"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's a song unsung
she's the wild orchid in your ugly swamp
she's a song unsung
and only the white walls of her mind know what that song sounds like.
the pills, the pills
and Dr.'s promises just ain't doing the trick
cause the arm's of nothing she falls asleep in
can still bring the razor to the wrist
the tv screens, the magazines
scream at you like the dogs of hell
advertising and advising you to be
anyone but your-beautiful-self
prince charming never brought you flowers,
just a loveless lifetime all alone
no roses for you, just unknocked doors
and the deafening silence of your phone.
so block your ears, close your eyes,
remember that you're a golden soul fallen from the boring, heartless, hollywood herd of lies that they call:
b e a u t i f u l.
with no shoulder, no hand, no body, no man, no door, no heart to let you:
t h e s u n c a n t a k e t o o l o n g t o e n d t h e e n d l e s s n i g h t
i hear you, i feel you, i bleed with you
when our hearts begin to scream:
t h i s l i f e c a n f e e l t o o l o n g.
but at night you're dancing through the pain
even when you're the only one.
no rose, no sky as full of beauty as the girl who dies
but rises with every morning's sun,
alone.
she dances alone
alone - so beautiful
alone - her own romance:
alone - Lady Lazarus' Life - Sustaining Dance.
she's the wild orchid in your ugly swamp
she's a song unsung
and only the white walls of her mind know what that song sounds like.
the pills, the pills
and Dr.'s promises just ain't doing the trick
cause the arm's of nothing she falls asleep in
can still bring the razor to the wrist
the tv screens, the magazines
scream at you like the dogs of hell
advertising and advising you to be
anyone but your-beautiful-self
prince charming never brought you flowers,
just a loveless lifetime all alone
no roses for you, just unknocked doors
and the deafening silence of your phone.
so block your ears, close your eyes,
remember that you're a golden soul fallen from the boring, heartless, hollywood herd of lies that they call:
b e a u t i f u l.
with no shoulder, no hand, no body, no man, no door, no heart to let you:
t h e s u n c a n t a k e t o o l o n g t o e n d t h e e n d l e s s n i g h t
i hear you, i feel you, i bleed with you
when our hearts begin to scream:
t h i s l i f e c a n f e e l t o o l o n g.
but at night you're dancing through the pain
even when you're the only one.
no rose, no sky as full of beauty as the girl who dies
but rises with every morning's sun,
alone.
she dances alone
alone - so beautiful
alone - her own romance:
alone - Lady Lazarus' Life - Sustaining Dance.
Lyrics submitted by Denizen
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