"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.
There was a thick set man with frog eyes
Who was standing by the door
And a little bald man with wing-nut ears
Was waiting in the car
Well Robert Moore passed the frog-eyed man
As he walked into the bar
And Betty Coltrane she jumped under her table
"What's your pleasure?" asked the barman
He had a face like boiled meat
"There's a girl called Betty Coltrane
That I have come to see"
"But I ain't seen that girl 'round here
For more than a week"
And Betty Coltrane she hid beneath the table
Well, then in came a sailor with
Mermaids tattooed on his arms
Followed by the man with the wing-nut ears
Who was waitin' in the car
Well, Robert Moore sensed trouble
He'd seen it comin' from afar
And Betty Coltrane she gasped beneath the table
Well, the sailor said "I'm looking for my wife
They call her Betty Coltrane!"
The frog-eyed man said "That can't be
That's my wife's maiden name"
And the man with the wing-nut ears said
"Hey, I married her back in Spain!"
And Betty Coltrane crossed herself beneath the table
Well, Robert Moore stepped up and said
"That woman is my wife"
And he drew a silver pistol
And a wicked bowie knife
And he shot the man with the wing-nut ears
Straight between the eyes
And Betty Coltrane, she moaned under the table
The frog-eyed man jumped at Robert Moore
Who stabbed him in the chest
And as Mister Frog-eyes died he said
"Betty, your the girl that I loved best!"
The sailor pulled a razor
Robert blasted it to bits
"And Betty, I know you're under the table"
"Well have no fear," said Robert Moore
"I do not want to hurt you!"
"Never a woman did'na love me
Half as much as you
You are the blessed' sun, girl
And you are the sacred moon"
And Betty shot his legs out from under the table!
Well, Robert Moore went down heavy
With a crash upon the floor
And over to his trashin' body
Betty Coltrane she did crawl
She put the gun to the back of head
And pulled the trigger once more
And blew his brains out all over the table!
Well Betty stood up and shook her head
And waved the smoke away
Said, "I'm sorry Mr Barman
To leave your place this way."
As she emptied out their wallets she said,
"I'll collect my severance pay"
And then she winked and threw dollar on the table
Who was standing by the door
And a little bald man with wing-nut ears
Was waiting in the car
Well Robert Moore passed the frog-eyed man
As he walked into the bar
And Betty Coltrane she jumped under her table
"What's your pleasure?" asked the barman
He had a face like boiled meat
"There's a girl called Betty Coltrane
That I have come to see"
"But I ain't seen that girl 'round here
For more than a week"
And Betty Coltrane she hid beneath the table
Well, then in came a sailor with
Mermaids tattooed on his arms
Followed by the man with the wing-nut ears
Who was waitin' in the car
Well, Robert Moore sensed trouble
He'd seen it comin' from afar
And Betty Coltrane she gasped beneath the table
Well, the sailor said "I'm looking for my wife
They call her Betty Coltrane!"
The frog-eyed man said "That can't be
That's my wife's maiden name"
And the man with the wing-nut ears said
"Hey, I married her back in Spain!"
And Betty Coltrane crossed herself beneath the table
Well, Robert Moore stepped up and said
"That woman is my wife"
And he drew a silver pistol
And a wicked bowie knife
And he shot the man with the wing-nut ears
Straight between the eyes
And Betty Coltrane, she moaned under the table
The frog-eyed man jumped at Robert Moore
Who stabbed him in the chest
And as Mister Frog-eyes died he said
"Betty, your the girl that I loved best!"
The sailor pulled a razor
Robert blasted it to bits
"And Betty, I know you're under the table"
"Well have no fear," said Robert Moore
"I do not want to hurt you!"
"Never a woman did'na love me
Half as much as you
You are the blessed' sun, girl
And you are the sacred moon"
And Betty shot his legs out from under the table!
Well, Robert Moore went down heavy
With a crash upon the floor
And over to his trashin' body
Betty Coltrane she did crawl
She put the gun to the back of head
And pulled the trigger once more
And blew his brains out all over the table!
Well Betty stood up and shook her head
And waved the smoke away
Said, "I'm sorry Mr Barman
To leave your place this way."
As she emptied out their wallets she said,
"I'll collect my severance pay"
And then she winked and threw dollar on the table
Lyrics submitted by Dressed2Depress
The Ballad of Robert Moore and Betty Coltrane Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Great song. I agree it should have been on murder ballads.
I think Nick is implying that perhaps instead trying to kill each other that Robert Moore, the "man with the wing-nut ears", the "frog-eyed man" and the sailor should have realized their real enemy was Betty Coltrane. Clearly Betty Coltrane is a harpy and when she steals the money from everyone at the end it is obvious she never cared about any of these men.
Another awesome tale of "love" gone wrong from Nick Cave.
This song is a lot of fun, and should have been on murder ballads imho, maybe its a bit short tho, its a reinterpretation of a folk standard if i'm not mistaken. I love when the keyboards kick in and give it that sea shanty feel very appropriate and the ending is unreal.
the lyrics speak for themselves really
I drives me nuts that this song is a "B-SIDE" considering how awesome it is. How this is excluded from "Murder Ballads" in lieu of such songs a "The Kindness of Strangers" or "Lovely Creature" or "Crow Jane" i'll never understand. Maybe it was too similar to "Stagger Lee" and "O'Malley's Bar." I wouldn't have minded at all personally.
This is sort of a silly song for "songmeanings.net" but hell, shouldn't every ballad be - just tell the story move on the the next one. And this ballad tells it with such descriptive flair and instrumental ruckus - it's impossible not to love this song.