"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.
Here in my place and time
And here in my own skin I can finally begin
Let the century pass me by, standing under the night sky
Tomorrow means nothing
I was only a child then
Feeling barely alive when
I heard a song from a speaker of a passing car
Praying to a dying star, the memories fading
I can almost remember singing( La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
We watched the end of the century
Compressed on a tiny screen
A dead star collapsing and we could see
Something was ending
Are you through pretending?
We saw the signs in the suburbs
You could have never predicted that it could see through you
Kasparov, Deep Blue, 1996
Your mind's playing tricks now
Show's over so take a bow
And leave it in the shadows (La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
(Oh, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
Hey
Put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey
Put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
And here in my own skin I can finally begin
Let the century pass me by, standing under the night sky
Tomorrow means nothing
I was only a child then
Feeling barely alive when
I heard a song from a speaker of a passing car
Praying to a dying star, the memories fading
I can almost remember singing( La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
We watched the end of the century
Compressed on a tiny screen
A dead star collapsing and we could see
Something was ending
Are you through pretending?
We saw the signs in the suburbs
You could have never predicted that it could see through you
Kasparov, Deep Blue, 1996
Your mind's playing tricks now
Show's over so take a bow
And leave it in the shadows (La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
(Oh, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
Hey
Put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey
Put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
Lyrics submitted by jazzmaster5120, edited by wfish
Deep Blue Lyrics as written by Win Butler William Butler
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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I wondered what the song from a passing car might be, maybe about "praying to a dying star" and having a chorus like "Lie Lie Lie..." (that chorus brought to mind Simonn & Garfunkle's 'The Boxer' - not about a dying star, unless it could mean a fading champion boxer) .. but Win Butler was born in 1980 and that song is from the 60s.
Then I found at dazeddigital.com/music/article/8081/1/arcade-is-on-fire :
' Will Butler: 
In "Deep Blue," there's the line "I was only a child then/Feeling barely alive when/I heard a song from the speaker of a passing car." Both Win [Butler] and Richie [Parry] have strong memories in their youth of hearing music coming out of a passing car, and wondering what the heck it was. In Win's case, it was our friend's older brother driving, and he was listening to Depeche Mode." '
AND... at lyricsg.com/247617/lyrics/thearcadefire/deepblue.html
' - Frontman Win Butler told the NME: "'Deep Blue' to me sounds like Neil Young with Depeche Mode at the end - which shouldn't work, but I think it does." '
So, does anybody know what Depeche Mode song might fit? When I listened to "Lie to Me" I found some musical similarities with 'Deep Blue' (minor key, and a V-IV-IIIb-(IV)-V/I main melodic sequence) but "Lie to Me"s lyrics are not about a Dying Star ... DM's "The Darkest Star" came out in 2005, - not when Butler was a kid.
Ideas?
My expectation is that 'prayer to a dying star' isn't a specific reference, but rather more of an evocation of an emotion of the moment... even though it is twinned with 'a dead star collapsing' later in the song. Sheesh, now i'm wondering if some celebrity died and prompted this thought. ha!
It reminds me of Personal Jesus, a little bit.
I believe the very track in question was posted on arcadefire.com until fairly recently on the Videos page. Not a lot of help I know but perhaps someone remembers what it was. Given Win Butler's age chances are it's from Violator, Songs of faith and devotion or Ultra. Possibly 'Lie to me' though Butler was only four when it came out (on Some Great Reward) but I think I recall reading his comment that he was a young teen at the time.
Oops, found it, and it's Personal Jesus and it's still on arcadefire.com/blog/some-random-music-clips/<br />
@arlobee I'm like seven years too late, but if its the quote "Praying to a dying star" you're still curious about... I'll leave this here.<br /> My inquiry is that the usage of a "dying star" is a symbolic metaphor to represent the death of a generation, but also the creation of a new one at the same time. <br /> When a star dies, it explodes, this is called a supernova, but the seeds of the star then scatter across the galaxy to create "a new generation of stars to grow," as defined by google. Knowing this, you could consider that dying star in the song is a form of symbolism that is representing Win Butler's treasured memories of his generation-- a time before the revolution of technology. <br /> This can also help explain the second appearance of "dying star" in this song; "We watched the end of the century" "A dead star collapsing and we could see". The connection to the prior line "watched the end of a century" also strengthens this hypothesis.<br /> But then there's the addition of "praying" to this dying era. Praying is defined as seeking to speak gratitude to another, express a solemn request, or to wish for a specific event/occurrence.<br /> Using this information, when putting together "Praying to a dying star," you can conclude that the entire message is that Win is either thanking his generation, wishing for it not to end, or saying a formal goodbye to it. Whichever way you decide to perceive this based on the given information can vary.<br /> <br /> -Chloe out ,':) drops mic