"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.
Step One: you count your eggs before they can hatch
So you know exactly what to expect
Step Two is after that, like dukes or your bootstraps,
You get your hopes up to brace your face for an attack
A watched pot never boils
To the victor go the spoils
A watched pot never boils over the top
My cup is too hot, my cup is too hot
I’ve never had the patience not to burn my tongue
I’ve got to stop and think before I drink the first drop
A watched pot never boils over, I’ll never boil over because
My eyes are always open, my eyes are always open
Always open
Step Three is put the horse behind the cart
To find the rotten apple from the start
Part the wheat from the chaff
And after that it is Step Four: open windows to your core
With a piece of chalk or a knock upon the door
A watched pot never boils
To the victor go the spoils
A watched pot never boils over the top
My cup is too hot, my cup is too hot
I’ve never had the patience not to burn my tongue
I’ve got to stop and think before I drink the first drop
A watched pot never boils over, I’ll never boil over because
My eyes are always open, my eyes are always open
Always open
You know what they say about dreams
They are everything and nothing
They are everything and nothing
You know what they say about dreams
They’re the refuse of the system
They’re your refuge from the system
But do you ever listen? Listen.
Step Five is stay alive, you win if you survive
If you survive
Step Six is get a life, make yourself a life
Protect your light, project your light
A watched pot never boils
To the victor go the spoils
A watched pot never boils over the top
My cup is too hot, my cup is too hot
I’ve never had the patience not to burn my tongue
I’ve got to stop and think before I drink the first drop
A watched pot never boils over, I’ll never boil over
My eyes are always open, my eyes are always open
Always open
You know what they say about dreams
They don’t always say what they mean
Oh, you know what they say about me
I am everything and nothing
I am everything and nothing
You know what they say about dreams
They’re the refuse of the system
They’re your refuge from the system
But do you ever listen? Listen.
So you know exactly what to expect
Step Two is after that, like dukes or your bootstraps,
You get your hopes up to brace your face for an attack
A watched pot never boils
To the victor go the spoils
A watched pot never boils over the top
My cup is too hot, my cup is too hot
I’ve never had the patience not to burn my tongue
I’ve got to stop and think before I drink the first drop
A watched pot never boils over, I’ll never boil over because
My eyes are always open, my eyes are always open
Always open
Step Three is put the horse behind the cart
To find the rotten apple from the start
Part the wheat from the chaff
And after that it is Step Four: open windows to your core
With a piece of chalk or a knock upon the door
A watched pot never boils
To the victor go the spoils
A watched pot never boils over the top
My cup is too hot, my cup is too hot
I’ve never had the patience not to burn my tongue
I’ve got to stop and think before I drink the first drop
A watched pot never boils over, I’ll never boil over because
My eyes are always open, my eyes are always open
Always open
You know what they say about dreams
They are everything and nothing
They are everything and nothing
You know what they say about dreams
They’re the refuse of the system
They’re your refuge from the system
But do you ever listen? Listen.
Step Five is stay alive, you win if you survive
If you survive
Step Six is get a life, make yourself a life
Protect your light, project your light
A watched pot never boils
To the victor go the spoils
A watched pot never boils over the top
My cup is too hot, my cup is too hot
I’ve never had the patience not to burn my tongue
I’ve got to stop and think before I drink the first drop
A watched pot never boils over, I’ll never boil over
My eyes are always open, my eyes are always open
Always open
You know what they say about dreams
They don’t always say what they mean
Oh, you know what they say about me
I am everything and nothing
I am everything and nothing
You know what they say about dreams
They’re the refuse of the system
They’re your refuge from the system
But do you ever listen? Listen.
Lyrics submitted by JohnnyLurg
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