"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 wanna be your love
I wanna make you cry
And sweep you off your feet
I wanna hurt your pride
I wanna slap your face
I wanna paint your nails
I wanna make you you scream
I wanna braid your hair
I wanna kiss your friends
I wanna make you laugh
I wanna dress the same
I wanna defend you
I wanna squeeze your thighs
I wanna kiss your eyelids
And corrupt your dreams
I wanna crash your car
I wanna scratch your cheeks
I wanna make you sick
I wanna sell you out
Want to expose your flaws
I wanna steal your things
I wanna show you off
I wanna tell you lies
I wanna write you books
I wanna turn you on
I wanna make you cum
Two-hundred times a day
I wanna dry tears
Every time your sad
I wanna be your what's happening
I wanna be your only friend
I only go all the way
This time I'm not pretending
I can't take the trash
Your trashy friends are spreading about us
They've got like fifty personalities
Oh girl, that's so messed up
You see that sculpture on the hill?
That's where she cleared me out
Forever
They're monitoring my sub-conscious massacres I know
Bringing it closer to the surface so it's easily pervertable
I want to be a beast
I want to make you proud
And play with your head
I want to take you out
Make you feel adored
And buy you everything
I want to hurt you bad
Make you paranoid
And say the sweetest things
I want to help you grow
And for eternity
I want to be your what's happening
What's happening?
I wanna make you cry
And sweep you off your feet
I wanna hurt your pride
I wanna slap your face
I wanna paint your nails
I wanna make you you scream
I wanna braid your hair
I wanna kiss your friends
I wanna make you laugh
I wanna dress the same
I wanna defend you
I wanna squeeze your thighs
I wanna kiss your eyelids
And corrupt your dreams
I wanna crash your car
I wanna scratch your cheeks
I wanna make you sick
I wanna sell you out
Want to expose your flaws
I wanna steal your things
I wanna show you off
I wanna tell you lies
I wanna write you books
I wanna turn you on
I wanna make you cum
Two-hundred times a day
I wanna dry tears
Every time your sad
I wanna be your what's happening
I wanna be your only friend
I only go all the way
This time I'm not pretending
I can't take the trash
Your trashy friends are spreading about us
They've got like fifty personalities
Oh girl, that's so messed up
You see that sculpture on the hill?
That's where she cleared me out
Forever
They're monitoring my sub-conscious massacres I know
Bringing it closer to the surface so it's easily pervertable
I want to be a beast
I want to make you proud
And play with your head
I want to take you out
Make you feel adored
And buy you everything
I want to hurt you bad
Make you paranoid
And say the sweetest things
I want to help you grow
And for eternity
I want to be your what's happening
What's happening?
Lyrics submitted by IndieKid1977
Gallery Piece Lyrics as written by Kevin Barnes
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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preventable = pervertable.