Understanding Fast Car

[@12tone]

Some additional thoughts/corrections: 1) Technically, the bass isn't exactly doubling the low guitar line. In the guitar, she plays the A below the rest of the notes, whereas the bass plays a (relatively) high A instead. I don't view that distinction as particularly significant in this context, the more important point is they both maintain the same register for the F#-E-D walk in order to keep that smooth slide downward, but still, technically a difference between the two. 2) For those of you familiar with my chord loop model, it's also worth noting that the A chord is the destination in a cascade loop. This further strengthens it, helping it maintain its status as the perceived root despite being somewhat metrically buried. 3) One thing I wish I'd found space for in this script is the subtle slide between the second and third chord in the loop. It's not super obvious, but since the top line is all on the B string, moving all the way from E to A means gliding up 5 frets at once, and doing that without lifting her fingers gives the arrival on that A a dramatic tinge. It's hard to isolate (Melodyne wound up putting it on the middle-voice A for some reason, you can hear it in that example) and it doesn't super stand out, but if you listen for it, it's definitely there. I don't know how impactful it actually is, but I've been trying in recent analyses to think more about the physicality of the guitar, because it affects so many performance choices, (hence the discussion of the capo) and this is a good example. She could have got the same notes by moving up the the E string, but she wouldn't have got the same sound. 4) I said the same pattern starts every verse, but that's not _quite_ true: In the later verses, she occasionally adds some brief As to the low calls, but I don't think it really affects the implied energy level. They feel relatively transient to my ear, especially compared to the prominent role of the high E, so it didn't seem worth mentioning. The structure feels basically the same, even if the details are slightly different. 5) You could probably just analyze the chords in the final bar of the chorus as IV-V setting up a resolution to I, which then gets interrupted by the return of the main riff, but given that, across this entire song, every time we hear E, it's followed by D, I think by this point that sort of functional-harmony approach has lost most of its predictive or analytical power. Viewing it as a hollowed-out subsection of the primary loop makes more sense to me, although again, both analyses can be true simultaneously. 6) While I've seen many claims that Chapman is the first Black women to be sole writer on a #1 Billboard country single, I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly the set of charts that applies to. Combs' single was #1 on the Country Airplay charts, which technically only date back to 2012, but prior to that, the Hot Country chart has been airplay-only since 1990 and Billboard considers that a part of the Airplay chart's history, so probably at least that far. There are other Billboard Country charts dating back to 1949, but it's not entirely clear to me whether any Black women were sole writers on any #1 singles on those prior to the airplay-only switch in 1990. Probably not, for a lot of reasons, but nothing I've read is conclusive on that point. Even if it's just since 1990, though, that's still over 30 years, which seems damning enough.

[@bmac4]

On point 6, honestly I think it's in large part a combination of the scarcity of Black artists who touch country music, at least as it sorta stands today as an institution, in tandem with the sort of nebulous and controversial nature of how that genre's lines are drawn, as we saw with the decision from Billboard to remove Lil Nas X's Old Town Road from the Country charts after it had already charted. The three most prolific Black country artists are probably Charley Pride, Deford Bailey, and Darius Rucker, who were basically separated by multiple generations of music (and Rucker was already famous in heartland rock as part of Hootie and the Blowfish before going solo). As much as that data is probably inconclusive, there's also probably a greater conversation to even be had about perceptions of the genre and how they're reinforced by the music industry.

[@MarkBonneaux]

FWDW and correct me if I'm wrong but having the qualifier of soul Rider is already going to be a limiting factor considering the tendency for songs to be multi-authored these days

[@mateostenberg]

​@@MarkBonneauxsoul rider

[@MarkBonneaux]

@@mateostenberg lol speech to text on that part, though "Rider" does feel appropriate given the song's name

[@vangogh330]

or is she talking to herself throughout?

