"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.
Your mom was calling but I couldn’t answer
I had a dog in the car, had a dog in my hands
I was walking with these worn out shoes.
And I tripped over Charlie and I hit the grass
I was comin’ runnin’, I was comin’ up fast.
But he beat me, just howling at the door
[Chorus]
Oh Suzanna, don’t get down
Cuz I’ve been looking all over town
For a brand new set of wings for you
For a brand new set of wings for you
Yeah for you
Come back in the house, bang my head on the wall
Yeah Charlie’s still laughing ‘bout watching me fall
I say “Charlie, now what’s the big idea?”
Now I’m back in my room just packing my bags
And I’m thinking November bout the time that we had
Just walkin’ out by the stone wall
[Chorus]
Now I’m gonna get a ticket, gonna get on a plane
Tell that pilot to take me so far away
So I can call you up and say “I miss you like a fool”
Yeah but you don’t put me down, you don’t treat me bad
Say you understand ‘bout the problem I have sometimes
But I know you still wonder
[Chorus]
Yeah I got held up in town for smokin’ on a train [?]
If you ain’t got the papers, gonna get you detained
If you don’t believe me, I got the photographs to prove it
And you should’ve seen the look on the old man’s face
When the police threatened to haul him away
Even though he was scared, it was also kinda funny
[Chorus]
Yeah well I can’t see the night, can’t wake in the day
And we got these guitars, got so much to say
But got no time, no energy to say it
But we can still walk in the park, there ain’t nobody there
But I found it kind of soothing
Yeah in a couple of months, when the leaves turn green
When the seasons change, when the birds sing
Gonna grab you up, gonna take you here for good
Yes and we’ll walk by the river most every single day
And we’ll eat our dinner where the __?__ play
I know it seems old, but it never seems to get tired
[Chorus]
I had a dog in the car, had a dog in my hands
I was walking with these worn out shoes.
And I tripped over Charlie and I hit the grass
I was comin’ runnin’, I was comin’ up fast.
But he beat me, just howling at the door
[Chorus]
Oh Suzanna, don’t get down
Cuz I’ve been looking all over town
For a brand new set of wings for you
For a brand new set of wings for you
Yeah for you
Come back in the house, bang my head on the wall
Yeah Charlie’s still laughing ‘bout watching me fall
I say “Charlie, now what’s the big idea?”
Now I’m back in my room just packing my bags
And I’m thinking November bout the time that we had
Just walkin’ out by the stone wall
[Chorus]
Now I’m gonna get a ticket, gonna get on a plane
Tell that pilot to take me so far away
So I can call you up and say “I miss you like a fool”
Yeah but you don’t put me down, you don’t treat me bad
Say you understand ‘bout the problem I have sometimes
But I know you still wonder
[Chorus]
Yeah I got held up in town for smokin’ on a train [?]
If you ain’t got the papers, gonna get you detained
If you don’t believe me, I got the photographs to prove it
And you should’ve seen the look on the old man’s face
When the police threatened to haul him away
Even though he was scared, it was also kinda funny
[Chorus]
Yeah well I can’t see the night, can’t wake in the day
And we got these guitars, got so much to say
But got no time, no energy to say it
But we can still walk in the park, there ain’t nobody there
But I found it kind of soothing
Yeah in a couple of months, when the leaves turn green
When the seasons change, when the birds sing
Gonna grab you up, gonna take you here for good
Yes and we’ll walk by the river most every single day
And we’ll eat our dinner where the __?__ play
I know it seems old, but it never seems to get tired
[Chorus]
Lyrics submitted by belita
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Great version of a great song,
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Haha, he doesn't say "Oh Suzanna", he says "Oh Sally".
Great song though, thanks for the lyrics!