"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.
I was watching the man on the tightrope
He was doing his best to stay up
He was swaying from side to side
And the crowd around him cried
And the nails of the lady beside me
Were digging into my skin
And her breathing was becoming excited
As they let the lions in
She said
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
With the smell of the beast in my nostrils
And a look of pure fear in my eye
The king of the jungle came forward
And the crowd began to sigh
And the lady who'd been sitting beside me
Was lying upon the ground
And the clown who was riding my cycle
Was going around and around
He said
Fall, why don't you fall for my now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Come on and take me to the circus
I wanna see the lion
I wanna see the tiger
I wanna see the chimpanzee
The chimpanzee wanna see me ... all right
Take me to the circus
Come on and take me to the circus
Come on and take me to the circus
Take me to the circus
Take me to the circus
Come on and take me to the circus
Come on and take me to the circus
Take me to the circus
Take me to the circus
Take me to the circus
You know I'm going home to my Marla
And listen to some String Driven Thing
I've had enough peaks in the circus
And none of them are in the ring
You know I'm going home to my Marla
And hang on to her apron strings
I've had enough of life in the circus
With animals and everything
She said
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Come on and take me to the circus
Come on and take me to the circus
I wanna see the lion
I wanna see the tiger
I wanna see the chimpanzee... all right
The chimpanzee wants to see me....oh yeah
Take me to the circus (come on down)
Take me to the circus (momma momma momma momma)
Take me to the circus......all right
Take me to the circus
He was doing his best to stay up
He was swaying from side to side
And the crowd around him cried
And the nails of the lady beside me
Were digging into my skin
And her breathing was becoming excited
As they let the lions in
She said
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
With the smell of the beast in my nostrils
And a look of pure fear in my eye
The king of the jungle came forward
And the crowd began to sigh
And the lady who'd been sitting beside me
Was lying upon the ground
And the clown who was riding my cycle
Was going around and around
He said
Fall, why don't you fall for my now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Come on and take me to the circus
I wanna see the lion
I wanna see the tiger
I wanna see the chimpanzee
The chimpanzee wanna see me ... all right
Take me to the circus
Come on and take me to the circus
Come on and take me to the circus
Take me to the circus
Take me to the circus
Come on and take me to the circus
Come on and take me to the circus
Take me to the circus
Take me to the circus
Take me to the circus
You know I'm going home to my Marla
And listen to some String Driven Thing
I've had enough peaks in the circus
And none of them are in the ring
You know I'm going home to my Marla
And hang on to her apron strings
I've had enough of life in the circus
With animals and everything
She said
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Fall, why don't you fall for me now?
Come on and take me to the circus
Come on and take me to the circus
I wanna see the lion
I wanna see the tiger
I wanna see the chimpanzee... all right
The chimpanzee wants to see me....oh yeah
Take me to the circus (come on down)
Take me to the circus (momma momma momma momma)
Take me to the circus......all right
Take me to the circus
Lyrics submitted by andrewma
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