"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.
One, two, three, four
Well I hope that I don't fall in love with you
'Cause falling in love just makes me blue
Well the music plays and you display
Your heart for me to see
I had a beer and now I hear you
Calling out for me
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you
Well the room is crowded, people everywhere
And I wonder, should I offer you a chair?
Well if you sit down with this old clown
Take that frown and break it
Before the evening's gone away
I think that we could make it
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you
Well the night does funny things inside a man
These old tom-cat feelings you don't understand
Well I turn around to look at you
You light a cigarette
I wish I had the guts to bum one
But we've never met
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you
I can see that you are lonesome just like me
And it being late, you'd like some company
Well I turn around to look at you
And you look back at me
The guy you're with he's up and split
The chair next to you's free
And I hope that you don't fall in love with me
Now it's closing time, the music's fading out
Last call for drinks, I'll have another stout
Well I turn around to look at you
You're nowhere to be found
I search the place for your lost face
Guess I'll have another round
And I think that I just fell in love with you
Well I hope that I don't fall in love with you
'Cause falling in love just makes me blue
Well the music plays and you display
Your heart for me to see
I had a beer and now I hear you
Calling out for me
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you
Well the room is crowded, people everywhere
And I wonder, should I offer you a chair?
Well if you sit down with this old clown
Take that frown and break it
Before the evening's gone away
I think that we could make it
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you
Well the night does funny things inside a man
These old tom-cat feelings you don't understand
Well I turn around to look at you
You light a cigarette
I wish I had the guts to bum one
But we've never met
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you
I can see that you are lonesome just like me
And it being late, you'd like some company
Well I turn around to look at you
And you look back at me
The guy you're with he's up and split
The chair next to you's free
And I hope that you don't fall in love with me
Now it's closing time, the music's fading out
Last call for drinks, I'll have another stout
Well I turn around to look at you
You're nowhere to be found
I search the place for your lost face
Guess I'll have another round
And I think that I just fell in love with you
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira
I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You Lyrics as written by Thomas Alan Waits
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Fast Car
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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Perfect early Tom Waits. This song never gets old. Not much else to say. He wants her. He hopes she wants him back.
The one thing I would add it he never seems to do the gushing love song. This may seem like it but he is qualifying his love and saying he will do these things IF she feels the same way. Much different than throwing himself at a girl who doesn't even know he exists. He is look for a sign. That is the true hopeless romanticism that made early Tom so so great.