"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.
O Mount Kailas, uncover me;
come my restoration, wash my body clean
I've been walking along a crooked path
where the walls have fallen and broken me in half
I'm telling you, I will not rest till I lay down my head
I'm gonna go in the house of stone and light
I shall not cry for the blind man I leave behind
when I go in the house of stone and light,
in the house of stone and light
Holy Lady, show me my soul;
tell me of that place where I must surely go
Old man waiting at the gates for me,
give me the wisdom, give me the key
I'm telling you, I will not rest till I lay down my head
In the house of stone and light
I'll make my way, O gonna be such a beautiful day
In the house of stone and light
In the house of stone and light
Let me in beneath my skin,
yeah, yeah, oh oh
In the house of stone and light
It's been to long, my spirit's been at war
Havasupai Shaman, let me be reborn
And I will embrace the sun upon my face,
come the day I awake the child inside
in the house of stone and light
And when I go I will op op open my eyes
in the house of stone and light
I will see you in the house of stone and light
I'm looking in beneath my skin,
yeah, yeah, oh oh
In the house of stone and light, I'm coming inside
In the house of stone and light, looking for the child
In the house of stone and light, see myself got such a good shelter
In the house of stone and light
In the house of stone and light, I'm gonna let this child come washing of water
In the house of stone and light, He's speaking softly to me
(I must go there, to find my soul, yeah)
In the house of stone and light, I can see so clearly now
(I will go there to find my soul, yeah)
In the house of stone and light, we'll keep on knocking on my door
(I must go there, to find my soul, yeah)
In the house of stone and light
(I will go there, to find my soul, yeah)
In the house of stone and light
(I must go there, to find my soul, yeah)
come my restoration, wash my body clean
I've been walking along a crooked path
where the walls have fallen and broken me in half
I'm telling you, I will not rest till I lay down my head
I'm gonna go in the house of stone and light
I shall not cry for the blind man I leave behind
when I go in the house of stone and light,
in the house of stone and light
Holy Lady, show me my soul;
tell me of that place where I must surely go
Old man waiting at the gates for me,
give me the wisdom, give me the key
I'm telling you, I will not rest till I lay down my head
In the house of stone and light
I'll make my way, O gonna be such a beautiful day
In the house of stone and light
In the house of stone and light
Let me in beneath my skin,
yeah, yeah, oh oh
In the house of stone and light
It's been to long, my spirit's been at war
Havasupai Shaman, let me be reborn
And I will embrace the sun upon my face,
come the day I awake the child inside
in the house of stone and light
And when I go I will op op open my eyes
in the house of stone and light
I will see you in the house of stone and light
I'm looking in beneath my skin,
yeah, yeah, oh oh
In the house of stone and light, I'm coming inside
In the house of stone and light, looking for the child
In the house of stone and light, see myself got such a good shelter
In the house of stone and light
In the house of stone and light, I'm gonna let this child come washing of water
In the house of stone and light, He's speaking softly to me
(I must go there, to find my soul, yeah)
In the house of stone and light, I can see so clearly now
(I will go there to find my soul, yeah)
In the house of stone and light, we'll keep on knocking on my door
(I must go there, to find my soul, yeah)
In the house of stone and light
(I will go there, to find my soul, yeah)
In the house of stone and light
(I must go there, to find my soul, yeah)
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Blue
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Amazing
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It sounds like a man embarking on a spiritual transformation. He realizes he hasn't been living his life right, and gets ready to make a change.
Although the song references different spiritual traditions (Buddhism and Native American), I think the "house of stone and light" is a cathedral, and he is saying that his experiences with other traditions ultimately led him to come home to his own tradition (Christianity) in the end.