"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.
The boy looks high
He looks higher than the sky
You an see it in his eyes
Watch as he tries
The city never lets him go
So he never tries
The city never lets you go
So you never try
It's bigger than a breadbox
Texas, California
His path was on the parks, running Knik to Pittman
The city was a shotgun ending in sunshine
Sunshine never ends, so he never tries
Well we dug a hole
Filled it up with other holes (filled it up with other holes)
With these other holes
We found a home
Hid away our hungry men
If it takes us sixty years, I'll go
The boy looks high
He looks higher than the sky
You an see it in his eyes
Watch how he cries
The path was on a straight line
Church Street to Houston
Houston to the butte
Coming straight back to Houston
Well we dug a hole
Filled it up with other holes, with these other holes
We dug a hole
And buried all those hungry men (all the hungry men)
If it takes us sixty years, if it takes us sixty years
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig a hole and find a fire
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig another hole
Well, we found a hole
We found it with some other holes
And we climbed inside
We climbed back out
We left 'em by the hungry men
All the hungry men
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig a hole and find a fire
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig another hole
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man (the straight man)
The boy looks high
He looks higher than the sky (if it takes us sixty years)
The city never lets him go
So he never tries
The city never lets him go
So he never tries
If it takes us sixty years
Filled it up with other holes, with these other holes
If it takes us sixty years
Filled it up with other holes
The boy looks high
The boy looks high
The boy looks high
The boy looks high
The boy looks high (if it takes me)
The boy looks high (if it takes me)
The boy looks high (if it takes me)
The boy looks high (if it takes me)
The boy looks high
The boy looks high
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig a hole and find a fire
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig another hole
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
He looks higher than the sky
You an see it in his eyes
Watch as he tries
The city never lets him go
So he never tries
The city never lets you go
So you never try
It's bigger than a breadbox
Texas, California
His path was on the parks, running Knik to Pittman
The city was a shotgun ending in sunshine
Sunshine never ends, so he never tries
Well we dug a hole
Filled it up with other holes (filled it up with other holes)
With these other holes
We found a home
Hid away our hungry men
If it takes us sixty years, I'll go
The boy looks high
He looks higher than the sky
You an see it in his eyes
Watch how he cries
The path was on a straight line
Church Street to Houston
Houston to the butte
Coming straight back to Houston
Well we dug a hole
Filled it up with other holes, with these other holes
We dug a hole
And buried all those hungry men (all the hungry men)
If it takes us sixty years, if it takes us sixty years
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig a hole and find a fire
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig another hole
Well, we found a hole
We found it with some other holes
And we climbed inside
We climbed back out
We left 'em by the hungry men
All the hungry men
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig a hole and find a fire
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig another hole
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man (the straight man)
The boy looks high
He looks higher than the sky (if it takes us sixty years)
The city never lets him go
So he never tries
The city never lets him go
So he never tries
If it takes us sixty years
Filled it up with other holes, with these other holes
If it takes us sixty years
Filled it up with other holes
The boy looks high
The boy looks high
The boy looks high
The boy looks high
The boy looks high (if it takes me)
The boy looks high (if it takes me)
The boy looks high (if it takes me)
The boy looks high (if it takes me)
The boy looks high
The boy looks high
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig a hole and find a fire
If it takes us sixty years
I'll dig another hole
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
He got it in his head he'd make
More money than the straight man, the straight man
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in the 3rd line, this is what i heard: (speaker's) on the bread box (that sits) California, his path was the running (to the end)
I'm pretty confident about the first two blanks, i'm a little unsure on the last one, i had to play around with the equalizer to hear better, it could be (running to the "inn") but "end" makes more sense to me.
could be talking bout a politician speaking to a crowd.
great song tho, can't get enough of Portugal