"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.
When I go I'm gonna take this wave off into the sunset
When I get there man, I'll never get wet
Gonna step right off into / into the other side
And then I'm gonna take in and then I'm gonna make it in
Gonna take this time gonna take it all to
Find my mom / gonna find out
how she's been / And tell her how much (how much) I've
missed her since she's gone
I'm gonna take this wave / Man I hope they're waiting there
With open arms, and a case of beer
But first I'm gonna shake hand of everyone before me
Everyone I've ever known, Everyone I've ever met.
take your time / Face it all some day
Your another player in this life and man you've got to play
can't just sit there waiting for life to pass you by (gotta)
gotta catch it from behind /and take/ it for a ride
Oh...you've got to live your life
you've got to make it count
before your time
Before I go I'm gonna need some time to say goodbye to all of my
family and friends, cuz i'm just parts of them
and all the shit i've picked up / from each one of them
and every thing I've given back / and all the times I got off track
give my shit / gonna give it all to
someone who / ain't got no-thing
And maybe they'll have better luck making
something better of themselves
I'm gonna find some kid / who's wants the music in his sole
and give him all my guitars / cuz I don't need them no
more where i'm headed / and man I think you get it
Cuz I'm never coming back, and I'm never headed back
take your time / Face it all some day
Your another player in this life and man you've got to play
can't just sit there waiting for life to pass you by (gotta)
gotta catch it from behind /and take/ it for a ride
Oh...you've got to live your life
you've got to make it count
before your time
The video games / The TV & the movies
Waisting all you time / The pop-op ads are useless
Useless time spent / The useless times are fruitless
Poinless times / A waist of life / It's not too late to change your life
Oh...you've got to live your life
you've got to make it count
before your time
When I get there man, I'll never get wet
Gonna step right off into / into the other side
And then I'm gonna take in and then I'm gonna make it in
Gonna take this time gonna take it all to
Find my mom / gonna find out
how she's been / And tell her how much (how much) I've
missed her since she's gone
I'm gonna take this wave / Man I hope they're waiting there
With open arms, and a case of beer
But first I'm gonna shake hand of everyone before me
Everyone I've ever known, Everyone I've ever met.
take your time / Face it all some day
Your another player in this life and man you've got to play
can't just sit there waiting for life to pass you by (gotta)
gotta catch it from behind /and take/ it for a ride
Oh...you've got to live your life
you've got to make it count
before your time
Before I go I'm gonna need some time to say goodbye to all of my
family and friends, cuz i'm just parts of them
and all the shit i've picked up / from each one of them
and every thing I've given back / and all the times I got off track
give my shit / gonna give it all to
someone who / ain't got no-thing
And maybe they'll have better luck making
something better of themselves
I'm gonna find some kid / who's wants the music in his sole
and give him all my guitars / cuz I don't need them no
more where i'm headed / and man I think you get it
Cuz I'm never coming back, and I'm never headed back
take your time / Face it all some day
Your another player in this life and man you've got to play
can't just sit there waiting for life to pass you by (gotta)
gotta catch it from behind /and take/ it for a ride
Oh...you've got to live your life
you've got to make it count
before your time
The video games / The TV & the movies
Waisting all you time / The pop-op ads are useless
Useless time spent / The useless times are fruitless
Poinless times / A waist of life / It's not too late to change your life
Oh...you've got to live your life
you've got to make it count
before your time
Lyrics submitted by puremd
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