16. The Eagles - "Life In The Fast Lane"


"Life In the Fast Lane" is a description of a man and woman that had everything but lost it because of their lifestyle. It tells the story of a couple that takes their excessive lifestyle to the edge. On "In the Studio with Redbeard" in 1981 Frey explained that the title came to him one day when he was riding on the freeway with a drug dealer known as "The Count". Frey asked the dealer to slow down and the response was, "What do you mean? It's life in the fast lane!" In that same interview, Frey indicated that the song's central riff was played by Walsh while the band was warming up in rehearsals and Walsh was told to "keep that, it's a song".

Life In The Fast Lane' kind of expressed the stereotyped LA 'run around in your Porsche' 24 hour boogie mode that unfortunately is too true for a lot of people.  Frey says that the song was not really a statement about the guys in the band, or about anybody in particular. But it's just it's kind of disturbing to see the extremes that the bourgeois jet set will involve themselves in. When reminded that his Eagles bandmates may have exhibited some symptoms described in this song, Walsh replied: "Yeah, that's probably true, and I think it was healthy, though, that we realised that running around and parties and fast cars are really not the answer – it's kind of a shallow way to approach why we're on this planet, and it probably came as a band consciousness." After this song came out, the phrase "Life in the fast lane" became commonly used to describe a jet-set lifestyle. It remains a fairly misinterpreted track, as it's not supposed to glamorise the lifestyle, but to be a warning about the dangers of drugs ("Lines on the mirror, lines on her face" describe cocaine on a mirror about to be ingested), alcohol and bad decisions.

"Life in the fast lane" is a song about the futility of a life full of success, money and lifestyle. That in the end you can lose it in a moment.

He was a hard-headed man
He was brutally handsome, and she was terminally pretty
She held him up, and he held her for ransom in the heart
of the cold, cold city
He had a nasty reputation as a cruel dude
They said he was ruthless, they said he was crude
They had one thing in common, they were
good in bed
She'd say, 'Faster, faster. The lights are turnin' red."
Life in the fast lane
Surely make you lose your mind, mm
Are you with me so far?

Eager for action and hot for the game
The coming attraction, the drop of a name
They knew all the right people, they took
all the right pills
They threw outrageous parties, they paid heavenly bills
There were lines on the mirror, lines on her face
She pretended not to notice, she was caught up
in the race

Out every evening, until it was light
He was too tired to make it, she was too tired
to fight about it

Life in the fast lane
Surely make you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane, everything all the time
Life in the fast lane, uh huh
Blowin' and burnin', blinded by thirst
They didn't see the stop sign,
took a turn for the worse

She said, "Listen, baby. You can hear the engine
ring. We've been up and down this highway;
haven't seen a goddam thing."
He said, "Call the doctor. I think I'm gonna crash."
"The doctor say he's comin', but you gotta pay him cash."
They went rushin' down that freeway,
messed around and got lost
They didn't care they were just dyin' to get off
And it was life in the fast lane
Life in the fast lane


The big theme of the song is that you can gain everything and lose your own life and soul. The lyrics are about shallowness. The theme of the passage we are looking at today is also about riches.

Mark 10:17-27
7 "As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’ 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

The man who came to Jesus was a wealthy man, and a young man. His eyes were set on religious matters - on teachers, eternal life, good deeds. He had the look of a seeker: he seemed willing to listen and eager to learn. He seemed a disciple-in-the-making. But his story has a dark end. It was he that inspired Jesus famous words "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. The rich young ruler made some mistakes.

The 1st mistake: He did not recognise Jesus as Lord
The young ruler came rushing to Jesus, and falling to his knees, he asked "Good teacher, what good thing need I to do, so that I may have real and un-ending life?" Jesus, perceiving the youth’s mistakeness, answered with a question, a question that would prove the depths of the young ruler’s knowledge of God. "Why do you call me good?" Jesus was in the habit of asking such disarming questions. The young man did not recognize with whom he was talking - a teacher, and more than a teacher. He was kneeling before the one called "greater than Solomon." The young ruler saw Jesus as a moral man, a man of insight and depth, but he did not recognize His divine authority. And to make such a mistake is fatal. As C.S. Lewis made clear, Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. He cannot be only another teacher. 

The 2nd Mistake: He was unaware of his own faults
Suppose for a moment that the wealthy youth had never violated the commandments Jesus presented to him. Suppose that he had never murdered - even with his tongue. Suppose that he had not committed adultery - even in his heart. Suppose that he had not stolen - or even envied. Suppose that he had never spoken less than the whole truth. Even still he was unaware of his own faultiness. Did you notice that Jesus only presented him with the parts of the Decalogue that deal with man-to-man relationships. The other commandments have to do with God-to-man relationships,and this young man had obviously not fulfilled those commands. If he had fulfilled them, he would have immediately recognised Jesus as the Son of God. But he did not recognise Jesus, and he did not tell the truth to Him about his behaviour. He was wildly naive and tragically blind.

The 3rd Mistake: He misunderstood the plan of grace
"What good thing must I do to have eternal life?" There is no good thing. Only to believe on Jesus Christ as Saviour. As wealthy as he must have been, he was spiritually bankrupt, and terribly poor of faith.

The 4th Mistake: He went away
In a way, this is his only mistake. A man can misunderstand the divinity of Christ, be blind to himself, and misunderstand God’s grace and still be saved if he will committ to staying with God. Peter, Andrew, John, Matthew, and the others did not fully understand the Lordship of Jesus, and they certainly did not fully understand the plan of grace, but they stayed with Jesus. They were willing to commit to a lifestyle of learning Him. They apprenticed themselves to Him, for the long haul. That is the way to be saved. If you are willing to launch out with Christ on the long journey from brokenness to wholeness, if you are willing to walk all the way, every hard step, then you are a wise men, even if you are not young or wealthy.

Wealth and possessions can capture and wreck your soul. The passage and the song "Life in the fast lane" are looking at the same issue that of what riches and fame will do to your soul. Riches have the possibility to bankrupt the soul. In another passage in the new testament we find these haunting words
Matthew 16:26 "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?"

There are many trapped in this endless cycle of shallowness. Just like the people in the lyrics of the song and the young man in the bible passage. Shallowness because life somehow is not real. Shallowness because somehow people have lost the love of life and in it's place has become monotony and futility.

It is my prayer today that life is full of it's own riches. So much so that you do not have to go and hunt for wealth.



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