"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.
Disappear from your home town
Go and find the people that you know
Show them all of your good parts
Leave town when the bad ones start to show
Going with a woman
A pretty girl that you never met
Make sure she knows you love her well
But don't make any other promises
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
When you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you anywhere
I once heard the worse thing a man can do is draw a hungry crowd
Tell everyone his name in pride and confidence
But leaving out his doubts
I'm not sure I bought those words
When I was young I knew most everything
These words have never meant as much to anyone
As they now mean to me
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
When you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you down
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
So when you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you anywhere
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
So when you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you down
Go and find the people that you know
Show them all of your good parts
Leave town when the bad ones start to show
Going with a woman
A pretty girl that you never met
Make sure she knows you love her well
But don't make any other promises
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
When you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you anywhere
I once heard the worse thing a man can do is draw a hungry crowd
Tell everyone his name in pride and confidence
But leaving out his doubts
I'm not sure I bought those words
When I was young I knew most everything
These words have never meant as much to anyone
As they now mean to me
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
When you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you down
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
So when you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you anywhere
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
So when you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you down
Lyrics submitted by Thrilliam, edited by Mellow_Harsher
The Weight of Lies Lyrics as written by Scott Avett Robert Crawford
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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@dan356: After reading your comment a few months ago I haven't been able to listen to this song from any perspective but that of a gay fellow. I don't think it was intended, but it fits really well.
Does anyone have an interpretation on the following?:
I once heard the worse thing A man could do is draw a hungry crowd Tell everyone his name, pride, and confidence But leaving out his doubt
It seems to be saying that one should admit to their bad qualities as well as the good, but I think there's more to it that I'm not picking up on.
I think you've got the gist of it.<br /> I think it's just someone not questioning themselves and being close-minded. The "hungry crowd" is what confuses me a bit; maybe they're willing to believe and eat up whatever someone has to say, no matter how absurd it is. Like corruption, yet unintentionally harmful because the man's ignorance cancels out the sly characteristics of a corrupter.
I think he is talking about faith and Jesus' teaching. In school and church you hear about Jesus' preaching to the hungry crowds. When he was young he didn't buy into all those stories and their lessons but now sees value into what was being taught.
The third and fourth lines of the second verse explain the meaning of "draw a hungry crowd." <br /> I once heard the worse thing <br /> A man could do is draw a hungry crowd<br /> Tell everyone his name, pride, and confidence<br /> But leaving out his doubt<br /> It simply means that you shouldn't build undue expectations in people. Everyone sells themselves by trying to impress other people with their accomplishments and personality, intelligence, et cetera. I think they are trying to say that you should be yourself, and don't lie about how awesome you are or all the cool things you've done; be yourself, be proud of your accomplishments but also be modest and be forthcoming about what you would have done differently and the times that you weren't quite so awesome. Don't build a fictional narrative about yourself that leaves out all of the failings. We're all human, right?