"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.
Where the streets are paved with blood
With cataclysmic overtones
Fear and hate linger in the air
A strictly no-go deadly zone
And I don't know what I'm doing here
'Cause it's not my scene at all
There's an 'A' bomb in Wardour Street
They've called in the Army, they've called in the police to
I'm stranded on the vortex floor
My head's been kicked in and blood's started to pour
Through the haze, I can see my girl
Fifteen geezers got her pinned to the door
I try to reach her but fall back to the floor
'A' bomb off in Wardour Street
It's blown up the West End, now it's spreading through the City
'A' bomb in Wardour Street, it's blown up the City
Now it's spreading through the country
Law and order takes a turn for the worst
In the shape of a size-ten boot
Rape and murder throughout the land
And they tell you that you're still a free man
If this is freedom I don't understand
'Cause it seems like madness to me
'A' bomb in Wardour Street
Hate bomb, hate bomb, hate bomb, hate bomb
A Phillistine nation, of degradation
And hate and war there must be more
It's Doctor Martin's A-P-O-C-A-L-Y-P-S-E, Apocalypse!
With cataclysmic overtones
Fear and hate linger in the air
A strictly no-go deadly zone
And I don't know what I'm doing here
'Cause it's not my scene at all
There's an 'A' bomb in Wardour Street
They've called in the Army, they've called in the police to
I'm stranded on the vortex floor
My head's been kicked in and blood's started to pour
Through the haze, I can see my girl
Fifteen geezers got her pinned to the door
I try to reach her but fall back to the floor
'A' bomb off in Wardour Street
It's blown up the West End, now it's spreading through the City
'A' bomb in Wardour Street, it's blown up the City
Now it's spreading through the country
Law and order takes a turn for the worst
In the shape of a size-ten boot
Rape and murder throughout the land
And they tell you that you're still a free man
If this is freedom I don't understand
'Cause it seems like madness to me
'A' bomb in Wardour Street
Hate bomb, hate bomb, hate bomb, hate bomb
A Phillistine nation, of degradation
And hate and war there must be more
It's Doctor Martin's A-P-O-C-A-L-Y-P-S-E, Apocalypse!
Lyrics submitted by Anarchy_insane, edited by trystero11, bluebook
'A' Bomb in Wardour Street Lyrics as written by Paul John Weller
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Why has no one put in a comment about this song it rocks best social commetry ever. Everything is screwed in this song it rocks.
It's Doctor Martin's A,P,O,C,A,L,Y,P,S,E, Apocalypse! Should read It's Doctor Marten's A,P,O,C,A,L,Y,P,S,E, Apocalypse! after the famous boot.
They say you had to be there, but the lyrics give me a good enough picture of the violence around then.
When Paul was going to sign the record contract with the Jam, Polydor's head office was on Wardour Street. When he arrived there the street was closed off due to an unexploded World War 2 bomb they found. This inspired him to write this song.
Well if that's true, it's a genius metaphor for the aformantioned violence in the punk years.
This is a gr8 song of a gr8 album, the lyrics are pretty self explantary.
It's one of those Jam songs that alludes to very bad things, much like the bridge in Tubestation. Gotta love 'em for that.
Wardour Street is - or used to be - the centre of the British film industry, apparently. So this song is therefore about whether life mirrors art (film, media etc) or vice versa.
I think Paul has an issue with airwair wearers, specially 10 hole red laced size 10 ones. Anti control like so much late 70s to early 80s British bands. Rocking track.
The song talks about the explosion of hate
The vortex floor should be captialized "The Vortex floor"; it refers to The Vortex club, which was located at 203 Wardour Street, and was one of the first punk clubs. It had a reputation for violence, and that's what the song is based around. The club had to close down again after only 9 months. punk77.co.uk/punkhistory/vortex_history.htm