"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 went down to the fishing hole
And I set down with my fishing pole
Something grabbed my hook and it got my bait
And jerked me out in the middle of the lake
It was some jump, boy I got sunk
Kind of baptized on credit
Fishing down by the muddy bank
And I felt a pull and I give a big yank
I drug out three old rubber boots
A Ford radiator
And a Chevrolet coupe
Nothing but junk
So I handed it in
For national defense
Sitting in the boat with a bucket a beer
Hadn't caught nothing but I didn't much care
Guess I was pretty well satisfied
I had my little woman right by my side
Just taking it easy
Worm been gone off the hook for several hours
I was busy
When you go fishing I'll tell you what to do
Just go sit down by the grassy loo
And take a piece of string
And tie it on your pole
And throw it way out in the middle of the hole
Then find yourself a shade tree
Just sit down and go to sleep
Forget all about it
Can't catch nothing here anyway
Well I walked out on a sandy bar
And caught myself a big alligator gar
Well I drug him home across my back
His tail was dragging a mile and a half
Just flipping and flopping
I sold him for a quarter
Shot craps
Got in jail
Jumped in the river and I went down deep
There was a hundred pound catfish
Lying there asleep
Well I jumped on his back
And I rode him all around
Saddled him up and come to town
People come a-runnin'
They was lookin'
Dogs a-barking and kids a-squalling
Well early one morning I took me a notion
To go out fishin' in the middle of the ocean
Well I threw out my line
And I got me a shark
And I didn't get home till a-way past dark
He was a man-eater
A tough customer
But he wasn't quite tough enough
Well late last night I had me a dream
I went out fishing in a whiskey stream
I baited my hook with apple jack
I threw out a drink
I drug a gallon back
And I done pretty good too
Till the stream run dry
And I give the fish back to the finance company
And I set down with my fishing pole
Something grabbed my hook and it got my bait
And jerked me out in the middle of the lake
It was some jump, boy I got sunk
Kind of baptized on credit
Fishing down by the muddy bank
And I felt a pull and I give a big yank
I drug out three old rubber boots
A Ford radiator
And a Chevrolet coupe
Nothing but junk
So I handed it in
For national defense
Sitting in the boat with a bucket a beer
Hadn't caught nothing but I didn't much care
Guess I was pretty well satisfied
I had my little woman right by my side
Just taking it easy
Worm been gone off the hook for several hours
I was busy
When you go fishing I'll tell you what to do
Just go sit down by the grassy loo
And take a piece of string
And tie it on your pole
And throw it way out in the middle of the hole
Then find yourself a shade tree
Just sit down and go to sleep
Forget all about it
Can't catch nothing here anyway
Well I walked out on a sandy bar
And caught myself a big alligator gar
Well I drug him home across my back
His tail was dragging a mile and a half
Just flipping and flopping
I sold him for a quarter
Shot craps
Got in jail
Jumped in the river and I went down deep
There was a hundred pound catfish
Lying there asleep
Well I jumped on his back
And I rode him all around
Saddled him up and come to town
People come a-runnin'
They was lookin'
Dogs a-barking and kids a-squalling
Well early one morning I took me a notion
To go out fishin' in the middle of the ocean
Well I threw out my line
And I got me a shark
And I didn't get home till a-way past dark
He was a man-eater
A tough customer
But he wasn't quite tough enough
Well late last night I had me a dream
I went out fishing in a whiskey stream
I baited my hook with apple jack
I threw out a drink
I drug a gallon back
And I done pretty good too
Till the stream run dry
And I give the fish back to the finance company
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Talking Fishing Blues Lyrics as written by Woodie Guthrie
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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