"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.
I know we made plans to meet in Spokane
But the way I make plans, you gotta take it with a grain of salt
Got jammed in Alabama and I was trying to get all of it resolved
I'm sure it seems like it's a perfect fit
But trust me, man, 'cause I've been up in it
And at dawn I had to crawl back home through the quicksilver sprawl
To tell the truth, if I were you, I'd rather sleep over than telecommute
'Cause when you're in the same room
I think we make a much better connection
Hemingway at Cafe Select
Donna Summer in the discotheque
Once you get good, you can get it wherever you are
Sloppy city in the upper deck
Trippin' hard on the self neglect
Now let me hold the money, 'cause he wants you to wait in the car
Sorry I'm late, I got caught in a mosh
With this dude that said he used to play with Peter Tosh
But he never brought it up again once I said, man, I don't believe you
And I looked over this great expanse
And I saw some kid pissin' on his parachute pants
And in one split second I figured out that he was one of your crew
The amphetamines did what the amphetamines do
And she was chewing through her cheek at the National Zoo
And the dress she was wearing made a nice case for natural selection
So, hold steady at the Comfort Inn
Mick Jagger's at the Mandarin
Once you get good, you can get it wherever you are
Notify the next of kin
Mariel Hemingway with perfect skin
And some creep with a camera who said he's gonna make you a star
You gotta wait in the car
Once upon a time I had a meeting with a man in a mansion
He pulled a few strings just to demonstrate how it's all connected
Disseminating from a central source
Hemingway on the Ketchum porch
Once you get good, you can get it wherever you are
So hit me back when it's back in style
Star 18 on the rotary dial
And let me hold the money 'cause he wants you to wait in the car
You gotta wait in the car
But the way I make plans, you gotta take it with a grain of salt
Got jammed in Alabama and I was trying to get all of it resolved
I'm sure it seems like it's a perfect fit
But trust me, man, 'cause I've been up in it
And at dawn I had to crawl back home through the quicksilver sprawl
To tell the truth, if I were you, I'd rather sleep over than telecommute
'Cause when you're in the same room
I think we make a much better connection
Hemingway at Cafe Select
Donna Summer in the discotheque
Once you get good, you can get it wherever you are
Sloppy city in the upper deck
Trippin' hard on the self neglect
Now let me hold the money, 'cause he wants you to wait in the car
Sorry I'm late, I got caught in a mosh
With this dude that said he used to play with Peter Tosh
But he never brought it up again once I said, man, I don't believe you
And I looked over this great expanse
And I saw some kid pissin' on his parachute pants
And in one split second I figured out that he was one of your crew
The amphetamines did what the amphetamines do
And she was chewing through her cheek at the National Zoo
And the dress she was wearing made a nice case for natural selection
So, hold steady at the Comfort Inn
Mick Jagger's at the Mandarin
Once you get good, you can get it wherever you are
Notify the next of kin
Mariel Hemingway with perfect skin
And some creep with a camera who said he's gonna make you a star
You gotta wait in the car
Once upon a time I had a meeting with a man in a mansion
He pulled a few strings just to demonstrate how it's all connected
Disseminating from a central source
Hemingway on the Ketchum porch
Once you get good, you can get it wherever you are
So hit me back when it's back in style
Star 18 on the rotary dial
And let me hold the money 'cause he wants you to wait in the car
You gotta wait in the car
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
Star 18 Lyrics as written by Franz Nicolay Craig A Finn
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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