[@Merennulli]

Her vocal performance I think is what really "sells" the emotion of the song to my ear. Listening to some of the covers of it, without her voice, it just sounds...empty. There's a brokenness in her voice that is very human, and it conveys a very palpable emotion to it. The structure certainly takes you on that journey and shapes the context, but it's not enough on its own. Almost like a "fast car" with the engine removed and put on a slot track for an amusement park ride.

[@margaretwordnerd5210]

I hear the broken quality that moves you and I agree. I think the contrast between the brokenness and her eternal inner strength makes her singing exquisitely, beautifully painful yet inspiring.🖖✌

[@b00ts4ndc4ts]

Her voice has a real blues feel too it.

[@itsmebeter3538]

i think xiu xiu’s cover is the only one i’ve heard that really works. it’s very different but i think the changes work.

[@Merennulli]

@@itsmebeter3538 I honestly can't listen to that one. It's in that level of false whisper that is like nails on a chalkboard to me that YT keeps shoving into recommendations.

[@rclsa1982]

I agree 100%. I've been saying this a lot lately since this recent cover became popular. It has a different emotion that the one conveyed in Tracy's delivery. And I think that emotion was part of the soul of the song. So, when I hear on the radio, I find it strange. Almost as if it was not a cover, but a completely different song, devoid of sentiments (when compared to the original).

[@kbrad988]

I find this song to be one of the saddest and devastating songs of all time. The hopefulness and optimism of escaping a hard situation, only to find herself trapped in the same situation. I can't listen to it without crying, and cried during most of your video.

[@billyalarie929]

SAME, EVERY WORD.

[@tonyleukering8832]

Ditto. To me, It's a far too common refrain of younger adults who had hope, but for whom hope is now a distant memory.

[@margaretwordnerd5210]

It is achingly tragic that's her early dreams morphed into moving out of the shelter for a big house in the suburbs. At that moment everyone who has lied to themselves over an unsaveable relationship can relate even if they've never lived in a shelter.🖖✌

[@kumoyuki]

you know, you think you get to the place where you can cope. and then you can't.

[@surkh]

I was singing it, along with a friend, a few weeks ago at a small musical gathering, and couldn't make it all the way through. It really is very devastating! Such a beautifully told story, and a timeless one, that still resonates just as strongly today.

[@noracola5285]

I used to think of this song as purely a tragedy but after some life experience I began to see the act of presenting the partner with an ultimatum as a move in possibly a positive direction - thus the hopefulness of the ending. We don't know what will happen but now something will. The cycle is broken.

[@nileprimewastaken]

but it isn't, that's exactly what the main character's mother did to her father

[@noracola5285]

@@nileprimewastaken Exactly, that's what I used to think too. Like I said.

[@RubyRoks]

This might be the first 12tone video i've cried to. Fast Car is a song i can deeply relate to and soundtracked one of the darkest parts of my life so far. No amount of pausing to collect myself got my through the lyrical analysis section.

[@sammantixgm]

Was gonna make this same concept of comment. Instead, I'll engage with yours to say me too

[@tegansutherland7299]

Same same same. To the point where when 12tone said some people find it hopeful I actually choked on air. This is beautiful and bleak.

[@sammantixgm]

@@tegansutherland7299 I also almost lost it there. Like. That's a brutal thing to hear while tears are burning your cheeks. There's a power the song has to bring the tears..and I'm really impressed that he managed to keep that energy in the analysis.

[@dogbiscuituk]

My thoughts too, Ruby. An analysis every bit as emotionally evocative as Tracy's composition, arrangement and performance. Definitely one of your best. Watched on Nebula, just popped in here to comment.

[@Elviolli]

Oh good, it wasn't just me! I did well up a bit :)

[@bmac4]

There's something so captivating about this song, there's so much soul to it and it speaks to so many people who have been there, hoping for improvement in their life only to get brought back down, struggling to truly live for yourself, wanting to get away from it all, or even moving from one set of shackles to another. I cant help but feel a slight irony to this being the song that made Chapman famous though lol

[@noahandrulis9077]

I think something important to recognize about Fast Car is that the guitar part is simple to play. I say this not to imply that it’s a bad guitar part or to say Chapman is a bad guitarist or songwriter, but to reinforce 12Tone’s comments about the orchestration of Fast Car. If she wanted too, Chapman could probably make the guitar lines far fancier, but that would take away from the focus on her voice the simpler guitar part produces, and make it all the less poignant. It’s a simple guitar line, so the lyrics can be given the full attention they deserve both by the singer and the audience.

