"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.
She tried to peel me off the pavement
Tried to insinuate sometimes
I am in danger of going too far
Said, would I like to go for tea and toast
"Get your hand off my thigh"
In the car she turned to me and said
You're not nineteen forever, pull yourselves together
I know it seems strange but things, they change
Older woman and a younger man
Both of them doing all they can
Tried to get your attention all night long
Asked you once, I asked you twice, asked you four times
If you'd like to dance to that song
Front crawled the crowd down the stairs
And then I followed you out in the rain, nowhere to be found
Never mind, you'll probably never look that pretty again
You're not nineteen forever, pull yourselves together
I know it seems strange but things, they change
Older woman and an ever so slightly younger man
God bless the band, they're doing all they can
You're not nineteen forever, pull yourselves together
I know it seems strange but things, they change
Older woman and an ever so slightly younger man
God bless the band, they're doing all they can
You're not nineteen forever
You're not nineteen forever
You're not nineteen forever
It's not big, you're definitely not clever
Tried to insinuate sometimes
I am in danger of going too far
Said, would I like to go for tea and toast
"Get your hand off my thigh"
In the car she turned to me and said
You're not nineteen forever, pull yourselves together
I know it seems strange but things, they change
Older woman and a younger man
Both of them doing all they can
Tried to get your attention all night long
Asked you once, I asked you twice, asked you four times
If you'd like to dance to that song
Front crawled the crowd down the stairs
And then I followed you out in the rain, nowhere to be found
Never mind, you'll probably never look that pretty again
You're not nineteen forever, pull yourselves together
I know it seems strange but things, they change
Older woman and an ever so slightly younger man
God bless the band, they're doing all they can
You're not nineteen forever, pull yourselves together
I know it seems strange but things, they change
Older woman and an ever so slightly younger man
God bless the band, they're doing all they can
You're not nineteen forever
You're not nineteen forever
You're not nineteen forever
It's not big, you're definitely not clever
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im pretty sure its "she tried to peel me off the pavement" instead of shes had to. and in the second verse where it says "asked you four times if you'd like to dance to that song" after that it says "from ____ the crowd, down the stairs..." yeah not sure what that middle word is :).