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, 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
Life in the fast line, yeah

Are you with me so far?

Eager for action and hot for the game
The coming attraction, the top of the name
They knew all the right people, they took all the right pills
They threw outrageous parties, they paid heavily bills
There were lines on the mirror, lines on her face
She pretended not to notice, she was caught up in the race
Out in the evening until it was light
He was too tired to make it
She was too tired to fight about it

Life in the fast line
Surely make you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane, yeah

Life in the fast lane
Everything, all the time
Life in the fast lane, uh huh

Blowin' and burning, 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 goddamn 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 were rushin' down that freeway
Messed around and got lost
They didn't care, they were just dying to get off

And it was life in the fast lane
Surely make you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane

Life in the fast lane
Everything, all the time
Life in the fast lane

Life in the fast lane
Life in the fast lane
Life in the fast lane

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

I've liked this song for a long time, but it was only when I was reading an interview recently that I found out it was written about Lindsey and Stevie! So....a little harsh on Lindsey, huh? Hard-headed? Cruel? Crude? Ruthless? Yikes! At least Don admits Lindsey's "brutally handsome" and that he has... a certain talent. (Hey - I wonder - is this Don guessing or did Stevie give him some inside info?) Well, apparently Lindsey didn't hold it against him, because he appears on Don Henley's Building The Perfect Beast.

A little analysis: Stevie and Lindsey were indeed living "life in the fast lane" and it really was tearing them apart. Fleetwood Mac might have been "the top of the name", but all that wild living - "everything, all the time" - was taking its toll; it wore 'em down to the point where "he was too tired to make it, she was too tired to fight about it." When things really got of of control and "took a turn for the worse" they were left with nothing but disillusionment and drug dependency. But they don't care - all they want is the thrill, all they want is to "get off."

By the way, Eagles fans, I also have an Eagles website if you'd like to check it out: Eagles Online Central.

 

DW speculates:

I read the same Q&A session with a former Buckingham Nicks sidekick who thinks "Life in the Fast Lane" is about Stevie and Lindsey. He may think that, but Don Henley, the author of the song, says the song was about himself and his girlfriend at the time. More broadly, he's said the song is also about the "life in the fast lane" that each member of the Eagles was experiencing and trying to survive. The excesses of the lifestyle may apply to some of what Stevie and Lindsey lived through, but I don't think the song is about them at all. I think that line -- "they didn't care, they were just dying to get off" -- is a blatantly sexual comment about the couple in the song who had "only one thing in common, they were good in bed." They were so out of control that they just didn't care what was happening around them, they were only interested in "getting off" with each other. Just my opinion.