"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.
With no complications
Fifteen generations
(of mine)
All honoring Nature
Until I arrive
(With incredible style)
I'm the end of the line
The end of the family line
The end of the line
No baby pulled screaming
Out into this seething whirl
By chance or whim
(Or even love?)
Our family tree hacked into decline
And I'm spared the pain
Of ever saying
("Goodbye")
I'm the end of the line
The end of the family line
The end of the line
The decision is mine
The end of the family line
The end of the line
I'm the end of the line
The end of the family line
The end of the
Fifteen generations
(of mine)
All honoring Nature
Until I arrive
(With incredible style)
I'm the end of the line
The end of the family line
The end of the line
No baby pulled screaming
Out into this seething whirl
By chance or whim
(Or even love?)
Our family tree hacked into decline
And I'm spared the pain
Of ever saying
("Goodbye")
I'm the end of the line
The end of the family line
The end of the line
The decision is mine
The end of the family line
The end of the line
I'm the end of the line
The end of the family line
The end of the
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery
(I'm) The End of the Family Line Lyrics as written by Mark Edward Cascian Nevin Steven Morrissey
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I'm very new to Morrissey's music and in fact just heard this song for the first time today so I normally wouldn't post an opinion as a neophyte, but I did see him in concert recently and he made it clear that he doesn't believe in having children at the show and seems to want to promote that with his audience as well.
My take on this song, as a sexually active, heterosexual female who has never wanted children, is that he has made the choice not to have children or be a parent because he feels that this world is a miserable place and wouldn't want to bring children into it.
Clearly he is intentionally ambiguous about his sexuality and that's his right. There are songs where I do see that the interpretation could easily be one of homosexuality and in others heterosexuality. In interviews he's also mentioned celibacy(or asexuality?) but in this song I don't see that at all. I just see someone who has made the decision to not have children and I can and do completely relate.