"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.
(Now get the fuck up off me nigga)
As I, struggle to keep my balance and composure
I'm 'posed ta, propose a toast to players on every coast-a
The lyrical roller coaster, mind-bender
'Stead of watching these sucker MC's
I'm seeing just how they lying to the general population
Don't be patient, get up and stand up for your life
Don't you agree or understand we lost some rights at 1-1-9?
Come dumb, come young, come blind unwind confined
To the situation, we facing, cause in time, tick tick boom
Tick, boom, tick, tick-boom
Tick, boom, tick, tick-boom
Tick, boom, tick, tick-boom
Tick, boom, tick, tick-boom
(You're gonna die here)
(Die here)
(You're gonna die here)
(Die here)
When will we all, awake up out this dream
Come here and smell the Folgers, the soldiers are human beings
Man acting as if he was the supreme being
Clocking the souls of men out like he was G-O-D and
W-A-R uh, there'll be no tomorrow but sorrow
And horror will follow the hollow hearts battle for dollars
Politicians, modern day magicians
Physicians of death, more health care for poor health
Who making us ill, they making us kill
That's making me spill my guts (chill Big, lay in the cut)
For what? I refuse to sit in the backseat and get handled
Like I do nothing all day but sit around watch the Cartoon Channel
I rap about, the Presidential election and the scandal
That followed, and we all watched the nation, as it swallowed
And chalked it up, basically America you got FUCKED
The media shucked and jived now we stuck, damn
(You're gonna die here)
(Die here)
(You're gonna die here)
(Die here)
(Die here)
Operation Anaconda, ask yourself
Was it full of bleeps and blunders, did they ever find Osama?
And why in the fuck did Daniel Pearl have to pay the price
For his life and his wife plead twice?
See Al-Amin got life and Fred got dead, Hampton
To dampen the dream of all the Panthers
They got they answer for ransom
As we read together, as we dream together
Count your blessings whenever you feel that things won't be no better
But it got to, you gave me this microphone so I must rock you
Your brainwaves, airwaves, energized and shocked you
Y'all got me, well I got y'all, long as I know y'all listenin'
I'ma always bring food for thought to the table in the kitchen
Now eat nigga
As I, struggle to keep my balance and composure
I'm 'posed ta, propose a toast to players on every coast-a
The lyrical roller coaster, mind-bender
'Stead of watching these sucker MC's
I'm seeing just how they lying to the general population
Don't be patient, get up and stand up for your life
Don't you agree or understand we lost some rights at 1-1-9?
Come dumb, come young, come blind unwind confined
To the situation, we facing, cause in time, tick tick boom
Tick, boom, tick, tick-boom
Tick, boom, tick, tick-boom
Tick, boom, tick, tick-boom
Tick, boom, tick, tick-boom
(You're gonna die here)
(Die here)
(You're gonna die here)
(Die here)
When will we all, awake up out this dream
Come here and smell the Folgers, the soldiers are human beings
Man acting as if he was the supreme being
Clocking the souls of men out like he was G-O-D and
W-A-R uh, there'll be no tomorrow but sorrow
And horror will follow the hollow hearts battle for dollars
Politicians, modern day magicians
Physicians of death, more health care for poor health
Who making us ill, they making us kill
That's making me spill my guts (chill Big, lay in the cut)
For what? I refuse to sit in the backseat and get handled
Like I do nothing all day but sit around watch the Cartoon Channel
I rap about, the Presidential election and the scandal
That followed, and we all watched the nation, as it swallowed
And chalked it up, basically America you got FUCKED
The media shucked and jived now we stuck, damn
(You're gonna die here)
(Die here)
(You're gonna die here)
(Die here)
(Die here)
Operation Anaconda, ask yourself
Was it full of bleeps and blunders, did they ever find Osama?
And why in the fuck did Daniel Pearl have to pay the price
For his life and his wife plead twice?
See Al-Amin got life and Fred got dead, Hampton
To dampen the dream of all the Panthers
They got they answer for ransom
As we read together, as we dream together
Count your blessings whenever you feel that things won't be no better
But it got to, you gave me this microphone so I must rock you
Your brainwaves, airwaves, energized and shocked you
Y'all got me, well I got y'all, long as I know y'all listenin'
I'ma always bring food for thought to the table in the kitchen
Now eat nigga
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Fast Car
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I think this song is great... I love to see artists talk about something real for once. All that about Daniel Pearl and Bush's presidency- it's great.