"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.
Sunday, wake up, give me a cigarette
Last night's love affair is looking vulnerable in my bed
Silk sheet, blue dawn, Colgate, tongue warm
Won't you quit your crying? I can't sleep
One minute I'm a little sweetheart
And next minute you are an absolute creep
We've got obsessions
I want to wipe out all the sad ideas
That come to me when I am holding you
We've got obsessions
All you ever think about are sick ideas
Involving me, involving you
Supermarket, oh what packet of crackers to pick?
They're all the same, one brand, one name, but really they're not
Look, look, just choose something quick
People are staring, time to go, quick
Skin is on fire—just choose something, something, something
Pressure overwhelming
Next minute I am turning out of the door, facing one week without food
A day, a day when things are pretty bad
But don't let it make you feel sad,
The crackers were probably bad luck anyway
Can't let your cold heart be free
When you act like you've got an OCD
We've got obsessions
I want to erase every nasty thought
That bugs me every day of every week
We've got obsessions
You never tell me what it is that made you strong
And what it is that made you weak
We've got obsessions
I want to erase every nasty thought
That bugs me every day of every week
We've got obsessions
You never told me what it was that made you strong
And what it was that made you weak
Made you weak, made you weak
made you weak, made you weak, made you weak
Made you
Sunday, wake up, give me a cigarette
Last night's love affair is looking vulnerable again
Last night's love affair is looking vulnerable in my bed
Silk sheet, blue dawn, Colgate, tongue warm
Won't you quit your crying? I can't sleep
One minute I'm a little sweetheart
And next minute you are an absolute creep
We've got obsessions
I want to wipe out all the sad ideas
That come to me when I am holding you
We've got obsessions
All you ever think about are sick ideas
Involving me, involving you
Supermarket, oh what packet of crackers to pick?
They're all the same, one brand, one name, but really they're not
Look, look, just choose something quick
People are staring, time to go, quick
Skin is on fire—just choose something, something, something
Pressure overwhelming
Next minute I am turning out of the door, facing one week without food
A day, a day when things are pretty bad
But don't let it make you feel sad,
The crackers were probably bad luck anyway
Can't let your cold heart be free
When you act like you've got an OCD
We've got obsessions
I want to erase every nasty thought
That bugs me every day of every week
We've got obsessions
You never tell me what it is that made you strong
And what it is that made you weak
We've got obsessions
I want to erase every nasty thought
That bugs me every day of every week
We've got obsessions
You never told me what it was that made you strong
And what it was that made you weak
Made you weak, made you weak
made you weak, made you weak, made you weak
Made you
Sunday, wake up, give me a cigarette
Last night's love affair is looking vulnerable again
Lyrics submitted by indiebopper, edited by Firen, abolire, scoutasaur, ElectraHeart, JanzenZane, LivingMyth, Cinsarity, saintemry
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Fast Car
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The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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Yo La Tengo
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Great version of a great song,
I think its about a relationship, he might not be emotionally attached, I don't think there's this disorder meaning, maybe a disorder in the relationship. Hes the type of person she doesn't belong with and so he pushes her away and becomes distant. And the crackers isn't about choosing, but its more being in public; with him. Its just a dysfunctional relationship. And with the: "Next minute I am turning out of the door, facing one week without food" part is about them getting into a fight and its a week without him. It may be cliche to write about relationships, but it seems like thats as deep as it goes.