"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.
Today she dresses
For the change she's facing now
And the storm that's raging
A safe haven she has found
She doesn't care
What the prophets say anymore
For the love she had
She has no more
So she gathers rain
She gathers rain
To rinse away all her guilt and pain
She gathers rain
She gathers rain
To wash and cleanse and make
her whole again
Her imagination
Has started stretching wide
And her new conviction
No longer will she hide
She's not branded
When prophets speak words of fire
The same love she gives
She requires
So she gathers rain
She gathers rain
To rinse away all her guilt and pain
She gathers rain
She gathers rain
To wash and cleanse and make
her whole again
For the change she's facing now
And the storm that's raging
A safe haven she has found
She doesn't care
What the prophets say anymore
For the love she had
She has no more
So she gathers rain
She gathers rain
To rinse away all her guilt and pain
She gathers rain
She gathers rain
To wash and cleanse and make
her whole again
Her imagination
Has started stretching wide
And her new conviction
No longer will she hide
She's not branded
When prophets speak words of fire
The same love she gives
She requires
So she gathers rain
She gathers rain
To rinse away all her guilt and pain
She gathers rain
She gathers rain
To wash and cleanse and make
her whole again
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
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Great Song.
This song, it seems very likely and is how I interpret it, is about a female person who breaks free of religious dogma. She has realized the horrible truth about organized religion and wants something more in life....to think clearly and open minded about the possibilities in this world. And now that she has done that, she feels great and free about she sees the world.
First Verse: She has decided to stop mindlessly following a particular religion("she's doesn't care what the prophets say anymore"). And she is ready to face any possible negative attitudes towards this decision from people surrounding her. She won't back down.
Chorus: "she gathers rain to rinse away her guilt and pain"-----Rain is natural, no supernatural phenomena or god is needed to account for it. This is a metaphor for rational thought and she is using this rational awareness to stop any irrational guilt, etc from renouncing her faith or religion.
Verse 2: +"her imagination has started stretching wide"--she is realizing how much potential, for her, there is in this world now that she sees things clearly and in a new light. +"And her new conviction no longer will she hide"---her new conviction(or new strong belief) is that she doesn't believe in that particular religion and she is seeing natural explanations for the world. +"she's not branded when the prophets speak words of fire"----she won't be scared into believing anything.(example, so commonly being told "you are going to hell" if you dont belief, etc.) +"the same love she gives, she requires"---she realizes that you can't love something imaginary(ie, god)