[@rmdodsonbills]

Yes, I agree. And also, having a simpler guitar part makes it more accessible. You don't have to be Clapton to pull it off.

[@jessekulbe1855]

It's simple, memorable, and supports the song perfectly. It's so much harder to write great simple music than complexity, and Fast Car's guitar is a masterpiece

[@restitvtororbis5330]

The guitar part of Fast car makes me think of an old quote about blues that went something like "the notes you don't play can mean as much as the ones you do". Just because a guitar part is 'minimal' or 'basic' doesn't mean that making it more complicated will inherently make the song better. Even the oldest footage of Tracy playing this song live ( the Nelson Mandela concert) shows her effortlessly playing even while getting choked up singing it. The guitar part was never meant to showcase her guitar skill, and she could have easily made it more intricate if she thought it would improve the song, but just like in blues, she knew that overplaying could drown out the emotional weight of the lyrics.

[@mccookies3664]

it’s exactly as much as it needs to be - she knew exactly where to stop to tell the story she wanted to. a more complex accompaniment would be kinda antithetical to the whole point, since the story is about sacrificing familiar parts of life in the hopes of greater freedom and joy. the song isn’t supposed to sound super fulfilled or complex. it’s supposed to be ambiguous and melancholy, with a story that hits the center of humanity. a complex line would show off more skill, but it would also make the music feel disconnected from the listener, which is the exact opposite of the point. fast car is meant to be simple and relatable - a subtle love letter to the people who don’t know where they’re going next. a simple guitar part combines comfort and emptiness, the exact emotion of the singer.

[@my-spinning-wheel]

Even though it isn't a style I love or a message that directly speaks to my experiences, I have very little hesitation in saying that "Fast Car" may be the greatest song I have ever heard. I can't imagine anyone from any walk of life not loving this song and feeling something when they listen to it. I can remember driving in my car and hearing it on the radio and just crying. There are many songs that mean more to me, that hit harder, and that speak more to my experience, but there is nothing out there like "Fast Car".

[@burke615]

I would wholeheartedly agree with you...except I was a teen when this song came out, and I couldn't stand it. I found it boring. As an adult, I would come to understand it and cherish it, but as a kid from a stable home who didn't have to work except to get pocket money, nothing about the song spoke to me. At all. I had no life experience with which to comprehend the meaning of the song. Being a young man I wanted driving beats not simple acoustic guitar, and didn't fully possess the empathy to really put myself in someone else's shoes. And now I consider it one of the great songs from my youth. It's interesting how life changes you.

[@boomerdell]

I remember when this song was released. I was 21 and still quite naive, still living in a safe bubble, yet this song went deep into my heart and never left. Her vocal delivery just hit me. Beautiful, understatedly powerful, vulnerable, strong…so many things. I saw her perform in concert soon after. Elevated her even higher in my eyes. Thank you so much, Cory, for this video. Especially your commentary at the end about the Luke Combs cover (which, I must confess, up until you informed me, I did not know about). So important.🙏🏽

[@JPBrooksLive]

This and "Cats in the Cradle" absolutely kill me nowadays. The story of a son never being able to spend time with his dad, both in youth and adulthood is heartbreaking and all to true for myself and too many others.

[@baylinkdashyt]

I feel a compilation album coming on: Bring Kleenex. Oh wait; the Cowboy Junkies already did this, didn't they?

