"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 saw the grave stones
I saw nine year old boys
Somehow I knew
They hated me
You can live as long as
You want to live
Lately all I want
Is to be in your hole
Sleep without a dream
As cold as it seems
It's my destiny
How many men have been
In your sacred hole?
[How many dead men, God?]
As I spread her thighs
My life flashes before my eyes
Soothing, disturbing
I'm intoxicated with fear
How many men have died
In your dirty hole?
How many men lay dead
From this killing hole?
I saw nine year old boys
Somehow I knew
They hated me
You can live as long as
You want to live
Lately all I want
Is to be in your hole
Sleep without a dream
As cold as it seems
It's my destiny
How many men have been
In your sacred hole?
[How many dead men, God?]
As I spread her thighs
My life flashes before my eyes
Soothing, disturbing
I'm intoxicated with fear
How many men have died
In your dirty hole?
How many men lay dead
From this killing hole?
Lyrics submitted by Tris
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Actually, Saga_Lahn is on the right track. But, it's a little deeper and multi-dimensional. It has the double meaning of sex and coming to terms with death. And at the same time, it shows two perspectives (one in each verse).
I'll explain the death issue first. There are two ways to view death. One is that you believe in a supreme being and part of you longs for death because you've come to terms with your mortality through belief in a life after death. The other is a fear of death because it is the ultimate end of your existence. In the first verse, the 9-year-old boys are jealous because Jon is still alive. But, Jon (because of his faith in a better life after this one) longs to be where they are. Hence the term "sacred hole" to end the first verse. In contrast, the second verse expresses the fear of death when a person believes it to be THE end of being. This would be the point-of-view someone who has, for some reason, UNDERSTANDING of their mortality yet will not accept that there is a good creator to go to after death. Therefore, this person feels "soothed, disturbed and intoxicated with fear" of death. Therefore, this verse ends in the description of a "dirty hole".
Then, there's the other dimension... sex. Jon feels that the 9-year-old boys, who've never had the chance at sex, are jealous of his having the chance to have sex. But, Jon sees both sides (life before and after virginity) and shows his desire to be where they are, the sacredness of virginity. It's kind of a "grass is always greener" scenario. Note to virgins: Who has experienced both and which side of the fence he would rather be on? Then, in the second verse, he goes into the reality of losing virginity and how it's "soothing, disturbing" and evokes a feeling of "intoxicating fear" of the unknown. The "dirty hole" depicts what we fall into once we have lost our virginity. We become slaves to our urges for it, like a primal addiction. Not to mention it's not as great as we expect it to be... for most of us, anyway.
Well, that's how I see it. Although, being a Christian myself and realizing that Jon (at the least) has previously sung about the faith, I do like mad_meerkat's interpretation as well.