"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.
Took a while for me to see what life is all about
Took even longer to say this is one thing you need to figure out
For yourself, for yourself
Spent so many days in this car on the run
Thinking of life an consequence, all the things
I had done, I had done
It doesn’t matter where you’re from
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done
All that matters is what you plan to do and why
Oh why would you die for yourself
Heard a rustle in the trees some yards away
Little bear came out to
Hear me play, hear me play
As he sat intent I strummed a merry tune
When I was through he showed me how to
Catch the moon, catch the moon
It doesn’t matter where you’re from
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done
All that matters is what you plan to do and why
Oh why would you die for yourself
Took even longer to say this is one thing you need to figure out
For yourself, for yourself
Spent so many days in this car on the run
Thinking of life an consequence, all the things
I had done, I had done
It doesn’t matter where you’re from
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done
All that matters is what you plan to do and why
Oh why would you die for yourself
Heard a rustle in the trees some yards away
Little bear came out to
Hear me play, hear me play
As he sat intent I strummed a merry tune
When I was through he showed me how to
Catch the moon, catch the moon
It doesn’t matter where you’re from
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done
All that matters is what you plan to do and why
Oh why would you die for yourself
Lyrics submitted by JLR_FAn
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