"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.
Say farewell to your fairweather friends
And not a second too soon
To leave a life among ruins
Oh there was nothing left but to
Cut ourselves loose
These fascists and philistines
Of violence and fashion,
These modern day philistines
They stamped stand on your hands
They stamped stand on my hands
Any day now we'll perish
These are nervous times
No one can hold a candle to you
When it comes down to virtue and truth
No one can hold a candle to you
And I, darling, dim next to you
No one can hold a candle to you
When it comes down to old-fashioned virtue
Kingdom mine
Open your eyes
Make up your mind
I'll be Einstein
Or Frankenstein
You said blow them away
To kingdom come
Or will the kingdom be one?
No one can hold a candle to you
When it comes down to virtue and truth
No one, no one can hold a candle to you
And I, darling, darling, I dim next to you
Hiroshima, no thanks!
And not a second too soon
To leave a life among ruins
Oh there was nothing left but to
Cut ourselves loose
These fascists and philistines
Of violence and fashion,
These modern day philistines
They stamped stand on your hands
They stamped stand on my hands
Any day now we'll perish
These are nervous times
No one can hold a candle to you
When it comes down to virtue and truth
No one can hold a candle to you
And I, darling, dim next to you
No one can hold a candle to you
When it comes down to old-fashioned virtue
Kingdom mine
Open your eyes
Make up your mind
I'll be Einstein
Or Frankenstein
You said blow them away
To kingdom come
Or will the kingdom be one?
No one can hold a candle to you
When it comes down to virtue and truth
No one, no one can hold a candle to you
And I, darling, darling, I dim next to you
Hiroshima, no thanks!
Lyrics submitted by Uber_Geek
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