"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.
Trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road
Third boxcar, midnight train, destination Bangor, Maine
Old worn-out suits and shoes
I don't pay no union dues
I smoke old stogies I have found, short, but not too big around
I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road
I know every engineer on every train
All their children, and all of their names
And every hand out in every town
And every lock that ain't locked when no one's around
I sing, trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road
Trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road
Third boxcar, midnight train, destination Bangor, Maine
Old worn-out suits and shoes
I don't pay no union dues
I smoke old stogies I have found, short, but not too big around
I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road
I know every engineer on every train
All their children, and all of their names
And every hand out in every town
And every lock that ain't locked when no one's around
I sing, trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road
Trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
Lyrics submitted by poolhallXjunkie
King of the Road Lyrics as written by Roger Miller
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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My question is where the comma should be... is he saying a man of means by no means.... or is he saying a man of means (being his skill to get along).. by no means King of the Road... in that he is not living the fancy lifestyle of a King on the road... I guess the way it is written above on this website makes the most sense..
I think the comma is correct above. "King of the Road" is a title he's given himself that's somewhere between self-deprication and a glorification of his humble existence. He isn't a man of means, but he has the one thing that's important to himself--freedom--so that makes him a King in his own mind.<br /> <br /> Similarly, my grandfather would proudly state he worked as a Pearl Diver when he was younger. "Pearl Diver" meant he was a dishwasher. Diving into those pearly suds every day had to have been a crappy job, but he did it with pride.