"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.
The silence of the forest
I was waiting for it
Repeated by the wind
Nothing but an echo
Begging me to let go
Never speak again
You only have to whisper
You barely have to breathe
I can hear them calling
I can hear 'em moan
Heavy were the voices
Turning me to stone
Heaven was a nightmare
Hell a bad dream
I wanted to come here
Now I'll never leave
You've lost all control
You can't keep your mouth shut
Your sentence is silver but silence is gold
You have no control
Your words are just dust
You could have been spared
But you talk too much
Quietly as I roam
All paths are overgrown
Above the pine trees sway
Never found a way out
So I gave up and laid down
Still there to this day
You only have to whisper
You barely have to breathe
Can you hear me calling?
Can you hear me moan?
I produce the voices
Me and me alone
Heaven was a nightmare
Hell was just a dream
You wanted to come here
Now you can never leave
You've lost all control
You can't keep your mouth shut
Your sentence is silver but silence is gold
You have no control
Your words are just dust
You could have been spared
But you talk too much
And nowhere left is sacred
Nowhere to call home
At least we'll be together
The sun can bleach our bones
They beg you not to say it
They beg you not to speak
The voice inside the silence
Is always calling
Now you've lost all control
Your sentence is silver
But silence
Silence is gold
I was waiting for it
Repeated by the wind
Nothing but an echo
Begging me to let go
Never speak again
You only have to whisper
You barely have to breathe
I can hear them calling
I can hear 'em moan
Heavy were the voices
Turning me to stone
Heaven was a nightmare
Hell a bad dream
I wanted to come here
Now I'll never leave
You've lost all control
You can't keep your mouth shut
Your sentence is silver but silence is gold
You have no control
Your words are just dust
You could have been spared
But you talk too much
Quietly as I roam
All paths are overgrown
Above the pine trees sway
Never found a way out
So I gave up and laid down
Still there to this day
You only have to whisper
You barely have to breathe
Can you hear me calling?
Can you hear me moan?
I produce the voices
Me and me alone
Heaven was a nightmare
Hell was just a dream
You wanted to come here
Now you can never leave
You've lost all control
You can't keep your mouth shut
Your sentence is silver but silence is gold
You have no control
Your words are just dust
You could have been spared
But you talk too much
And nowhere left is sacred
Nowhere to call home
At least we'll be together
The sun can bleach our bones
They beg you not to say it
They beg you not to speak
The voice inside the silence
Is always calling
Now you've lost all control
Your sentence is silver
But silence
Silence is gold
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Fast Car
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