"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.
Apocalypse
1,2 the headline news just broke through
Apocalypse
3,4 soldier, 100 horsemen at your door
Apocalypse
5,6 you wanted dead or alive, hit or miss
Oui, oui, y'all, yeah, Oui, oui, y'all
Arrival of the Carnival
New beats, I never recycle
While your looking for samples
You might get trampled
Surprise, hey
I'm back with lightning and thunder
I heard you over saying that I'm a one-hit-wonder
You dumb or some, I went to refugees
Silly felony, when I'm done
Collect royalty from record company's
Clouds getting darker
Suns getting nearer
I'll turn a atheist into a god fearing believer
The back of a building
Your body's found by children
Playin' hide go seek
All we found was his skeleton
In the back of a car
You spawned with the wrong guard
You know my empire strikes back hard
Listen hard, "war!"
This is the day after action
Projects, cannons
Being launched at the palace
Vision, revelation
Sky know apocalypse
Enemy pilots kamikaze into the abyss
Apocalypse
1,2 the headlines news just broke through
Apocalypse
3,4 solder, 100 horsemen at your door
Apocalypse
5,6 you wanted dead or alive, hit or miss
Oui, oui, y'all, yeah, Oui, oui, y'all, yeah, Oui, oui, y'all
Ayo, Back on earth
The party is in the tunnel
On the west side of the river
Went mad quiver
Rats get fed to the alligator
Gun blast equivalent to the bombs in pearl harbor
Rescue choppers Brooklyn turned to Hiroshima
I'm driving to jersey to escape the terror
I was on the highway pushing a black viper
A car pulls up, is he a jack or a sniper (sniper)
A blue range rover, he says pull over
I didn't know he was a DT undercover
I screamed out my lungs
"This is discrimination!
What's the charge?"
He said you just robbed a gas station
Who me? not me! it couldn't be
I was in the Grammys with Brandy
Didn't you see me on TV?
Bullshit, y'all all in the same gang
He tried to run me off the road
Like he was Rosco P. Coltrane
I stayed calm, gave him a hell of a show
Cause when its time to go
All I gotta press is turbo
Heard it on his walkie, road block on 280 west
Things got serious, that's when I bust a left
U-Turn, tires burned
My concern was a truck coming
Head on collision within a changed position
Close one, I almost went up in a blaze
Running from what appears to be a masquerade
Least that what I thought, it was all in my mind
Reality stuck when I got to the borderline
The headline reads every ghettos sad story
A rookie shoots a boy over mistaken identity
(crash)
Apocalypse, oui oui y'all
1,2 the headlines news just broke through
Apocalypse
3,4 solder, 100 horsemen at your door
Apocalypse
5,6 you wanted dead or alive, hit or miss
Oui, oui, y'all, yeah, Oui, oui, y'all, yeah, Oui, oui, y'all
1,2 the headline news just broke through
Apocalypse
3,4 soldier, 100 horsemen at your door
Apocalypse
5,6 you wanted dead or alive, hit or miss
Oui, oui, y'all, yeah, Oui, oui, y'all
Arrival of the Carnival
New beats, I never recycle
While your looking for samples
You might get trampled
Surprise, hey
I'm back with lightning and thunder
I heard you over saying that I'm a one-hit-wonder
You dumb or some, I went to refugees
Silly felony, when I'm done
Collect royalty from record company's
Clouds getting darker
Suns getting nearer
I'll turn a atheist into a god fearing believer
The back of a building
Your body's found by children
Playin' hide go seek
All we found was his skeleton
In the back of a car
You spawned with the wrong guard
You know my empire strikes back hard
Listen hard, "war!"
This is the day after action
Projects, cannons
Being launched at the palace
Vision, revelation
Sky know apocalypse
Enemy pilots kamikaze into the abyss
Apocalypse
1,2 the headlines news just broke through
Apocalypse
3,4 solder, 100 horsemen at your door
Apocalypse
5,6 you wanted dead or alive, hit or miss
Oui, oui, y'all, yeah, Oui, oui, y'all, yeah, Oui, oui, y'all
Ayo, Back on earth
The party is in the tunnel
On the west side of the river
Went mad quiver
Rats get fed to the alligator
Gun blast equivalent to the bombs in pearl harbor
Rescue choppers Brooklyn turned to Hiroshima
I'm driving to jersey to escape the terror
I was on the highway pushing a black viper
A car pulls up, is he a jack or a sniper (sniper)
A blue range rover, he says pull over
I didn't know he was a DT undercover
I screamed out my lungs
"This is discrimination!
What's the charge?"
He said you just robbed a gas station
Who me? not me! it couldn't be
I was in the Grammys with Brandy
Didn't you see me on TV?
Bullshit, y'all all in the same gang
He tried to run me off the road
Like he was Rosco P. Coltrane
I stayed calm, gave him a hell of a show
Cause when its time to go
All I gotta press is turbo
Heard it on his walkie, road block on 280 west
Things got serious, that's when I bust a left
U-Turn, tires burned
My concern was a truck coming
Head on collision within a changed position
Close one, I almost went up in a blaze
Running from what appears to be a masquerade
Least that what I thought, it was all in my mind
Reality stuck when I got to the borderline
The headline reads every ghettos sad story
A rookie shoots a boy over mistaken identity
(crash)
Apocalypse, oui oui y'all
1,2 the headlines news just broke through
Apocalypse
3,4 solder, 100 horsemen at your door
Apocalypse
5,6 you wanted dead or alive, hit or miss
Oui, oui, y'all, yeah, Oui, oui, y'all, yeah, Oui, oui, y'all
Lyrics submitted by punkmebabygal
Apocalypse Lyrics as written by Christian Langlade Wyclef Jean
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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I find it prophetic that Wyclef speaks of: "Sky know apocalypse Enemy pilots kamikaze into the abyss" And also: "I'm driving to jersey to escape the terror"
Both of these lines speak of 9-11-2001, yet this song was on wyclef's Carnival CD which was released in 1997. This just speaks to the true knowledge that all Rastafarians hold of our DESTINY. Rasta's were given the gift of foresight to help us recognize the truth----------> Thanks Wyclef