"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.
All black man, twenty-three inch rim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Who's that trippin'? Hustla pimpin'?
Gangsta limpin'? Spiceberg Slim
Keepin' you like Hefner, but still John like Gotti (Gotti)
Dime pieces like platinum all over my body
Pop my collar, pull a bleezy up out my rim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Zodiac sign, playboy bunny
Money hungry, full of power and cream
Real niggas ridin' fo' me and wit' me
They wan' get me, I dump till it's empty
Don't tempt me, I'm flash like Martin went off the Remy
Like the "Sixth Sense" I talk to dead O.G.'s
Walkin' around with the ball timers thug disease
Ain't no cure for this (cure for this)
And if it is I don't want it (want it)
I'm poppin' pimp pills, still stabbin' for sayin' blunted
Baby relax your mind let your conscience flee
Rub your titties to the sound of S-P-I-see-E
I'll be pervin', swervin', runnin' all up on the curb
Who the tip of the spiceberg? Spiceberg Slim
All black man, twenty-three inch rim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Who's that trippin'? Hustla pimpin'?
Gangsta limpin'? Spiceberg Slim
You ain't a thug, youse a phone, you been stressin' the bum
You the monkey in this motherfuckin' game and I'm King Kong
You think it's fuckin', I'm the shit, I'ma gangsta and youse a bitch
I pack extra clips, you pack extra lipstick
I'ma killer, youse a couch with generic I'm high powered
You dropped the soap on purpose in jail up in the shower
I'ma thug you get mugged, I'ma pound you one blood
I'm fifty calibur nigga, you just a twenty-two slug
I'm paddin' you, hardwood, I'm hummer you hondi
I'ma soldier and you just a civilian scared to die
On the fuel you take it, I was real you faked it
I keep my heat in the drama while you be ass-hole naked
I'm a big face hundred, you just a one dollar bill
You stack half a G while I stack half a mill
I'm the raw and uncut while you laced up with bakin' soda (soda)
It's Spiceberg Slim nigga, roll if you're throwed over
All black man, twenty-three inch rim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Who's that trippin'? Hustla pimpin'?
Gangsta limpin'? Spiceberg Slim
Nigga you ain't gon' squash grapes in a fruit fight
While I smash mercormeek will shine in the moon light
Motherfucker I'm like a chrome twenty-three, you just a little tin-tin
You one shot in a glass and I'm a whole fifth of hen
I'm a shark with a rim, you just a tadpole in a pond
You emcee such and such, I'm Bossalini the Don nigga
Recognize Spice 1 when you see 'em
You don't own a strap, I break down and grease 'em
I'm round as a gun bare, you square as a pool table
And twice as green as the chronic I inhale
I'll put one in your dome while you're missin' multiple shots
I'm presidential Lex, you just a motherfuckin' swatch
Mickey Mouse watch ass nigga
Well I'm a motherfuckin' pull-a-glock fast nigga
Smash niggas I'm gangsta like Stacey Adams, you soft like Hush Puppy
Spiceberg Slim motherfucker, shit can get ugly
All black man, twenty-three inch rim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Who's that trippin'? Hustla pimpin'?
Gangsta limpin'? Spiceberg Slim
All black man, twenty-three inch rim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Who's that trippin'? Hustla pimpin'?
Gangsta limpin'? Spiceberg Slim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Who's that trippin'? Hustla pimpin'?
Gangsta limpin'? Spiceberg Slim
Keepin' you like Hefner, but still John like Gotti (Gotti)
Dime pieces like platinum all over my body
Pop my collar, pull a bleezy up out my rim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Zodiac sign, playboy bunny
Money hungry, full of power and cream
Real niggas ridin' fo' me and wit' me
They wan' get me, I dump till it's empty
Don't tempt me, I'm flash like Martin went off the Remy
Like the "Sixth Sense" I talk to dead O.G.'s
Walkin' around with the ball timers thug disease
Ain't no cure for this (cure for this)
And if it is I don't want it (want it)
I'm poppin' pimp pills, still stabbin' for sayin' blunted
Baby relax your mind let your conscience flee
Rub your titties to the sound of S-P-I-see-E
I'll be pervin', swervin', runnin' all up on the curb
Who the tip of the spiceberg? Spiceberg Slim
All black man, twenty-three inch rim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Who's that trippin'? Hustla pimpin'?
Gangsta limpin'? Spiceberg Slim
You ain't a thug, youse a phone, you been stressin' the bum
You the monkey in this motherfuckin' game and I'm King Kong
You think it's fuckin', I'm the shit, I'ma gangsta and youse a bitch
I pack extra clips, you pack extra lipstick
I'ma killer, youse a couch with generic I'm high powered
You dropped the soap on purpose in jail up in the shower
I'ma thug you get mugged, I'ma pound you one blood
I'm fifty calibur nigga, you just a twenty-two slug
I'm paddin' you, hardwood, I'm hummer you hondi
I'ma soldier and you just a civilian scared to die
On the fuel you take it, I was real you faked it
I keep my heat in the drama while you be ass-hole naked
I'm a big face hundred, you just a one dollar bill
You stack half a G while I stack half a mill
I'm the raw and uncut while you laced up with bakin' soda (soda)
It's Spiceberg Slim nigga, roll if you're throwed over
All black man, twenty-three inch rim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Who's that trippin'? Hustla pimpin'?
Gangsta limpin'? Spiceberg Slim
Nigga you ain't gon' squash grapes in a fruit fight
While I smash mercormeek will shine in the moon light
Motherfucker I'm like a chrome twenty-three, you just a little tin-tin
You one shot in a glass and I'm a whole fifth of hen
I'm a shark with a rim, you just a tadpole in a pond
You emcee such and such, I'm Bossalini the Don nigga
Recognize Spice 1 when you see 'em
You don't own a strap, I break down and grease 'em
I'm round as a gun bare, you square as a pool table
And twice as green as the chronic I inhale
I'll put one in your dome while you're missin' multiple shots
I'm presidential Lex, you just a motherfuckin' swatch
Mickey Mouse watch ass nigga
Well I'm a motherfuckin' pull-a-glock fast nigga
Smash niggas I'm gangsta like Stacey Adams, you soft like Hush Puppy
Spiceberg Slim motherfucker, shit can get ugly
All black man, twenty-three inch rim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Who's that trippin'? Hustla pimpin'?
Gangsta limpin'? Spiceberg Slim
All black man, twenty-three inch rim
Who's that gangsta? Spiceberg Slim
Who's that trippin'? Hustla pimpin'?
Gangsta limpin'? Spiceberg Slim
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Spiceberg Slim Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © REAL TALK 4 LIFE REAL TALK ENTERTAINMENT
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Fast Car
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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