"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.
Father stop
Criticizing (criticizing) your son
Mother please
Leave your daughters alone
Don't you see that's what wrong
With the world (with the world) today (oh)
Everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay (oh)
Everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
We all talk about kindness
But it's only only a word (truly)
Brother turned on a sister
In this cruel, cruel world
That's what's wrong
With all in this world today
Everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
Oh!
Everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
Aah aah (woo)
Somebody to play with
Wanna to mold you, wanna mold you
Shape it like they wanna
Wanna to do their thing
Children are told
To give not just to take
If we were all children
You know the world will be a better place
Oh, everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
We should all love each other (each other)
Love not hate one another (one another)
We should all love each other (each other)
Love not hate, oh
Everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
Yeah, everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
True, everybody wants somebody
To mold them (to be their own piece of clay), shape them own way
(Oh) aye, everybody wants somebody
Try to make it (to be their own piece of clay)
Or do their, do their thing (want to)
Everybody wants to take somebody (somebody)
Got to make 'em, make 'em like their self (piece of clay)
(Oh) everybody wants somebody (somebody)
To be their own (somebody, somebody, somebody) piece of clay
Yeah, everybody wants somebody (somebody) to be (to be their own piece of clay)
Somebody, somebody
Somebody (somebody), somebody (to be their own piece of clay) (somebody somebody)
Somebody (somebody), somebody (to be their own piece of clay) (somebody somebody somebody)
Criticizing (criticizing) your son
Mother please
Leave your daughters alone
Don't you see that's what wrong
With the world (with the world) today (oh)
Everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay (oh)
Everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
We all talk about kindness
But it's only only a word (truly)
Brother turned on a sister
In this cruel, cruel world
That's what's wrong
With all in this world today
Everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
Oh!
Everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
Aah aah (woo)
Somebody to play with
Wanna to mold you, wanna mold you
Shape it like they wanna
Wanna to do their thing
Children are told
To give not just to take
If we were all children
You know the world will be a better place
Oh, everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
We should all love each other (each other)
Love not hate one another (one another)
We should all love each other (each other)
Love not hate, oh
Everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
Yeah, everybody wants somebody
To be their own piece of clay
True, everybody wants somebody
To mold them (to be their own piece of clay), shape them own way
(Oh) aye, everybody wants somebody
Try to make it (to be their own piece of clay)
Or do their, do their thing (want to)
Everybody wants to take somebody (somebody)
Got to make 'em, make 'em like their self (piece of clay)
(Oh) everybody wants somebody (somebody)
To be their own (somebody, somebody, somebody) piece of clay
Yeah, everybody wants somebody (somebody) to be (to be their own piece of clay)
Somebody, somebody
Somebody (somebody), somebody (to be their own piece of clay) (somebody somebody)
Somebody (somebody), somebody (to be their own piece of clay) (somebody somebody somebody)
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Yo La Tengo
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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It's about ALLOWING someone to BE their OWN piece of clay...Simple Simplicity AT ITS CORE!!! Love it!