"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.
When Willie met Ronnie he was runnin' up a track
He was bent down, burned out, carryin' a sack
Come on boy, you got to stop and help me some
And keep this money hidden when the police come
Ronnie was shiverin' and makin' funny sounds
He was lookin' like a fox
That was runnin' from the hounds
Sure little buddy, I can lighten up your load
You half it up, I'll hit it up, I'll take it down the road
Never had a better combination been planned
'Cause Willie was a roadie with a rock 'n' roll band
They were heads back, celebratin', drinkin' moonshine
Heads down, here we go across another state line
Tanked up and bullet proof
They couldn't give a monkey's
Damn if he didn't hide the money in a drum case
Pack 'em up, hit em up, do another show
The robber and the roadie got a long way to go
Willie and Ronnie
Anytime they wanted they would pull another job
Anywhere they found a place
And it was fat enough to rob
If Ronnie saw the police he would make a little sign
Then Willie stuck the money in the band's back line
In the main racks, bass stacks
Anywhere he thought it could
Be hidden out of sight
Until the finished out in Hollywood
Split it down the middle
When they took it out the sound
The robber and the roadie got enough to go around
Willie and Ronnie
The robber and the roadie
Forty seven days and they had only one to go
When the telegram arived
To say the band wouldn't show
The crowd was getting' nasty and it turned into a rage
The bottles and the bodies started coverin' the stage
Then the cops came running in
And breaking up the riotin'
When they saw the money falling
Out the back of everything
Hey little buddy think it's time to run and duck
The robber and the roadie could be runnin' out of luck
Willie and Ronnie had to skip it out of town
They were sittin' by the highway like Jackson Browne
They were stickin' out their thumbs
In the middle of the night
When they saw the car comin' with the spinnin' red light
Wide eyed, tongue tied feelin' pretty stranded
No use in runnin' they were caught red handed
Pull 'em in, lock 'em up, put 'em in a row
The robber and the roadie got nowhere to go
Willie and Ronnie
The robber and the roadie
We got state police and the FBI
Willie and Ronnie
You get a big reward
If you can make these boy's mamas cry
The robber and the roadie
We got the national guard and the bear in the sky
Willie and Ronnie
You get a big reward if you can make these mothers cry
The robber and the roadie
He was bent down, burned out, carryin' a sack
Come on boy, you got to stop and help me some
And keep this money hidden when the police come
Ronnie was shiverin' and makin' funny sounds
He was lookin' like a fox
That was runnin' from the hounds
Sure little buddy, I can lighten up your load
You half it up, I'll hit it up, I'll take it down the road
Never had a better combination been planned
'Cause Willie was a roadie with a rock 'n' roll band
They were heads back, celebratin', drinkin' moonshine
Heads down, here we go across another state line
Tanked up and bullet proof
They couldn't give a monkey's
Damn if he didn't hide the money in a drum case
Pack 'em up, hit em up, do another show
The robber and the roadie got a long way to go
Willie and Ronnie
Anytime they wanted they would pull another job
Anywhere they found a place
And it was fat enough to rob
If Ronnie saw the police he would make a little sign
Then Willie stuck the money in the band's back line
In the main racks, bass stacks
Anywhere he thought it could
Be hidden out of sight
Until the finished out in Hollywood
Split it down the middle
When they took it out the sound
The robber and the roadie got enough to go around
Willie and Ronnie
The robber and the roadie
Forty seven days and they had only one to go
When the telegram arived
To say the band wouldn't show
The crowd was getting' nasty and it turned into a rage
The bottles and the bodies started coverin' the stage
Then the cops came running in
And breaking up the riotin'
When they saw the money falling
Out the back of everything
Hey little buddy think it's time to run and duck
The robber and the roadie could be runnin' out of luck
Willie and Ronnie had to skip it out of town
They were sittin' by the highway like Jackson Browne
They were stickin' out their thumbs
In the middle of the night
When they saw the car comin' with the spinnin' red light
Wide eyed, tongue tied feelin' pretty stranded
No use in runnin' they were caught red handed
Pull 'em in, lock 'em up, put 'em in a row
The robber and the roadie got nowhere to go
Willie and Ronnie
The robber and the roadie
We got state police and the FBI
Willie and Ronnie
You get a big reward
If you can make these boy's mamas cry
The robber and the roadie
We got the national guard and the bear in the sky
Willie and Ronnie
You get a big reward if you can make these mothers cry
The robber and the roadie
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Robber and the Roadie Lyrics as written by Darrell Sweet Dan Mccafferty (non Mountain Title
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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