Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
“Fast Car” is a song by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was released in April 1988 as the lead single from her self-titled debut album. Her appearance on the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute was the catalyst for the song’s becoming a top 10 hit in the United States, peaking at numbe...
[Verse 1]
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 somethin'
Me, myself, I got nothing to prove
[Verse 2]
You got a fast car
I got a plan to get us outta here
Ibeen working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
Won't have to drive too far
Just across the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
Finally see what it means to be living
[Verse 3]
See, my old man's got a problem
He lives with a bottle, that's the way it is
He says his body's too old for workin'
His body's too young to look like his
When mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said, "Somebody's gotta take care of him"
I quit school and that's what I did
[Pre-Chorus]
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
[Chorus]
So I remember when we were drivin', drivin' 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 had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feelin' I could be someone
Be someone, be someone
[Verse 4]
You got a fast car
We go cruisin', 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
And we'll move out of the shelter
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs
[Chorus]
So I remember when we were drivin', drivin' 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 had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feelin' I could be someone
Be someone, be someone
[Verse 5]
You got a fast car
I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinkin' 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'd find it
I got no plans, I ain't going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on drivin'
[Chorus]
So I remember when we were drivin', drivin' 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 had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feelin' I could be someone
Be someone, be someone
[Refrain]
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
Fast Car was written by Tracy Chapman.
Fast Car was produced by David Kershenbaum.
Tracy Chapman released Fast Car on Fri Apr 15 1988.
“Fast Car" was the song that was played on the radio so it was something that turned out to take a significant role in shaping my first record and probably the public perception of me as a singer-songwriter who is writing about stories, songs which tell stories about peoples’ lives and very generall...
In 2011, Rolling Stone ranked this as the #167th greatest song of all time, saying:
Tracy Chapman was a hardened veteran of Boston coffeehouse gigs (she once got a demo-tape rejection letter suggesting she tune her guitar) when a classmate at Tufts University told his music-publisher dad to check h...
Yes live at Wembley in 1988:
Journalist Carl Quintanilla shared that Chapman once said:
It was a song about my parents. My mother didn’t have a high school diploma .. I think they came together thinking that, together, they’d have a better chance of making it.
Yes. On November 8, 2023 (35 years after the initial release of the song), “Fast Car” was given the Song of The Year award at the Country Music Awards.
During the tracking week ending June 4, 1988, the song debuted at #95 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song eventually peaked at #6 on the Hot 100 in August of 1988.
During the tracking week ending February 17, 2024, the song re-entered the Hot 100 35 years later at #42.