"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.
Yeah
Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight
You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
Yeah, we're just waiting for the hammer to fall, yeah
Oh every night, and every day
A little piece of you is falling away
But lift your face the Western way
Build your muscles as your body decays, yeah
Tow the line and play their game
Yeah, let the anesthetic cover it all
'Til one day they call your name
You know it's time for the hammer to fall
Rich or poor or famous
For your truth it's all the same
(Oh no, oh no)
Oh, lock your door but rain is pouring
Through your window pane
(Oh no)
Hey yeah, baby, now your struggle's all in vain, yeah
For we who grew up tall and proud
In the shadow of the Mushroom Cloud
Convinced our voices can't be heard
We just wanna scream it louder and louder and louder
What the hell are we fighting for?
Ah, just surrender and it won't hurt at all
You just got time to say your prayers
Yeah, while you're waiting for the hammer to, hammer to fall
Hey, yes
Let's get on the floor, yeah
Hammer
You know
Hammer to fall
Yeah
Hey, woo hoo
Ha ha, ha ha
I've been waiting for the hammer to fall
Give it to me one more time
Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight
You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
Yeah, we're just waiting for the hammer to fall, yeah
Oh every night, and every day
A little piece of you is falling away
But lift your face the Western way
Build your muscles as your body decays, yeah
Tow the line and play their game
Yeah, let the anesthetic cover it all
'Til one day they call your name
You know it's time for the hammer to fall
Rich or poor or famous
For your truth it's all the same
(Oh no, oh no)
Oh, lock your door but rain is pouring
Through your window pane
(Oh no)
Hey yeah, baby, now your struggle's all in vain, yeah
For we who grew up tall and proud
In the shadow of the Mushroom Cloud
Convinced our voices can't be heard
We just wanna scream it louder and louder and louder
What the hell are we fighting for?
Ah, just surrender and it won't hurt at all
You just got time to say your prayers
Yeah, while you're waiting for the hammer to, hammer to fall
Hey, yes
Let's get on the floor, yeah
Hammer
You know
Hammer to fall
Yeah
Hey, woo hoo
Ha ha, ha ha
I've been waiting for the hammer to fall
Give it to me one more time
Lyrics submitted by jhines0042
Hammer To Fall Lyrics as written by Brian May
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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YYAAAYY!!!! I got an email about this song from Brian May when I asked him about it this is what he said:
"OK Susie ..... Hammer to Fall is really about life and death, and being aware of death as being part of life. I was inspired, I think, by "Waiting for Godot" ...although there are a lot of other things mixed up wit it in there ... The Hammer coming down is only a symbol of the Grim Reaper doing his job!!"
Does this solve any mysteries?
@mercury_girl86 are you serious about May replying?????
I guess she is serious. He sometimes replies to messages from fans, also looks like something he would write.
Best rock song in the world.
It's hard to believe it failed to even make the top 200 in the US, but Body Language made #11.
WHAT THE HELL WE FIGHTING FOR???!!!
another rocker from these champions!
thumbs up
i use this as a street fighting song.
or at least i like to play this while playing Double Dragon
awesome game
I totally agree with JoeBaldwin-- This song was written in 83 or 84 during the last spike of real tensions between the US and USSR. The single cover of this song is red and gold and really "official" looking, reminiscent of Soviet stuff.
The lyrics also totally fit in with this idea... "feel your muscles as your body decays"... the Soviet system died in part because Reagan and others forced them to throw all their money into the military, which US could afford and they couldn't... "baby now your struggle's all in vain" alluding to Marx's claim that there would always be a struggle between proletariat and the masses, a fundamental Soviet idea... there are probably ten more but this is probably boring people so I'll stop now. I also like how the very basic I-IV-V chords and beat (the roots Queen tried to get back to on the Works) is reminiscent of socially/politically conscious American artists of that time, like Springsteen and Mellencamp, like Brian is channeling them. The last verse is even more amazing-- "what the hell we fighting for?", "just have time to say your prayers", makes me think of Samantha Smith (remember her?) and has lots of resonance today too... this is maybe where Brian brought it back to something more basic and common, like, the Hammer of God could fall on the US (or anywhere else) just as easily as the Russians, we're just people too!
I am such a fan of how Brian can be so true to classic rock and good guitar but still right songs just as poetic and interesting as Mercury. Queen wouldn't have been Queen without him.
@lapofthegods well put. +1
why don't more people love this one? i consider this one of the best queen songs out there. so kick ass.
There are many ways you can interpret this song but its pretty clear it's about how you can't avoid "the hammer", i.e. death, no matter you social status, wealth, etc. Nobody escapes it.
Got turned onto this song after I bought the Wembley DVD about six months ago. Absolutely a rocker that's better live than on the original recording. On the DVD, it comes right after Bohemian Rhapsody - as dynamic a duo as you'll ever hear live, made better by the fact that it was in front of 100,000+ fans.
Always thought "hammer" represents Soviet Union here.
brian may has explained that the hammer hammer represents death
The way these lines are sung always gives me chills because I find it so perfect: "For we who grew up tall and proud/In the shadow of the mushroom cloud." Flawless song.
My interpration for this song was always that hammer to fall is when get well known in your profession and generally succeed in your life. I later read the death interpretation but i really didn't like it. Did anyone else thought of this song my way guys?
@Alegro23 How the hell did you get that interpretation? this song is about one thing - we all die, we are all just waiting till the day we die, and we all end up in the same place. That's it, and it is a fucking BRILLIANT song.