"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.
You're barely barely back home
Like a little fly
You're like a little fly stuck in the window
Dying to get inside
What if you do
Would you go back outside
Out where they'll crush you with a paper folded
Just to see you die
Slice a bit off the belly you love
Better if you're only
Barely holding on
Yeah, you're holding on
But you went in the house
To an open mouth
And seeing the things for no reason at all
Just to have it fall
It's never enough
'Cause you wanted to much
And sooner or later you're gonna find out
The limits to your guts
If it's a roof for you
Why can't you let it be
I'm sick of hope it's true
That deep inside your really
Only, only only only only, only, yeah
[Chorus]
So patient, so kind
It's never easy to tell
If you're playing with my mind
Hide your itchy fingers well
Are you really awake
Or just afloat at the top
Keep living on season it's barely enough
Do you wanna just sell it off
Do you wanna just stop
In the back of the room
You keep asking me away for a minute or two
Oh what was she supposed to do yeah
Baby I won't blame you
If you go and find something better to do
We call it moving on
You can call it moving on
[Chorus]
Barely barely back home
Like a little fly
Like a little fly stuck in the window
Dying to get inside
What if you do
Would you go back outside
Out where they'll crush you with a paper folded
[Repeat: x9]
Just to see you die
[Chorus: x2]
Like a little fly
You're like a little fly stuck in the window
Dying to get inside
What if you do
Would you go back outside
Out where they'll crush you with a paper folded
Just to see you die
Slice a bit off the belly you love
Better if you're only
Barely holding on
Yeah, you're holding on
But you went in the house
To an open mouth
And seeing the things for no reason at all
Just to have it fall
It's never enough
'Cause you wanted to much
And sooner or later you're gonna find out
The limits to your guts
If it's a roof for you
Why can't you let it be
I'm sick of hope it's true
That deep inside your really
Only, only only only only, only, yeah
[Chorus]
So patient, so kind
It's never easy to tell
If you're playing with my mind
Hide your itchy fingers well
Are you really awake
Or just afloat at the top
Keep living on season it's barely enough
Do you wanna just sell it off
Do you wanna just stop
In the back of the room
You keep asking me away for a minute or two
Oh what was she supposed to do yeah
Baby I won't blame you
If you go and find something better to do
We call it moving on
You can call it moving on
[Chorus]
Barely barely back home
Like a little fly
Like a little fly stuck in the window
Dying to get inside
What if you do
Would you go back outside
Out where they'll crush you with a paper folded
[Repeat: x9]
Just to see you die
[Chorus: x2]
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Itchy Fingers Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
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Fast Car
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Yo La Tengo
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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,
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