"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.
You got to wash with the crocodile in the river
You got to swim with the sharks in the sea
You got to live with the crooked politician
Trust those things that you can never see
Ayeye ayeye, Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
Ayeye ayeye, Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
You got to trust your lover when you go away
Keep on believeing tomorrow brings a better day
Sometimes you smile while you'r cryin' inside
Just once you'll turn away while the truth be shinin' bright
Ayeye ayeye , Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
Ayeye ayeye , Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
Every day you wake up I hope it's under a blue sky
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
One day when you wake up I will have to say goodbye
Say goodbye, it's your world so live in it
Goodbye, it's your world so live in it
Beyond the door, strange cruel beautiful years lie waiting for you
It kills me to know you won't escape loneliness
Maybe you lose hope too
Ayeye ayeye, Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
Ayeye ayeye, Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
Every time you wake up I hope it's under a blue sky
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
One day when you wake up I will have to say goodbye
Say goodbye
It's your world so live in it
Goodbye, it's your world so live in it
When I feel your small body close to mine
I feel weak and strong at the same time
So few years to give you wings to fly
Show you the stars to guide your ship by
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
Every day you wake up I hope it's under a blue sky
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
One day when you wake up I will have to say goodbye
Say goodbye, it's your world so live in it
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
You got to swim with the sharks in the sea
You got to live with the crooked politician
Trust those things that you can never see
Ayeye ayeye, Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
Ayeye ayeye, Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
You got to trust your lover when you go away
Keep on believeing tomorrow brings a better day
Sometimes you smile while you'r cryin' inside
Just once you'll turn away while the truth be shinin' bright
Ayeye ayeye , Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
Ayeye ayeye , Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
Every day you wake up I hope it's under a blue sky
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
One day when you wake up I will have to say goodbye
Say goodbye, it's your world so live in it
Goodbye, it's your world so live in it
Beyond the door, strange cruel beautiful years lie waiting for you
It kills me to know you won't escape loneliness
Maybe you lose hope too
Ayeye ayeye, Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
Ayeye ayeye, Jesse mfana, ayeye ayeye
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
Every time you wake up I hope it's under a blue sky
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
One day when you wake up I will have to say goodbye
Say goodbye
It's your world so live in it
Goodbye, it's your world so live in it
When I feel your small body close to mine
I feel weak and strong at the same time
So few years to give you wings to fly
Show you the stars to guide your ship by
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
Every day you wake up I hope it's under a blue sky
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world
One day when you wake up I will have to say goodbye
Say goodbye, it's your world so live in it
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
It's your world so live in it (it's your world so live in it)
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