"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.
Don't touch that dial, don't click the clicker
We love to watch, they love to bicker
Don't turn the knob or change the channel
Hey! Where the hell did they get this panel?
Where are they from? Where have they been?
They air it out, we suck it in
Up on stage all in a row
At each other's throats all through the show
The mood is tense, the tension's thicker
We watch, they fight, just who here's sicker?
CHORUS
We're not so bad, I guess after all
Their problems make ours seems so small
We'd be much better off I bet
If we'd turn off the TV set,
She broke down and he came clean
We stay glued, glued to the screen
Just how much more can we take?
Thank God, here comes a station break
CHORUS
Don't think that we can take much more
We've lost it now, man, that's for sure
Lost another day, check out the clock
Turn it off, pull the plug, shut it down, now, we should talk
We love to watch, they love to bicker
Don't turn the knob or change the channel
Hey! Where the hell did they get this panel?
Where are they from? Where have they been?
They air it out, we suck it in
Up on stage all in a row
At each other's throats all through the show
The mood is tense, the tension's thicker
We watch, they fight, just who here's sicker?
CHORUS
We're not so bad, I guess after all
Their problems make ours seems so small
We'd be much better off I bet
If we'd turn off the TV set,
She broke down and he came clean
We stay glued, glued to the screen
Just how much more can we take?
Thank God, here comes a station break
CHORUS
Don't think that we can take much more
We've lost it now, man, that's for sure
Lost another day, check out the clock
Turn it off, pull the plug, shut it down, now, we should talk
Lyrics submitted by Jurak
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Jerry Springer! gotta be..... xx