"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.
Tryin' to make it back
To my old home town
I've been driving since
The break of dawn
Got a feeling like a fever
Burning in my brain
When I see her
It'll be all gone
Pacific highway
Getting nearer now
And I feel like
The dream is coming true
Pacific highway
Getting closer now
I don't need directions
To find my way back to you
Take another turning
On the old creek road
Making sure I don't get lost
I'm hoping to hell
My taco's reading right
Get ahead no matter
What the cost
Tryin' to take it easy
On the old home stretch
But city limits come into sight
I'm getting ready for my Betty
God how I missed that girl
We're rock-n-rollin'
Through the night
I don't need directions
To find my way back to you
I only got five more miles, yeah
Only four more miles, yeah
I only got three miles, two miles
One mile to go
To my old home town
I've been driving since
The break of dawn
Got a feeling like a fever
Burning in my brain
When I see her
It'll be all gone
Pacific highway
Getting nearer now
And I feel like
The dream is coming true
Pacific highway
Getting closer now
I don't need directions
To find my way back to you
Take another turning
On the old creek road
Making sure I don't get lost
I'm hoping to hell
My taco's reading right
Get ahead no matter
What the cost
Tryin' to take it easy
On the old home stretch
But city limits come into sight
I'm getting ready for my Betty
God how I missed that girl
We're rock-n-rollin'
Through the night
I don't need directions
To find my way back to you
I only got five more miles, yeah
Only four more miles, yeah
I only got three miles, two miles
One mile to go
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Pacific Highway Lyrics as written by P. Lanzon B. Shaw
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Blue
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