"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.
From standing to crouching
Silently falling
Falling from nowhere to nowhere
Nothing between
Nothing beyond
Nothing behind the stars
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
Remain for some time
Down here below
Allowing the doubt to feed upon me
And even the ones
Who've never been
Are climbing the wail up ahead
I get up start crawling
Into the same
Over and over and over again
Smelling the plastic
Smelling the spit
And smelling my own breath
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
The presence convincing
The most of what I've written is false
I mention this
'Cause I'm talking in the light of what's known
I get out of the sun
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
All together now
Everybody
Silently falling
Falling from nowhere to nowhere
Nothing between
Nothing beyond
Nothing behind the stars
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
Remain for some time
Down here below
Allowing the doubt to feed upon me
And even the ones
Who've never been
Are climbing the wail up ahead
I get up start crawling
Into the same
Over and over and over again
Smelling the plastic
Smelling the spit
And smelling my own breath
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
The presence convincing
The most of what I've written is false
I mention this
'Cause I'm talking in the light of what's known
I get out of the sun
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
This is the last trick I'll do
Sound can be seen
This is the main title
Briefly shaking
All together now
Everybody
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I love the melodic handclaps u can hear if you have a good sound system. This song is brilliant! Why it doesn't have more shouts is beyond me! I've always felt this song was just like an 'introduction' to the rest of the record. Because of the line "this is the main title, briefly shaking" which the album is called. "all together now, everybody" love dat!