[@longwingdetrain3183]

Cats in the cradle has effected me since I was young. I grew up without a father, and I first heard this when I was 4, when my grandfather gave me a “Hits of the 70s” cd. I never understood what it would be like to have a father, but through this song and the years as I would mature, my understanding, emotion, and investment would change. It allowed me to understand what it is like to be a father, and from that and from my lack of a father I inferred the feeling of taking a father for granted, as well as the sacrifice a father will make for their children. The emotion that I was able to feel, both on behalf of the son and father in that song singlehandidly has led my developmental growth now into adulthood. I havent heard it in probably about two years, but as soon as I hear the name, or any part of the song, it humbly and solemnly reminds me of the duty, the consequences of duty, the fact that reality isnt always ideal, and that forgiving and understanding your family is what it means to be a good son and a good father. Idk what the artist’s intent was, but it had such a big impact on me, and my interpretation of it has helped me greatly.

[@Merennulli]

That song deeply affected my father. He tried his best to not live that song. Even when he was working 3 jobs to make ends meet, he made time for us. I'm trying my best to not be the son at the end of the song now that he's retired.

[@reverse_engineered]

And yet, in the end, both father and son are happy with the situation. "It's been sure nice talking to you, Dad, it's been sure nice talking to you." "And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me, he'd grown up just like me; my boy was just like me." After that pause of introspection, it breaks into a crescendo of enthusiasm. Both of them are happy to have shared this moment together. Even back while the son is young, the son still looks up to his father and still wants to be like him. There's no resentment, no disappointment. When dad's too busy to play ball, the description of the son's response says, "And he, he walked away, but his smile never dimmed; it said, 'I'm gonna be like him, yeah. You know I'm gonna be like him.'" As bitter sweet as it is, I think it says a lot about how we often can't give all the time we wish we could, but just knowing that someone cares, you can enjoy those little moments and it's still meaningful. Even if we can't do everything we wish we could for our children and each other, things still work out alright.

[@MikiaStorm]

For myself the song is the Tragedy of Hope. Hope is an abstract thing that gives us something that can be, but without action it is as dust in the winds of time. More times than not our hopes are crushed, either by someone else or even more often by our own action or inaction. For myself the song is saying you can't rely on the driver of the Fast Car, sometimes you have to take the wheel yourself to get where you want to be.

[@RobertStoll]

Fast car is comfort food for me. There's so much complexity built into softly stated but common mechanics, that speak almost louder than the lyrics itself.

[@chloemchll3774]

Third reading of her changing from “we” to “you” in the final verse: The “you” is actually the singer singing to herself. She is saying she has to make the choice to either move forward again, knowing it could fail just like it already has, or resign herself to always being stuck where she is as if it was always her destiny, whether with a parent or a partner, to support someone else at her expense.

[@chloemchll3774]

Fwiw- I think this reading of the final verse is why a lot of people interpret the song as hopeful; if she can move on again despite knowing that moving on may not be enough to get her what she wants in life, it gives a sense of hope to anyone who hopes the decisions and situations of their past doesn’t define their future.

[@rmdodsonbills]

I've been working in homeless services for the past decade and this song hits me a lot differently now than it did when I was an optimistic 20-year-old, about to go to advanced training with the US Army. Just thinking about the chorus gets me all choked up these days. I mean *all* choked up. And a lot of that is because I now know more about pain, loss, and a slowly breaking heart, with just a hint of hope hiding in there. I don't hear any optimism in there. Nice use of the Fractured Fairy Tales fairy at the beginning of the lyrics analysis about how she tells the story. Perfect. And also, pretty good for a whippersnapper :)

[@Hey-Its-Dingo]

When you started describing how the progression seems to be in the key of C, but falls apart if you continue that line of thinking because it's actually in the key of A, I had an epiphany: The progression is intentionally set up to give the illusion of stability.

[@michaelkonomos]

Thank you SO much for bringing up the important issues here. The original is perfection.

