"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.
[Intro]
I do not talk, I am just a rapper
[Verse]
I am so different, being me is like the lottery
I am so on like the TV when you fall asleep
Niggas makin pottery, but I broke the mold
Now my shit has got them dancing like a baby Oakenfold
Yes, I got a lust for life, and I drink my weight in whiskey
And these hoes are actin' different cause I'm Rich comma Richie
These friends are iffy, they're alcoholic geniuses
I think they hang around until I'm drunk and buy them Guinnesses
I gotta drink my medicine to cover what's inside of me
I'm still fucked up from the days nobody liked me
I'm lying just a little when I say that I don't give a fuck
You know I gotta give a fuck
You know I gotta give a fuck
My face is broken out
My shirt is hand-me-down
This kid named Vincent wanna take my shirt and lay me out
I'm trying to fit in like a fat bitch in her shoe size
It's funny how I'm flyer now than witches on their broom rides
I always thought these new clothes were the potion
Cause I never felt that good in my own skin
It's probably cause I'm the only black kid in my school
And when I meet another black kid they tell me I'm a fool
Cause I wear these tight clothes, tight jeans, tight shirt
Yeah I stay tight like these girls that make my dick hurt
Yeah, I'm self conscious
Go ahead, laugh it up
Cause I dig deep and pull something out to back it up
They told my ass to blacken up
What the fuck are you?
You don't even say shit
Quit writing gay shit
Now they see me, have to squint like Asians
Cause I'm too bright like an old night light
When I do not talk, I am being polite
Rap all night
Act all day
Mama so scared 'imma waste away
I don't have time to sleep
I don't have time to eat
These niggas got time to do
Everything but be unique
I gotta do me like I'm jerkin' to a mirror
I am just a rapper
Can't make it clearer
To every kid in a world full of pain
Please give a listen to this song and my name
Childish Gambino
We are all children
I am just a murderer
Man, I just killed this
I do not talk, I am just a rapper
[Verse]
I am so different, being me is like the lottery
I am so on like the TV when you fall asleep
Niggas makin pottery, but I broke the mold
Now my shit has got them dancing like a baby Oakenfold
Yes, I got a lust for life, and I drink my weight in whiskey
And these hoes are actin' different cause I'm Rich comma Richie
These friends are iffy, they're alcoholic geniuses
I think they hang around until I'm drunk and buy them Guinnesses
I gotta drink my medicine to cover what's inside of me
I'm still fucked up from the days nobody liked me
I'm lying just a little when I say that I don't give a fuck
You know I gotta give a fuck
You know I gotta give a fuck
My face is broken out
My shirt is hand-me-down
This kid named Vincent wanna take my shirt and lay me out
I'm trying to fit in like a fat bitch in her shoe size
It's funny how I'm flyer now than witches on their broom rides
I always thought these new clothes were the potion
Cause I never felt that good in my own skin
It's probably cause I'm the only black kid in my school
And when I meet another black kid they tell me I'm a fool
Cause I wear these tight clothes, tight jeans, tight shirt
Yeah I stay tight like these girls that make my dick hurt
Yeah, I'm self conscious
Go ahead, laugh it up
Cause I dig deep and pull something out to back it up
They told my ass to blacken up
What the fuck are you?
You don't even say shit
Quit writing gay shit
Now they see me, have to squint like Asians
Cause I'm too bright like an old night light
When I do not talk, I am being polite
Rap all night
Act all day
Mama so scared 'imma waste away
I don't have time to sleep
I don't have time to eat
These niggas got time to do
Everything but be unique
I gotta do me like I'm jerkin' to a mirror
I am just a rapper
Can't make it clearer
To every kid in a world full of pain
Please give a listen to this song and my name
Childish Gambino
We are all children
I am just a murderer
Man, I just killed this
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
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