"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.
She found the world embedded in the snow
It’s too bad the rest have made it all their own
There’s got to be a better way somehow but I don’t know
Wish I could find the words and heal my baby
She made a crib of blankets from the floor
Painted the bluest colour on the walls
I don’t want to know the time, I don’t care about that at all
Nobody knows the way to heaven baby
No, this can’t go on
Your advice for young mothers to be,
We’ll never find the words darling believe me
So here it is, your heart’s out the cold
The friends who care still call you on the phone
The vicar said it’s wrong but hey what does he know?
He said it’s wrong but that the Lord forgave me
Well I don’t want his pity and your scorn
Boy why you preaching? No one’s listening anymore
That life of yours sickens me directly to my maternal core
No man alive has earned the right to save me
Lord this can’t go on
Your advice for young mothers to be
We’ll never find the words Darling believe me
Now here I am, I'm pushing 24
I’ve got a house and a little terrace on the lawn,
My baby’s grown and I’m as happy as a fawn
Now only the beauty of the world delays me
Oh, this can’t go on, your advice for young mothers to be
We’ll never find the words darling believe me
Oh, this crown of thorns, we’ll never find the words
Your advice to young mothers to be
We’ll never find the words darling believe me
It’s too bad the rest have made it all their own
There’s got to be a better way somehow but I don’t know
Wish I could find the words and heal my baby
She made a crib of blankets from the floor
Painted the bluest colour on the walls
I don’t want to know the time, I don’t care about that at all
Nobody knows the way to heaven baby
No, this can’t go on
Your advice for young mothers to be,
We’ll never find the words darling believe me
So here it is, your heart’s out the cold
The friends who care still call you on the phone
The vicar said it’s wrong but hey what does he know?
He said it’s wrong but that the Lord forgave me
Well I don’t want his pity and your scorn
Boy why you preaching? No one’s listening anymore
That life of yours sickens me directly to my maternal core
No man alive has earned the right to save me
Lord this can’t go on
Your advice for young mothers to be
We’ll never find the words Darling believe me
Now here I am, I'm pushing 24
I’ve got a house and a little terrace on the lawn,
My baby’s grown and I’m as happy as a fawn
Now only the beauty of the world delays me
Oh, this can’t go on, your advice for young mothers to be
We’ll never find the words darling believe me
Oh, this crown of thorns, we’ll never find the words
Your advice to young mothers to be
We’ll never find the words darling believe me
Lyrics submitted by scarletsilver
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Fast Car
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"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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I agree that this song is about pregnancy out of wedlock.