"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.
The leaves are falling all around
Time I was on my way
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged
For such a pleasant stay
But now it's time for me to go
The autumn moon lights my way
For now, I smell the rain
And with it pain
And it's headed my way
Ah, sometimes I grow so tired
But I know I've got one thing I got to do
Ramble on
And now's the time, the time is now
Sing my song
I'm goin' 'round the world, I got to find my girl
On my way
I've been this way ten years to the day
Ramble on
Gotta find the queen of all my dreams
Got no time for spreadin' roots
The time has come to be gone
And though our health we drank a thousand times
It's time to ramble on
Ramble on
And now's the time, the time is now
Sing my song
I'm going 'round the world, I got to find my girl
On my way
I've been this way ten years to the day
I gotta ramble on
I gotta find the queen of all my dreams
I ain't tellin' no lie
Mine's a tale that can't be told
My freedom I hold dear
How years ago in days of old
When magic filled the air
T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor
I met a girl so fair
But Gollum and the evil one
Crept up and slipped away with her
Her, her, yeah
Ain't nothing I can do, no
I guess I keep on rambling
I'm gonna, yeah, yeah, yeah
Sing my song (I gotta find my baby)
I gotta ramble on, sing my song
Gotta work my way around the world baby, baby
Ramble on, yeah
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, my baby
Doo, doo, doo, doo
Doodoo doodoo doodoo doodoo doodoo
I gotta keep searching for my baby
(Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby)
I gotta keep-a-searchin' for my baby
(My, my, my, my, my, my, my baby)
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I can't find my bluebird
I listen to my bluebird sing
I can't find my bluebird
I keep rambling, baby
I keep rambling, baby
Time I was on my way
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged
For such a pleasant stay
But now it's time for me to go
The autumn moon lights my way
For now, I smell the rain
And with it pain
And it's headed my way
Ah, sometimes I grow so tired
But I know I've got one thing I got to do
Ramble on
And now's the time, the time is now
Sing my song
I'm goin' 'round the world, I got to find my girl
On my way
I've been this way ten years to the day
Ramble on
Gotta find the queen of all my dreams
Got no time for spreadin' roots
The time has come to be gone
And though our health we drank a thousand times
It's time to ramble on
Ramble on
And now's the time, the time is now
Sing my song
I'm going 'round the world, I got to find my girl
On my way
I've been this way ten years to the day
I gotta ramble on
I gotta find the queen of all my dreams
I ain't tellin' no lie
Mine's a tale that can't be told
My freedom I hold dear
How years ago in days of old
When magic filled the air
T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor
I met a girl so fair
But Gollum and the evil one
Crept up and slipped away with her
Her, her, yeah
Ain't nothing I can do, no
I guess I keep on rambling
I'm gonna, yeah, yeah, yeah
Sing my song (I gotta find my baby)
I gotta ramble on, sing my song
Gotta work my way around the world baby, baby
Ramble on, yeah
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, my baby
Doo, doo, doo, doo
Doodoo doodoo doodoo doodoo doodoo
I gotta keep searching for my baby
(Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby)
I gotta keep-a-searchin' for my baby
(My, my, my, my, my, my, my baby)
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I can't find my bluebird
I listen to my bluebird sing
I can't find my bluebird
I keep rambling, baby
I keep rambling, baby
Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by leejohnson, fredurruti
Ramble On Lyrics as written by Robert Plant Jimmy Page
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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some interesting comments on this song...I personally agree with the references to LOTR but I was curious to know if anyone thought that maybe Sam's character was referenced in this song about the girl he found...cuz it was at mordor when he tells Frodo about the girl he wants to marry and that is also where Gollum bites off Frodo's finger and the line "my freedom I hold dear" could possibly be about Sam not wanting to be overtaken by the ring like what happened to Frodo...just something to throw out there I'm curious to hear responses to this!