"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.
This city never sleeps
I hear the people walk by when it's late
Sirens bleed through my windowsill
I can't close my eyes
Can't control what I'm into
This tower is alive
The lights that blind keep me awake
With my hood up and lace untied
Sleep fills my mind
Can't control what I'm into
London calls me a stranger
A traveler
This is now my home, my home
I'm burning on the back street
Stuck here sitting in the backseat
I'm blazing on the street
What I do isn't up to you
And if the city never sleeps
Then that makes two
The pavement is my friend
And it will take me where I need to go
I find it trips me up
And puts me down
This is not what I'm used to
The shop across the road
Fulfills my needs and gives me company
When I need it
Voices speak through my walls
I don't think I'm gonna make it
Past tomorrow
London calls me a stranger
A traveler
This is now my home, my home
I'm burning on the back street
Stuck here sitting in the backseat
I'm blazing on the street
What I do isn't up to you
And if the city never sleeps
Then that makes two
And my lungs hurt
And my ears bled
With the sound of the city life
Echoed in my head
Do I need this to keep me alive?
The traffic stops and starts
But I need to move along
London calls me a stranger
This is not my home, home
I'm burning on the back street
Stuck here sitting in the backseat
I'm blazing on the street
What I do isn't up to you
And if the city never sleeps
Then that makes two
I hear the people walk by when it's late
Sirens bleed through my windowsill
I can't close my eyes
Can't control what I'm into
This tower is alive
The lights that blind keep me awake
With my hood up and lace untied
Sleep fills my mind
Can't control what I'm into
London calls me a stranger
A traveler
This is now my home, my home
I'm burning on the back street
Stuck here sitting in the backseat
I'm blazing on the street
What I do isn't up to you
And if the city never sleeps
Then that makes two
The pavement is my friend
And it will take me where I need to go
I find it trips me up
And puts me down
This is not what I'm used to
The shop across the road
Fulfills my needs and gives me company
When I need it
Voices speak through my walls
I don't think I'm gonna make it
Past tomorrow
London calls me a stranger
A traveler
This is now my home, my home
I'm burning on the back street
Stuck here sitting in the backseat
I'm blazing on the street
What I do isn't up to you
And if the city never sleeps
Then that makes two
And my lungs hurt
And my ears bled
With the sound of the city life
Echoed in my head
Do I need this to keep me alive?
The traffic stops and starts
But I need to move along
London calls me a stranger
This is not my home, home
I'm burning on the back street
Stuck here sitting in the backseat
I'm blazing on the street
What I do isn't up to you
And if the city never sleeps
Then that makes two
Lyrics submitted by carlalsford
The City Lyrics as written by Ed Sheeran Jake Gosling
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, BDI Music Limited, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The chorus is so beautiful
:)