"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.
I descended a dusty gravel ridge
Beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge
Until I eventually arrived
At the place where your soul had died
Barefoot in the shallow creek,
I grabbed some stones from underneath
And waited for you to speak to me
And the silence; it became so very clear
That you had long ago disappeared
I cursed myself for being surprised
That this didn't play like it did in my mind
All the way from San Francisco
As I chased the end of your road
Cause I've still got miles to go
And I want to know my fate
If I keep up this way
And it's hard to want to stay awake
When everyone you need, they all seem to be asleep
And you wonder if you missed your dream
You can't see a dream
You can't see a dream
You just can't see a dream
And then it started getting dark
I truged back to where the car was parked
No closer to any kind of truth
Beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge
Until I eventually arrived
At the place where your soul had died
Barefoot in the shallow creek,
I grabbed some stones from underneath
And waited for you to speak to me
And the silence; it became so very clear
That you had long ago disappeared
I cursed myself for being surprised
That this didn't play like it did in my mind
All the way from San Francisco
As I chased the end of your road
Cause I've still got miles to go
And I want to know my fate
If I keep up this way
And it's hard to want to stay awake
When everyone you need, they all seem to be asleep
And you wonder if you missed your dream
You can't see a dream
You can't see a dream
You just can't see a dream
And then it started getting dark
I truged back to where the car was parked
No closer to any kind of truth
Lyrics submitted by TDDx8, edited by kylebenjam, justgraceful14, indierox, Skulduggery
Bixby Canyon Bridge Lyrics as written by Benjamin Gibbard
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Before reading the comments on the Kerouac reference's, i had my own idea:
I got the impression that Gibbard is writting about visiting a place where someone close to him had committed suicide.
"At the place where your soul had died"
The person had given up hope here.
"And waited for you to speak to me
And the silence, it became so very clear That you had long ago disappeared I cursed myself for being surprised That this didn't play like it did in my mind"
He went to the place hoping for closure, but realised that he was in denial thinking going to the ridge would make him feel any better about everything.
"No closer to any kind of truth As I must assume was the case with you"
The person presumed he/she would find the answers to 'life' in death, but did not.
That's that really. Just my interpretation... peace
@the_light nice! and brixby bridge is actually a tall bridge where a suicide could have happen