire towns being washed away
Favelas exploding on inflammable spillways
Lynch-mobs, death squads, babies being born without brains
The mad heat and the relentless rains
Well if you stick your arm into that hole
It comes out shit up to the bone
And with her kisses bubbling on my lips
I swiped the rain and nearly missed
And then I went on down the road
He went on down that road
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Well, the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
Well, Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Oh yeah, I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Bent beneath my heavy load
Under his heavy load
Yeah, I went on down that road
Yeah, he went on down the road
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
And I went on down that road
The heat hung wet around my neck
My head it rung with screams and groans
From the night I spent amongst her bones
And I passed beside the mission house
Where that mad old buzzard, the reverend
Shrieked and flapped about life after you're dead
Well, I thought about my friend, Michel
How they rolled him in linoleum
And they shot him in the neck
A bloody halo, like a think-bubble
Circling his head
And I bellowed at the firmament
Looks like the rains are hear to stay
And the rain pissed down upon me
And washed me all away
Saying
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Well, the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
But Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Oh yeah, I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Well, the moon it looked exhausted
Like something you should pity
Spent an age-spotted
Above the sizzling wires of the city
Well, it reminded me of her face
Her bleached and hungry eyes
Her hair was like a curtain
Falling open with the laughter
And closing with the lies
And the ghost of her still lingers on
Though she's passed through me
And is gone
Well the slum dogs, they are barking
The rain children on the streets
And the tears that we will weep today
Will all be washed away
By the tears that we will weep
Will weep again tomorrow
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
For the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
Well, Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Oh yeah, I went on down the road
He went on down the road
And I came upon a little house
A little house upon a hill
And I entered through, and the curtain hissed
Into the house with its blood-red bowels
Where wet-lipped women with greasy fists
Crawled the ceilings and the walls
They filled me full of drink
And they led me round the rooms
Naked and cold and grinning
Until everything went black
And I came down spinning
I awoke so drunk and full of rage
That I could hardly speak
A fag in a whale-bone corset
Draping his dick across my cheek
Well its into the shame
And its into the guilt
And its into the fucking fray
And the walls ran red around me
A warm arterial spray
Saying
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Well, the night is dark
And the night is deep
And its jaws are open wide
Yeah, well Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Oh yeah, I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Yeah, woah, woah
It's the rainy season where I'm living
Death comes leaping out of every doorway
Wasting you for money, for your clothes
And for your nothing
Entire towns being washed away
Favelas exploding on inflammable spillways
Lynch-mobs, death squads, babies being born without brains
The mad heat and the relentless rains
Well if you stick your arm into that hole
It comes out shit up to the bone
And with her kisses bubbling on my lips
I swiped the rain and nearly missed
And then I went on down the road
He went on down that road
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Well, the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
Well, Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Oh yeah, I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Bent beneath my heavy load
Under his heavy load
Yeah, I went on down that road
Yeah, he went on down the road
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
And I went on down that road
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I think Stickity is right. The references to babies born without brains, favelas and death squads definitely point to that country. The "fag" reference might in reality be about trannies: a lot of transexual people come from Brazil (of course, it's not like there aren't any in other countries, quite the opposite)