"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.
Every time that I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by like dusk to dawn
Isn't that the way?
Everybody's got the dues in life to pay, yeah
I know nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
You've got to lose to know how to win
Half my life's in books' written pages
Live and learn from fools and from sages
You know it's true, oh
All the things come back to you
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away
Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream until the dream come true
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream until your dream come true
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream on, oh
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by like dusk to dawn
Isn't that the way?
Everybody's got the dues in life to pay, yeah
I know nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
You've got to lose to know how to win
Half my life's in books' written pages
Live and learn from fools and from sages
You know it's true, oh
All the things come back to you
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away
Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream until the dream come true
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream until your dream come true
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream on, oh
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away
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