"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.
I'm heavy handed
To say the least
My mother thinks
I'll be an awful clutcher
'Cause I spill things from stirring 'em too quickly
I'm far too loud
It's like, as soon as I've got an opinion
It just has to come out
I laugh at stupid things
Just 'cause they tickle me
And, sometimes I wish
Sometimes I wish I was like Mariella
She got some prittstick
And she glued her lips together
So she never had to speak
Never had to speak
Never had to speak
People used to say she's as quiet as a mouse
She just doesn't make a peep
She marched to her wardrobe
And she threw away the colour
Because wearing black looks mysterious
But it didn't impress her mother
She wanted to dress her baby
In patterns and flowers
But Mariella just crossed her arms
And so she cried for hours
Mariella, Mariella
My pretty baby girl
Unglue your lips from being together and
And wear some pink and pearls
You can have your friends 'round
And they can stay for tea
Won't you just try to fit in please
Do this for me
But Mariella just crossed her arms
As she walked up the stairs
And she went into her bedroom
And she sat on her bed
And she looked in the mirror
And she thought to herself
"If I wanna play, I can play with me
If I wanna think, I'll think in my head"
At school, Mariella didn't have many friends
Yeah, the girls they all looked at her
And they thought she was quite strange
And the boys they're not really into girls at that age
And the teachers, they thought Mariella was just going through a phase.
But Mariella just smiled as she skipped down the road
Because she knew all the secrets in her world
Yes, she always got the crossword puzzles right everyday
And she could do the alphabet backwards
Without making any mistakes
Mariella, Mariella
Pretty, pretty girl
Mariella, Mariella
Happy in your own little world
Happy in her own little world
And she said
Yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Gonna unglue my lips from being together
She said I'm never ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Gonna unglue my lips from being together
To say the least
My mother thinks
I'll be an awful clutcher
'Cause I spill things from stirring 'em too quickly
I'm far too loud
It's like, as soon as I've got an opinion
It just has to come out
I laugh at stupid things
Just 'cause they tickle me
And, sometimes I wish
Sometimes I wish I was like Mariella
She got some prittstick
And she glued her lips together
So she never had to speak
Never had to speak
Never had to speak
People used to say she's as quiet as a mouse
She just doesn't make a peep
She marched to her wardrobe
And she threw away the colour
Because wearing black looks mysterious
But it didn't impress her mother
She wanted to dress her baby
In patterns and flowers
But Mariella just crossed her arms
And so she cried for hours
Mariella, Mariella
My pretty baby girl
Unglue your lips from being together and
And wear some pink and pearls
You can have your friends 'round
And they can stay for tea
Won't you just try to fit in please
Do this for me
But Mariella just crossed her arms
As she walked up the stairs
And she went into her bedroom
And she sat on her bed
And she looked in the mirror
And she thought to herself
"If I wanna play, I can play with me
If I wanna think, I'll think in my head"
At school, Mariella didn't have many friends
Yeah, the girls they all looked at her
And they thought she was quite strange
And the boys they're not really into girls at that age
And the teachers, they thought Mariella was just going through a phase.
But Mariella just smiled as she skipped down the road
Because she knew all the secrets in her world
Yes, she always got the crossword puzzles right everyday
And she could do the alphabet backwards
Without making any mistakes
Mariella, Mariella
Pretty, pretty girl
Mariella, Mariella
Happy in your own little world
Happy in her own little world
And she said
Yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Gonna unglue my lips from being together
She said I'm never ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Yeah, I'm never ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever
Gonna unglue my lips from being together
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No, I'm pretty sure she says 'at that age' because they're all young, not because Mariella herself is too young.