"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.
Well her face is a map of the world
Is a map of the world
You can see she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
The people who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She holds you captivated in her palm
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
Well I feel like walking the world
Like walking the world
And you can hear she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
She fills up every corner like she's born in black and white
Makes you feel warmer when you're trying to remember
What you heard
She likes to leave you hanging on a wire
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
And she's taller than most
And she's looking at me
I can see her eyes looking from the page of a magazine
She makes me feel like I could be a tower
A big strong tower, yeah
The power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me, oh-oh
(Suddenly I see) hey, yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see) yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
Is a map of the world
You can see she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
The people who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She holds you captivated in her palm
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
Well I feel like walking the world
Like walking the world
And you can hear she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
She fills up every corner like she's born in black and white
Makes you feel warmer when you're trying to remember
What you heard
She likes to leave you hanging on a wire
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
And she's taller than most
And she's looking at me
I can see her eyes looking from the page of a magazine
She makes me feel like I could be a tower
A big strong tower, yeah
The power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me, oh-oh
(Suddenly I see) hey, yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see) yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
Lyrics submitted by LillyDarko
Suddenly I See Lyrics as written by Kt Tunstall
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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Punchline
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This song started playing on the radio in my town right after I achieved a very meaningful goal. I already have a happy successful life; I'm a college professor, I'm finishing up my doctorate, I have 4 great kids, I'm in love with an amazing man... but all of my adult life I've wanted to be an Air Force Officer. (That would be over 15 years). This past year, I achieved my goal. It is everything I hoped it would be. It is an amazing opportunity to be a leader to others and to serve my country... suddenly I see this is exactly what I want to be. Besides that, I want to be a role model for other Air Force women who are goal chasers. I put my goals off until it was almost too late (because of my age). I hope I have the opportunity to inspire other Air Force women to pursue their goals, to become confident leaders, and to live their dreams. Look for me driving around my town... my license plate is "SDNLYIC".