"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.
Well I woke up to the sound of silence the cars
Were cutting like knives in a fist fight
And I found you with a bottle of wine
Your head in the curtains and heart like the fourth of July
You swore and said, "We are not"
"We are not shining stars"
This I know
I never said we are
Though I've never been through hell like that
I've closed enough windows to know you can never look back
If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground
Carry on
Carry on, carry on
So I met up with some friends in the edge of the night
At a bar off seventy five
And we talked and talked about how our parents will die
All our neighbors and wives
But I like to think
I can cheat it all
To make up for the times, I've been cheated on
And it's nice to know
When I was left for dead
I was found and now I don't roam these streets
I am not the ghost you want of me
If you're lost and alone or you're sinking like a stone,
Carry on
May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground and
Carry on
Woah my head is on fire
But my legs are fine
After all they are mine
Lay your clothes down on the floor
Close the door
Hold the phone
Show me how
No one's ever gonna stop us now
'Cause we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we're miles away
So we'll come, we will find our way home
If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground and
Carry on
(No one's ever gonna stop us now)
(No one's ever, no one's ever gonna stop, no one's ever gonna stop us now)
(No one's ever, no one's ever gonna stop , no one's ever gonna stop)
(No one's ever gonna stop us now)
Were cutting like knives in a fist fight
And I found you with a bottle of wine
Your head in the curtains and heart like the fourth of July
You swore and said, "We are not"
"We are not shining stars"
This I know
I never said we are
Though I've never been through hell like that
I've closed enough windows to know you can never look back
If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground
Carry on
Carry on, carry on
So I met up with some friends in the edge of the night
At a bar off seventy five
And we talked and talked about how our parents will die
All our neighbors and wives
But I like to think
I can cheat it all
To make up for the times, I've been cheated on
And it's nice to know
When I was left for dead
I was found and now I don't roam these streets
I am not the ghost you want of me
If you're lost and alone or you're sinking like a stone,
Carry on
May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground and
Carry on
Woah my head is on fire
But my legs are fine
After all they are mine
Lay your clothes down on the floor
Close the door
Hold the phone
Show me how
No one's ever gonna stop us now
'Cause we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we're miles away
So we'll come, we will find our way home
If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground and
Carry on
(No one's ever gonna stop us now)
(No one's ever, no one's ever gonna stop, no one's ever gonna stop us now)
(No one's ever, no one's ever gonna stop , no one's ever gonna stop)
(No one's ever gonna stop us now)
Lyrics submitted by smileforthecamera, edited by EdgeofTime, ginnifer, Shakes737, ThommyO, GranoblasticMan
Carry On Lyrics as written by Andrew Dost Jeff Bhasker
Lyrics © Takwene LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Hipgnosis Songs Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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@IgnacioMarquez
Well I woke up to the sound of silence the cars (He woke up early in the morning - before the sun comes out) Were cutting like knives in a fist fight (the only noise is that of cars in the background disrupting the night) And I found you with a bottle of wine (he finds the girl drinking her sorrows away- she cannot sleep) Your head in the curtains and heart like the fourth of July (She is feeling like comitting suicide) This is obvious because the whole verse is a reference to the song Faith in Fast Cars by his previous band The Format.