"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.
Everybody lines up for a suckle
Easy slide to their knees ready to buckle
Watchin it sure enough serves to baffle
But they're all heart splayed for the raffle
CHORUS
It's a straw draw at the meat trough
On their knees again for the boss
Straw draw at the meat trough
On their knees again for the boss
From the lines-end standing on my tiptoes
Crane to see just how far this line goes
Are they packed ten, hundred, thousand deep
How far does desperation reach?
Begging all day for a scrap or handout
Destroy one another vain hopes to standout
Why shove / when there's twigs enough for all
Just Take them from the jaundiced claw
Easy slide to their knees ready to buckle
Watchin it sure enough serves to baffle
But they're all heart splayed for the raffle
CHORUS
It's a straw draw at the meat trough
On their knees again for the boss
Straw draw at the meat trough
On their knees again for the boss
From the lines-end standing on my tiptoes
Crane to see just how far this line goes
Are they packed ten, hundred, thousand deep
How far does desperation reach?
Begging all day for a scrap or handout
Destroy one another vain hopes to standout
Why shove / when there's twigs enough for all
Just Take them from the jaundiced claw
Lyrics submitted by matilda-v
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