"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.
Flip the switch, turn it up, come and get it on
Life's a bit too short for a sad song
Hard days, night train, [?] rolling my way
Cold gin mom and kid, come on in
Welcome to the party
Fire up your engines
We're gonna light em up and throw the hammer down
Welcome to the party
We're just getting started
We're gonna play it loud and all hang out
If you're here let me hear you shout
How you feeling so far?
Double fists, getting lit, sipping moonshine
All the ladies dancing dirty looking just fine
Smooth lines, can't wait, baby want to trade something
Concert here, drinking beer everybody's
Welcome to the party
Fire up your engines
We're gonna light em up and throw the hammer down
Welcome to the party
We're just getting started
We're gonna play it loud and all hang out
If you're here let me hear you shout
Let me hear you shout
Rev it up, pop the clutch
Everybody's welcome to the party
Fire up your engines
We're gonna light em up and throw the hammer down
Welcome to the party
We're just getting started
We're gonna play it loud
If you're here let me hear you shout
Let me hear you shout
Let me hear you shout
Life's a bit too short for a sad song
Hard days, night train, [?] rolling my way
Cold gin mom and kid, come on in
Welcome to the party
Fire up your engines
We're gonna light em up and throw the hammer down
Welcome to the party
We're just getting started
We're gonna play it loud and all hang out
If you're here let me hear you shout
How you feeling so far?
Double fists, getting lit, sipping moonshine
All the ladies dancing dirty looking just fine
Smooth lines, can't wait, baby want to trade something
Concert here, drinking beer everybody's
Welcome to the party
Fire up your engines
We're gonna light em up and throw the hammer down
Welcome to the party
We're just getting started
We're gonna play it loud and all hang out
If you're here let me hear you shout
Let me hear you shout
Rev it up, pop the clutch
Everybody's welcome to the party
Fire up your engines
We're gonna light em up and throw the hammer down
Welcome to the party
We're just getting started
We're gonna play it loud
If you're here let me hear you shout
Let me hear you shout
Let me hear you shout
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Ebba Grön
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
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Page
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