[@nacoran]

Great analysis. I'm glad you got into lyrical analysis on this one; it deserves it. I remember giving the album a lot of listens back in the day. The quality of the songs varied a bit, but there were several standouts- Fast Car, Give Me One Reason, For My Lover... there is a whole 'Show don't tell' thing that I've had in my head about her album for years... her best songs she doesn't tell you what to think. I don't mean that in a 'stay in your lane' sense, just in a story telling sense. She's very political (and from what I've seen, I mostly share her politics) but she is better at persuading people when she does it by making you empathize rather than telling you specifically what the problem is... show the devastating effects of poverty rather than tell people poverty is bad. When I write songs I struggle with that problem whenever I want to take on deep issues... I can let the story narrative take the listener along when it's 'just a story' but whenever I try to write something 'important' I struggle. It's so easy to cross that line between creating empathy, which in turn moves people towards your cause, and telling people what to think, which tends to move them away. She didn't get the balance just right on every song on the album, but when she did... wow.

[@osmium3691]

I just wanna say how much I love all the little doodles and pop culture references you make on the page. I love when you get to the bottom and look back at all the points you've made so far, each drawing encapsulating it's own little moment of emotion. I very nearly cried to this video, and I hope everyone watching realizes these videos aren't just analysis but works of art in their own right.

[@joarnold448]

Great analysis of a truly incredible song. The only point I would add is that lyrically it seems to come full circle. She's contemplating doing what her mama did and leaving someone who won't help themselves. History repeating itself through the generations - especially aomgst those of her background. But maybe also it's a song of finding you can't look to anyone else to find who are - you have to do it yourself.

[@furlizard]

My interpretation is that she's contemplating kicking her partner out, thus changing the cycle and maybe making things better for her kids.

[@easy-to-read-name62]

I don't remember a theoretical analysis of a song contributing so much to grasping its emotional content. Thank you.

[@mccookies3664]

i’m not super qualified to talk about all the implications of the luke combs cover, but i would add that from my perspective as a trans woman, hearing a rough and masculine-presenting voice singing about being “a checkout girl” really does add to the melancholy of this song to me.. i know a lot of people like me who feel too trapped by circumstances to live the way they want. living as a trans person can come with a lot of joy and new possibilities, but it also can come with a feeling of lost time and the pain of self repression. as far as i can tell, tracey chapman doesn’t let people alter the lyrics of her songs for commercially released covers, so i don’t know what combs would have chosen to do if it were left up to him, but regardless of whether it was intentional, it gave me a bit of a chill to hear it in this video. definitely made me think about the song in a different light.

[@tjenadonn6158]

I'm trans too, and perhaps with a more complicated relationship with my voice than a lot of girls. I actually had to drop out of university due to mental health crises, a lot of which ultimately tied back to my gender dysphoria. I was studying drama and vocal performance: throughout most of my school career basically the only part of my grades that wasn't constantly in the shitter and which I got any praise for was my ability as a singer. Long story short I had a mental breakdown: on some level I knew I was building my entire future on something I fundamentally hated about myself, but it was such a massive pillar of my identity and basically the only reason I didn't past-tense myself in high school bit at some point it has to end but there aren't any roles for female baritones and... It's only now. Nearly ten years, a full pandemic, and seven months of HRT later that I'm actually beginning to try and put something resembling a life together. I thought I'd be out of this shitty Rust Belt town years ago. I didn't have a Plan B. I miss music so incredibly deeply, but every time I try to sing it's not my voice: it's some man's voice coming out of my body. It brings me pain. The only thing I could count on to actually get me some sort of positive attention during my adolescence (my parents excluded: the blame for this catastrophe lies solely at the feet of the school system) basically ruined my life. I wish I was smaller. I wish I was born intact. I wish I was at least a contralto: I don't have to be Tarja Turrunen, I'd be happy being Allison Moyet. I wish I had a girlhood I could look back on. I wish I had that fast car. I wish I had that ticket to anywhere.

