"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.
Hmm
Whoah
They can say,
Anything they want to say
Try to bring me down, but I will not
Allow anyone to succeed hanging clouds over me,
And they can try
How to make me feel that I
Don't matter at all
But I refuse to falter in what I believe or loose faith in my dreams
'Cause there's
There's a light in me
That shines brightly
They can try
But they can't take that away from me
From me
Oh oh
No, no, no, no, no, no
Ay
Oh they
They can do
Anything they want to you
If you let them in
But they won't ever win
If you cling to you pride, and just push them aside,
See I,
I have learned
There's an inner peace I own
Something in my soul that they can not possess
Oh I won't be afraid and the darkness will fade
'Cause there's
There's light in me me
That shines brightly, yes
They can try
But they can't take that away from me
No, oh
They can't take this
Precious love I'll always have inside me,
Certainly the Lord will guide me where I need to go
Woah, woah
They can say
Anything they want to say
Try to bring me down
But I won't face the ground
I will rise steadily sailing out of their reach
Although they do try
How to make me feel that I,
Don't matter at all,
But I refuse to fall,
Tell me what I believe or loose faith in my dreams
'Cause there's a light in me
That shines brightly yes
They can try but they can't take that away from
Me
From me
No, no, no, no, no, no
Whoah
They can say,
Anything they want to say
Try to bring me down, but I will not
Allow anyone to succeed hanging clouds over me,
And they can try
How to make me feel that I
Don't matter at all
But I refuse to falter in what I believe or loose faith in my dreams
'Cause there's
There's a light in me
That shines brightly
They can try
But they can't take that away from me
From me
Oh oh
No, no, no, no, no, no
Ay
Oh they
They can do
Anything they want to you
If you let them in
But they won't ever win
If you cling to you pride, and just push them aside,
See I,
I have learned
There's an inner peace I own
Something in my soul that they can not possess
Oh I won't be afraid and the darkness will fade
'Cause there's
There's light in me me
That shines brightly, yes
They can try
But they can't take that away from me
No, oh
They can't take this
Precious love I'll always have inside me,
Certainly the Lord will guide me where I need to go
Woah, woah
They can say
Anything they want to say
Try to bring me down
But I won't face the ground
I will rise steadily sailing out of their reach
Although they do try
How to make me feel that I,
Don't matter at all,
But I refuse to fall,
Tell me what I believe or loose faith in my dreams
'Cause there's a light in me
That shines brightly yes
They can try but they can't take that away from
Me
From me
No, no, no, no, no, no
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Fast Car
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