"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.
We're driving at midnight
The only car on the road
And every traffic light is flashing yellow
No clue where we're going
But baby I know
We ain't goin' home
The music was blaring
I was already yours
Neither of us were listening,
Staring out your window
We cant turn back now
'Cause baby we both know
We ain't goin' home
Life's like a dead-end road sometimes
We can't help but lose control
On this one car highway
The further we can drive away,
Together we don't have to stay
So come on, lets go
And drive this car away
Got one hand on the stereo
Turn on the cruise control
I took a look out my rearview mirror
And threw it out the window
We can't turn back now
'Cause baby we both know
We ain't goin' home
Life's like a dead-end road sometimes
We can't help but lose control
On this one car highway
The further we can drive away,
Together we don't have to stay
So come on, lets go
And drive this car away
Slow down, we cant slow down
We're moving so fast
That our headlights can't keep up
And the lights go dim behind us
No one will ever find us
If you're running from the past
Then you can't look back
Life's likes a dead-end road sometimes
We can't help but lose control
On this one car highway
The further we can drive away,
Together we don't have to stay
So come on, lets go
And drive this car away
And drive this car awaayy
The only car on the road
And every traffic light is flashing yellow
No clue where we're going
But baby I know
We ain't goin' home
The music was blaring
I was already yours
Neither of us were listening,
Staring out your window
We cant turn back now
'Cause baby we both know
We ain't goin' home
Life's like a dead-end road sometimes
We can't help but lose control
On this one car highway
The further we can drive away,
Together we don't have to stay
So come on, lets go
And drive this car away
Got one hand on the stereo
Turn on the cruise control
I took a look out my rearview mirror
And threw it out the window
We can't turn back now
'Cause baby we both know
We ain't goin' home
Life's like a dead-end road sometimes
We can't help but lose control
On this one car highway
The further we can drive away,
Together we don't have to stay
So come on, lets go
And drive this car away
Slow down, we cant slow down
We're moving so fast
That our headlights can't keep up
And the lights go dim behind us
No one will ever find us
If you're running from the past
Then you can't look back
Life's likes a dead-end road sometimes
We can't help but lose control
On this one car highway
The further we can drive away,
Together we don't have to stay
So come on, lets go
And drive this car away
And drive this car awaayy
Lyrics submitted by Murmi97
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Credit to Yvonne Bennett from YouTube for four lines I just couldn't get.