"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.
Let me take you baby, down to the river bed
Got to tell you somethin', go right to your head
Cause I got a line on you, babe
I got a line on you
Gotta put your arms around me
With every bit of your love
If you know what to do, I'll make love to you
Cause you got the right line to make it through these times
I got a line on you babe
I got a line on you babe
I got a line on you babe
I got a line on you
I got a line on you babe
You know my winter's almost over
My summer, she's comin' on strong
I can love you, love you, love you
Love you all year long
I got a line on you babe
I got a line on you
I got a line on you babe
I got a line on you
I got a line on you babe
Got to tell you somethin', go right to your head
Cause I got a line on you, babe
I got a line on you
Gotta put your arms around me
With every bit of your love
If you know what to do, I'll make love to you
Cause you got the right line to make it through these times
I got a line on you babe
I got a line on you babe
I got a line on you babe
I got a line on you
I got a line on you babe
You know my winter's almost over
My summer, she's comin' on strong
I can love you, love you, love you
Love you all year long
I got a line on you babe
I got a line on you
I got a line on you babe
I got a line on you
I got a line on you babe
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So, what does "I got a line on you" mean, in the context of this song?
Literally, it means "I have received useful information on you (which I will now use)," which is anything but romantic!
Having a line on a woman, for instance, might mean that someone told you her favorite group was the Kinks, with the idea being that you could claim the same thing and impress her with a (nonexistent) bond. That's a standard ploy in bad romantic comedies!
So Randy California is sitting here with a phrase that would make a great hook for a single, but it sounds more sleazy and stalker-ish than loving.How do you fix that?
By going down to a river bed.
Now the line has a double meaning. If he's got a literal line on her near the water, she cannot drown, and they cannot be separated. So it means "I will always be there, and will protect you."
And now the "I have information about you" simply means "I get you, I understand you." It's not a phony line, it's a real one, and it's a lifeline, too.
Now, that would go to your sweetheart's head!
@ericmvan I think the song is about sex. "River bed", "put yuor arms around me, every bit of your love" but during one performance, he changed it to "put your legs around me". I think its about sex and not love. But then he was something like 17 or 18 years old at the time he wrote it. I'm not an 18 year old young man but all the ones I met at the time were all about sex, not love. Just saying.
@KatWmith22 As a former 18 y/o male I can vouch for the fact that love and sex are not mutually exclusive. It's definitely a sexy song. "Let me take you, baby ... to ... bed." And you can bet that they're not going down to the riverbed just to have a stone-skipping contest. But there is also the "I got a line on you" with the double meaning as above. It's about both a physical and emotional connection.<br /> <br /> My buddy and I have a tape of Randy (apparently) improvising a Star Trek version of "Hey Joe," so I can appreciate the change of lyrics story. I talked to him (mostly about how amazing his step-dad was on drums) after that gig and he was a total gentleman.