"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.
"So how do we know each other?
And how do you have my number?
Well why don't you guide me
You be the driver"
Say what you want and leave your shyness home
And you should do what you want and write a little poem
Leave it for her and live another day
And you should leave it for her, the girl around the way
Write down a list of things you wanna do
And then you leave it in work because you wanna live a little
Pick up the girl in someone's borrowed Mini
Take her to dinner, use her boyfriend's money
Hey lady, put the phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I wanna see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown
Planning a freak is such a tricky thing
Because you move through the country, she comes back again
And then you move through the city, but she goes abroad
Is she telling you something, is she getting bored?
I make a rough plan to sleep around a minaret
I need a change, I'm a lazy rat if I am honest
But my bold change of tact will fade out with the summer
I've got no appetite and all the girls are bummers
My baby doesn't look at me the way I want her to look
She doesn't comprehend
My baby's got it going on
She's got a friend in every street in this town
I want to go out but there's nobody home-
I'll go on my own
Thus starts the lonely walking
There's always too much talking
I, I, I should have stayed home
She starts her cold caressing
The kid she starts undressing
I, I, I should have stayed home
The DJ's picking up speed
That's something I just don't need
I, I, I should have stayed home
The gossip's bearing down on me
The kids are pairing up in front of me
I should have stayed home
I should have stayed home
I think I'll go home
Listen lady, put your phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I need to see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Listen lady, leave your phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I need to see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Hey lady, meet my mum and dad
You're a strange aberration
In this land of potted plants and boxlike houses
Where the girls like mouses
Breathe a long sigh of resignation
You resign yourself to keep on growing
Like the seeds you're sowing
You're a strange apparition in this land of grammar schools and gala days
The ladies set in their ways
You had a long conversation with a kid next door
He's a little slow but in your favour it shows
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to move out to the sticks
Listen lady, leave the boy home
Cancel all operations, tell your friends there's more to you than this
And how do you have my number?
Well why don't you guide me
You be the driver"
Say what you want and leave your shyness home
And you should do what you want and write a little poem
Leave it for her and live another day
And you should leave it for her, the girl around the way
Write down a list of things you wanna do
And then you leave it in work because you wanna live a little
Pick up the girl in someone's borrowed Mini
Take her to dinner, use her boyfriend's money
Hey lady, put the phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I wanna see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown
Planning a freak is such a tricky thing
Because you move through the country, she comes back again
And then you move through the city, but she goes abroad
Is she telling you something, is she getting bored?
I make a rough plan to sleep around a minaret
I need a change, I'm a lazy rat if I am honest
But my bold change of tact will fade out with the summer
I've got no appetite and all the girls are bummers
My baby doesn't look at me the way I want her to look
She doesn't comprehend
My baby's got it going on
She's got a friend in every street in this town
I want to go out but there's nobody home-
I'll go on my own
Thus starts the lonely walking
There's always too much talking
I, I, I should have stayed home
She starts her cold caressing
The kid she starts undressing
I, I, I should have stayed home
The DJ's picking up speed
That's something I just don't need
I, I, I should have stayed home
The gossip's bearing down on me
The kids are pairing up in front of me
I should have stayed home
I should have stayed home
I think I'll go home
Listen lady, put your phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I need to see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Listen lady, leave your phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I need to see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Hey lady, meet my mum and dad
You're a strange aberration
In this land of potted plants and boxlike houses
Where the girls like mouses
Breathe a long sigh of resignation
You resign yourself to keep on growing
Like the seeds you're sowing
You're a strange apparition in this land of grammar schools and gala days
The ladies set in their ways
You had a long conversation with a kid next door
He's a little slow but in your favour it shows
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to move out to the sticks
Listen lady, leave the boy home
Cancel all operations, tell your friends there's more to you than this
Lyrics submitted by michaelbondy, edited by strawberryabc
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Fast Car
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b&s go to the discotheque!