"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.
Dalia never showed me nothing but kindness
She would say, "I know how sad you get
And some days I still get that way, but it gets better
It gets better, it gets better. Sweetie, it gets better, I promise you"
And she tells me, "your heart is a muscle the size of your fist
Keep on loving, keep on fighting
And hold on, and hold on, hold on for your life"
Ian built a cabin in the woods to live in
For years, terrifying noises kept him up at night
With a twelve gauge under his pillow
He's living in Boston now, going to art school
I forgive him, I forgive him, hell I'll admit it: I'm proud of him
Serena's an architect and a carpenter
She's such a feminist, she says she isn't one
Because goddamn, my gender shouldn't matter
And her motorcycle glides through the streets of Providence
Down to the warehouse district
The paint job is as stunning as her knowledge
Of medieval building techniques
Your heart is a muscle the size of your fist
Keep on loving, keep on fighting
And hold on, and hold on, hold on for your life
This one goes out to Georgios, he knows how to dance
Abby Banks, your book is beautiful, and fuck anyone who says otherwise
Scott, I love you and you make me glad to be alive
I promise that I'm gonna pay you back
You always know how funny everything is
Even when I'm so serious that it's gonna be the death of me
Like the time that our friend Chuck came over to our house
He said he needed somebody to take care of his pets
Because he was going out of town
I asked him, "where?" and he said, "New Mexico"
I asked if I could get a ride
He said, "no, you don't want to follow me
Where it is that I'm going"
He pulled out of the drive way; that was the last time we saw him
'Cause he drove straight to his parent's cabin
And put a bullet in his head
Your heart is a muscle the size of your fist
Keep on loving, keep on fighting
And hold on, and hold on, hold on for your life
She would say, "I know how sad you get
And some days I still get that way, but it gets better
It gets better, it gets better. Sweetie, it gets better, I promise you"
And she tells me, "your heart is a muscle the size of your fist
Keep on loving, keep on fighting
And hold on, and hold on, hold on for your life"
Ian built a cabin in the woods to live in
For years, terrifying noises kept him up at night
With a twelve gauge under his pillow
He's living in Boston now, going to art school
I forgive him, I forgive him, hell I'll admit it: I'm proud of him
Serena's an architect and a carpenter
She's such a feminist, she says she isn't one
Because goddamn, my gender shouldn't matter
And her motorcycle glides through the streets of Providence
Down to the warehouse district
The paint job is as stunning as her knowledge
Of medieval building techniques
Your heart is a muscle the size of your fist
Keep on loving, keep on fighting
And hold on, and hold on, hold on for your life
This one goes out to Georgios, he knows how to dance
Abby Banks, your book is beautiful, and fuck anyone who says otherwise
Scott, I love you and you make me glad to be alive
I promise that I'm gonna pay you back
You always know how funny everything is
Even when I'm so serious that it's gonna be the death of me
Like the time that our friend Chuck came over to our house
He said he needed somebody to take care of his pets
Because he was going out of town
I asked him, "where?" and he said, "New Mexico"
I asked if I could get a ride
He said, "no, you don't want to follow me
Where it is that I'm going"
He pulled out of the drive way; that was the last time we saw him
'Cause he drove straight to his parent's cabin
And put a bullet in his head
Your heart is a muscle the size of your fist
Keep on loving, keep on fighting
And hold on, and hold on, hold on for your life
Lyrics submitted by concreteblues
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