"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.
Before you, I was living,
In my silver first kitchen.
Fruit fly clouds breathing,
No hope, no religion.
A nightmare on Haslett Road,
I was too young, too weak from the road.
Too proud for help, too scared to grow,
Out of my depth and out of control,
I was so lonely there.
Living in slow motion,
Breathless corrosion.
Waiting for the kiss of life.
Slow motion,
Breathless corrosion.
Waiting for the kiss of life,
The kiss of life.
Waiting for your kiss of life.
City rumors spreading, deep water worth treading.
Yes, I was too young to weep from the road.
And too proud for help, too scared to grow,
Out of my depth and out of control.
Yes, strangers meet in slow motion,
Breathless devotion,
That night you gave me the kiss of life.
Slow motion,
Breathless, breathless.
That night you gave me the kiss of life,
The kiss of life.
That night you saved me,
The kiss of life.
Wake me out of that deep sleep, darlin',
Wake me out of that deep sleep, darlin',
Wake me out of that deep sleep, darlin',
Wake me out of that deep sleep, darlin',
With your kiss
Wake me out of that deep sleep.
Deep sleep, darlin'.
Deep sleep, darlin'.
In my silver first kitchen.
Fruit fly clouds breathing,
No hope, no religion.
A nightmare on Haslett Road,
I was too young, too weak from the road.
Too proud for help, too scared to grow,
Out of my depth and out of control,
I was so lonely there.
Living in slow motion,
Breathless corrosion.
Waiting for the kiss of life.
Slow motion,
Breathless corrosion.
Waiting for the kiss of life,
The kiss of life.
Waiting for your kiss of life.
City rumors spreading, deep water worth treading.
Yes, I was too young to weep from the road.
And too proud for help, too scared to grow,
Out of my depth and out of control.
Yes, strangers meet in slow motion,
Breathless devotion,
That night you gave me the kiss of life.
Slow motion,
Breathless, breathless.
That night you gave me the kiss of life,
The kiss of life.
That night you saved me,
The kiss of life.
Wake me out of that deep sleep, darlin',
Wake me out of that deep sleep, darlin',
Wake me out of that deep sleep, darlin',
Wake me out of that deep sleep, darlin',
With your kiss
Wake me out of that deep sleep.
Deep sleep, darlin'.
Deep sleep, darlin'.
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At the beginning the lyrics are actually "Before you, I was living in my silverfish kitchen." A silverfish is a type of bug that infests houses. It's tiny and eats things like paper.
The whole album's pretty direct. Wolf sings of his solo solemnity, and then comfort/passion with a partner, both of which get fittingly likened to slow motion. Nice.