"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.
Picture a masked face
Painted black with shining teeth
Unmask the image
Realize - you stare into a mirror!
Denude - the masked face
Free yourself from the illusion
Refine the reflection
Re-establish the fundamentals
Wash away the filth
Purify - your head is clogged with doubt!
Denude - the masked face
Free yourself from the illusion
The masked face!
Painted black with shining teeth
Unmask the image
Realize - you stare into a mirror!
Denude - the masked face
Free yourself from the illusion
Refine the reflection
Re-establish the fundamentals
Wash away the filth
Purify - your head is clogged with doubt!
Denude - the masked face
Free yourself from the illusion
The masked face!
Lyrics submitted by shadowwiththeeyes
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