Tracy Chapman’s performance of her song “Fast Car” with country musician Luke Combs, who recently recorded it, was one of the highlights and an extraordinarily moving moment at the GRAMMY Awards. Chapman is a four-time GRAMMY winner and 13-time nominee. She first performed “Fast Car” at the 1989 GRAMMYs where she won the award for Best Female Pop Vocalist. At the 2024 GRAMMYs, Combs was nominated for his rendition of the track for Best Country Solo Performance.
Chapman, who popularity was at its peak in the 1980s, never really gained the kind of mainstream recognition she deserved.
Lacking that recognition and wide commercial success, Chapman has lived an increasingly reclusive life since 2009, at which time she went on tour for a studio album she released
Chapman’s 1988 studio version of the Fast Cars shot up to No. 1 on iTunes, as did “Tracy Chapman,” her debut album, on which “Fast Car” appears. The music video topped iTunes’ music video charts this week.
Hopefully Tracy Chapman is back. If you missed it at the Grammys (and even if you didn’t – it’s worth a second look) here are Chapman and Combs with Fast Car.
Lyrics
You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Any place is better
Starting from zero, got nothing to lose
Maybe we’ll make something
Me, myself, I got nothing to prove
You got a fast car
I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
Won’t have to drive too far
Just ‘cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living
See, my old man’s got a problem
He lives with the bottle, that’s the way it is
He says his body’s too old for working
His body’s too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said, somebody’s got to take care of him
So I quit school and that’s what I did
You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way
So I remember we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulder
And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged
I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
We go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain’t got a job
And I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You’ll find work and I’ll get promoted
We’ll move out of the shelter
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs
So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulder
And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged
I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do of your kids
I’d always hoped for better
Thought maybe together you and me would find it
I got no plans, I ain’t going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving
So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulder
And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged
I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way