"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.
My independence went away
I didn't listen when it said 'rely on yourself
trusting someone else is a path for the silent ghost'
My independence went astray
I didn't think you could betray the pieces that belong inside yourself
Still I wonder where did we go wrong
Dear independence, which way do go?
Dear independence, the world will know what I think is right
My independence kicked me out
It fed me to a hungry crowd
Like a leper I'm not touched and cannot bear
to watch as I lose the will to lose myself
Dear independence, which way do go?
Dear independence, the world will know what I think is right
My independence had a mind of its own
I didn't listen when it said 'rely on yourself
trusting someone else is a path for the silent ghost'
My independence went astray
I didn't think you could betray the pieces that belong inside yourself
Still I wonder where did we go wrong
Dear independence, which way do go?
Dear independence, the world will know what I think is right
My independence kicked me out
It fed me to a hungry crowd
Like a leper I'm not touched and cannot bear
to watch as I lose the will to lose myself
Dear independence, which way do go?
Dear independence, the world will know what I think is right
My independence had a mind of its own
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Fast Car
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Punchline
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I LOVE this song. I think it's got hidden messages, but my take would be that the guy has lost his originality and a big part of himself when he relied on the people he thought could get him somewhere.