"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.
And he said what about Los Angeles?
She said we never really made it that far west
Yeah, we scored big in Denver and we thought it might be best
To go hang around in the upper Midwest
Yeah, and he said what about New Orleans?
She said I don't think you understand what that means
All those hangers-on
These girls lifting up their shirts when the cameras come on
Yeah, we were trying to stay away from those kind of scenes
And we didn't go to Dallas
Yeah, 'cause Jackie Onassis said that it ain't safe for Catholics yet
Think about what they pulled on Kennedy and then think about his security
Yeah, then think about what they might try to pull on you and me
Saint Barbara, I'm calling your name
Don't let me blow up
We'll hook it all up
I guess there's fields of speed where there's fields of grain
Saint Barbara, don't let me explode
I can feel the whole scene
Starting to corrode
When we're fooling around on the frontage roads
He asked what happened to Charlemagne
She just smiled all polite-like and said something vague
She said Charlemagne got caught up in some complicated things
Yeah, then she wiped at her nose and she winked
She said we never really made it that far west
Yeah, we scored big in Denver and we thought it might be best
To go hang around in the upper Midwest
Yeah, and he said what about New Orleans?
She said I don't think you understand what that means
All those hangers-on
These girls lifting up their shirts when the cameras come on
Yeah, we were trying to stay away from those kind of scenes
And we didn't go to Dallas
Yeah, 'cause Jackie Onassis said that it ain't safe for Catholics yet
Think about what they pulled on Kennedy and then think about his security
Yeah, then think about what they might try to pull on you and me
Saint Barbara, I'm calling your name
Don't let me blow up
We'll hook it all up
I guess there's fields of speed where there's fields of grain
Saint Barbara, don't let me explode
I can feel the whole scene
Starting to corrode
When we're fooling around on the frontage roads
He asked what happened to Charlemagne
She just smiled all polite-like and said something vague
She said Charlemagne got caught up in some complicated things
Yeah, then she wiped at her nose and she winked
Lyrics submitted by nonetospeakof
Don't Let Me Explode Lyrics as written by Franz Nicolay Craig Finn
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
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Great version of a great song,
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where are they coming from?