"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's a cross above the baby's bed,
A Savior in her dreams.
But she was not delivered then,
And the baby became me.
There's a light inside the darkened room,
A footstep on the stair.
A door that I forever close,
To leave those memories there.
So when the shadows link them,
Into an evening sun.
Well first there's summer, then I'll let you in.
September when it comes.
I plan to crawl outside these walls,
Close my eyes and see.
And fall into the heart and arms,
Of those who wait for me.
I cannot move a mountain now
I can no longer run.
I cannot be who I was then
In a way, I never was.
I watch the clouds go sailing
I watch the clock and sun.
Oh, I watch myself, depending on,
September when it comes.
So when the shadows link them,
And burn away the clouds.
They will fly me, like an angel,
To a place where I can rest.
When this begins, I'll let you know,
September when it comes.
A Savior in her dreams.
But she was not delivered then,
And the baby became me.
There's a light inside the darkened room,
A footstep on the stair.
A door that I forever close,
To leave those memories there.
So when the shadows link them,
Into an evening sun.
Well first there's summer, then I'll let you in.
September when it comes.
I plan to crawl outside these walls,
Close my eyes and see.
And fall into the heart and arms,
Of those who wait for me.
I cannot move a mountain now
I can no longer run.
I cannot be who I was then
In a way, I never was.
I watch the clouds go sailing
I watch the clock and sun.
Oh, I watch myself, depending on,
September when it comes.
So when the shadows link them,
And burn away the clouds.
They will fly me, like an angel,
To a place where I can rest.
When this begins, I'll let you know,
September when it comes.
Lyrics submitted by OwnPersonalDemon, edited by laurenall, taraskent
September When It Comes Lyrics as written by Rosanne Cash John Leventhal
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This song has an unintended poignancy because Johnny died in September.
To me the song is about how our connections to one another become stronger later in our lives; how Rosanne, as a middle-aged woman, related to her father differently than she did as a child, and how he related to people differently as he approached the end of his life.
"When the shadows lengthen And burn away the past They will fly me like an angel To a place where I can rest When this begins, I'll let you in September when it comes"
There is a touch of regret in this verse, as it seems to be talking about how we take relationships for granted and don't always get close to those we love until we are suddenly faced with our own mortality.
@frankiefan Well, you, like me misunderstood part of the lyrics. When the shadows LINK THEM, NOT lengthen! For years I thought it was LENGTHEN. Ooops?? How does that change your interpretation?