"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.
Easy said and easy done
Is how we like this
Keep us in our place
You're the night, the dirty night, that keeps us going
Nothing left to waste
Pull a sentence from your lips to keep them quiet
What they want to hear
Ah you're the night, the dirty night that keeps us going
No-one left to fear
As the sun goes down on a broken town
And the fingers bleed in the factories
Come on out tonight, come and see the side
Of the ones you love and the ones in love
And you
Keep with me, keep with me, keep with me, keep with me
Smile for once, for a moment it makes us happy
What we need is here
You're the night, the dirty night, you make us angry
There's everything to fear
As the sun goes down on a broken town
And the fingers bleed in the factories
Come on out tonight, come and see the side
Of the ones you love and the ones in love
And you
Keep with me, keep with me, keep with me, keep with me
As the sun goes down on a broken town
And the fingers bleed in the factories
Come on out tonight, come and see the side
Of the ones you love and the ones in love
And you
Keep with me, keep with me, keep with me, keep with me
Keep with me, keep with me, keep with me, keep with me
Is how we like this
Keep us in our place
You're the night, the dirty night, that keeps us going
Nothing left to waste
Pull a sentence from your lips to keep them quiet
What they want to hear
Ah you're the night, the dirty night that keeps us going
No-one left to fear
As the sun goes down on a broken town
And the fingers bleed in the factories
Come on out tonight, come and see the side
Of the ones you love and the ones in love
And you
Keep with me, keep with me, keep with me, keep with me
Smile for once, for a moment it makes us happy
What we need is here
You're the night, the dirty night, you make us angry
There's everything to fear
As the sun goes down on a broken town
And the fingers bleed in the factories
Come on out tonight, come and see the side
Of the ones you love and the ones in love
And you
Keep with me, keep with me, keep with me, keep with me
As the sun goes down on a broken town
And the fingers bleed in the factories
Come on out tonight, come and see the side
Of the ones you love and the ones in love
And you
Keep with me, keep with me, keep with me, keep with me
Keep with me, keep with me, keep with me, keep with me
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The voice of this song is interesting. . . it seems that the singer is speaking for the 'proletariat', and the listener is "the dirty night. . .". Perhaps the song intends to make the audience think about their role in the tragedy of so many lives, and "keep with me" essentially means, "Don't turn away, look at the blood and the pain and the fear and the hate that really make your life possible".
Quite possibly one of the best songs written in the last few years!
The chorus is just amazing!
fanbloodytastic how know one has commented on this song amazes me, editors are amazing and destined to be huge
I just acquired this album. This song is great, Editors are quality.
Buy this album. And if you wont do that, download this song :p
Anyone else get a Gang of Four vibe from this song?
Also, I'm pretty sure it's "Come on out tonight, come and see the SIGHT" not SIDE.
I swear I hear "Keep with me, keep with me, keep AWAY FROM me"
its 'Come on out tonight, come and see the sight'
Great song, it has a industrial revolution feel to its lyrics, or maybe like Bloody Sunday(not the U2 song)
To me this song is referring to supressed working class people working hard for rich factory owners.