"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.
One, two, three, four!
Stroke 1 'cause he sprayed a car
They say give him the cane
Sovereignity always goes too far
And causes too much pain
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
They beat him 'till he's raw
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
Don't do it no more
Stroke 2 'cause his hair's too long
Like Jesus nailed to wood
It's obvious that this is wrong
And it does no good
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
They beat him 'till he's raw
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
Don't do it no more
Stroke 3 'cause he chewed some gum
And left it on the ground
This struck me as really dumb
There's still some brutes around
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
They beat him 'till he's raw
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
Don't do it no more
Thinkin' of the other nine hundred and ninety nine
I'm sorry it had to happen but there will come a time
For the other nine hundred and ninety nine
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
They beat him 'till he's raw
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
Don't do it no more
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
They left him with a scar
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
You know who you are
"If the future looks like anything, it looks like Singapore
There are no homeless, there are no poor"
"It's like Disneyland with the death penalty"
Stroke 1 'cause he sprayed a car
They say give him the cane
Sovereignity always goes too far
And causes too much pain
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
They beat him 'till he's raw
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
Don't do it no more
Stroke 2 'cause his hair's too long
Like Jesus nailed to wood
It's obvious that this is wrong
And it does no good
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
They beat him 'till he's raw
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
Don't do it no more
Stroke 3 'cause he chewed some gum
And left it on the ground
This struck me as really dumb
There's still some brutes around
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
They beat him 'till he's raw
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
Don't do it no more
Thinkin' of the other nine hundred and ninety nine
I'm sorry it had to happen but there will come a time
For the other nine hundred and ninety nine
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
They beat him 'till he's raw
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
Don't do it no more
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
They left him with a scar
Stroke 4 live from Singapore
You know who you are
"If the future looks like anything, it looks like Singapore
There are no homeless, there are no poor"
"It's like Disneyland with the death penalty"
Lyrics submitted by Zealot
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