"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.
There's a river running sweat right through our land, through our land,
Driven by a man with a bullwhip in his hand, in his hand
And I've taken just as much as I can stand, I can stand
Oh, we've got to free our brothers from their shackles yeah if we can, if can
Most nights I have to watch my woman cry, oh she cries
Every day I watch the colonel smile, oh he smiles
His painted ladies riding in from town, in from town
Oh I swear one day I'm gonna burn the whore house to the ground, to the ground
Slave! Slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave, slave
There's a rumor of a war that's yet to come, yet to come
That may free our families, free our families and our sons, and our sons
It may lay green lands to barren wastes, all the waste, all the waste
Oh the price of release is a bitter blow to face, ah to face
Slave! Slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave, slave
Slave! Oh slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave,
Slave! Slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave, slave
Driven by a man with a bullwhip in his hand, in his hand
And I've taken just as much as I can stand, I can stand
Oh, we've got to free our brothers from their shackles yeah if we can, if can
Most nights I have to watch my woman cry, oh she cries
Every day I watch the colonel smile, oh he smiles
His painted ladies riding in from town, in from town
Oh I swear one day I'm gonna burn the whore house to the ground, to the ground
Slave! Slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave, slave
There's a rumor of a war that's yet to come, yet to come
That may free our families, free our families and our sons, and our sons
It may lay green lands to barren wastes, all the waste, all the waste
Oh the price of release is a bitter blow to face, ah to face
Slave! Slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave, slave
Slave! Oh slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave,
Slave! Slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave, slave
Lyrics submitted by lizard_king
Slave Lyrics as written by Bernie Taupin Elton John
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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