"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.
She walked right in
As time slowed down
But not enough
To keep me from ordering up
Another round
In a bottomless cup
That I had found
In the hopes of never waking up the
Jukebox played
An old country song
About steel guitars
And how he'll try his level best
To get along
In the same old bar
Though friends gone wrong
Well he once had love but I never got that far
She must have angels on her shoulders
Their light wherever she may be
She says the angels do not know her
I guess I'm the only one who sees.
So I got my drink
And my fix my rose
But I need much more
Then this powdered blue and rented tuxedo
I need a line
A-something she don't know
Cause' she's probably heard them all a thousand times
So I caught her eye
For the next song
And the waltz replaced
The tango like she knows that I don't belong
In these shoes
I feel all wrong
But that's just my pride, what have I got to lose?
Well last call called
But I didn't hear
I was too busy looking
At her across the remnants of my beer
She stood to leave
And then it all came clear
That life without her was all I had to fear
You must have angels on your shoulders
Their light wherever you may be
She asks me would I like to show her?
I think I might be just the guy you need.
As time slowed down
But not enough
To keep me from ordering up
Another round
In a bottomless cup
That I had found
In the hopes of never waking up the
Jukebox played
An old country song
About steel guitars
And how he'll try his level best
To get along
In the same old bar
Though friends gone wrong
Well he once had love but I never got that far
She must have angels on her shoulders
Their light wherever she may be
She says the angels do not know her
I guess I'm the only one who sees.
So I got my drink
And my fix my rose
But I need much more
Then this powdered blue and rented tuxedo
I need a line
A-something she don't know
Cause' she's probably heard them all a thousand times
So I caught her eye
For the next song
And the waltz replaced
The tango like she knows that I don't belong
In these shoes
I feel all wrong
But that's just my pride, what have I got to lose?
Well last call called
But I didn't hear
I was too busy looking
At her across the remnants of my beer
She stood to leave
And then it all came clear
That life without her was all I had to fear
You must have angels on your shoulders
Their light wherever you may be
She asks me would I like to show her?
I think I might be just the guy you need.
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Angels on Her Shoulders Lyrics as written by Josh Ritter
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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