[@moniquetroth]

@@tjenadonn6158 This cis woman would like to offer a virtual hug if you want it. If I had that fast car, I'd hand you the keys & the papers in a heartbeat. Your comment has brought tears to my eyes, & while your girlhood might not have been traditional, it was a real girlhood. I hope you can see that someday, if not today. I'm so glad you didn't past-tense yourself. Hey, if Tracey with her lovely deep voice could be successful, why can't you be the first successful female baritone? Convince casting directors that they should change the vocal line for you.

[@mccookies3664]

@@tjenadonn6158i feel what you mean. i’m not sure there’s anything that hurts more than the feeling that you’re wasting time living as someone else. if it’s any kind of consolation, your life isn’t over. you’re not a lost cause and you’re doing your best. you deserve to be proud of that. someday we will grow old and live happily as ourselves. i truly do believe that you will find your joy. we can’t change the past, and there’s grief in that. i get it. but you will grow more and more into yourself, and someday i hope you will look back at your life without needing to feel any grief or shame for who you were. much love and best of luck to you.

[@elitettelbach4247]

Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. The music, the lyrics, the emotion in her voice, it’s all so palpable. Great analysis!

[@oravlaful]

i'm brazilian and had never heard of her or this song, to my memory from the lyrics and your analysis, it seems to be amazing and heartbreaking

[@noracola5285]

It is! you should find it & listen to it!

[@mccookies3664]

this song is so beautiful, and subtle, and ambiguous, and intelligent, and emotional - definitely give the full thing a listen

[@coyoten8897]

thank you for the mindfulness to the context of the song and Tracy's work, and your own place in this all

[@Yesnomu]

Fantastic analysis! I really appreciate the sensitivity you show to the context of the cover.

[@drakkondarkspell]

She sings the actual anthem of GenX. We had dreams, we had hopes, we had decisions to make our lives better and life (rich people) stole those dreams and forced us to settle for less. And they keep making those who followed us settle for less. Fast Car was prescient. We just didn't have the benefit of hindsight to see where it told us we were all heading.

[@googoogjoobgoogoogjoob]

Oh dear

[@billyalarie929]

Wow.

[@malusignatius]

... Fuck. You're right. I think I might have to go sit down for a bit.

[@miss_adventure]

This

[@cashewABCD]

Time

[@shanieboi86]

Wow 12tone, you really did this song justice. Thank you.

[@jaimeecherivel2927]

The guitar melody is just so damn beautiful. Another example that simplicity can just as interesting as complex. Tracy’s vocals are just the sprinkles on top. She’s always been a very unique voice

[@MatthewMe]

I had a slightly different interpretation of the ending (not saying yours is wrong, just different). I don't think she accepted her fate. She kicked him out when it became clear he wasn't going to contribute. This seems hopeful, until you realize it's an EXACT replication of the cycle she came from. Her partner - an alcoholic who couldn't hold a job - will now be the one with a "body too old working" who "lives with the bottle". So who's going to take care of him? One of their kids, who will likely drop out of school to take care of dad. The cycle will continue for another generation, which to me is even more heartbreaking. She tried so hard to break out, and instead did exactly what her mother did. She has the same flaws as her mom - attraction to the wrong men, and a love for the fast car that she believes represents her freedom to a new life. All that glitters, etc. Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this one. One of my favorite pieces, and you did it great justice. I teared up a few times, and you really nailed it. Thank you.

[@1oolabob]

I've been away for a while. During that time, you got even better at analyzing songs and showing how music can convey powerful feeling. I mean, we know that music *does* convey powerful emotions, but the nuts and bolts of *how* it does so is what makes your analysis so good. This one was good enough to bring tears to my eyes. Still the best music theory channel on KZbin. I just have to pace myself and process the info in each video fully before moving on to another one.

[@JimmerSD]

Partial capo works very well here on the D G B strings at the second fret. Allows the open E's and A to drone when needed. Big sound.

[@danielparsons2859]

My favourite youtube video of 2023 so far. And I watch a lot of youtube videos. This song deserves such a video. A masterpiece that I first heard while driving around with my teenager friends at night in my suburban reality. Hearing this song made me think about appreciating what I've got, and instead of feeling hopeless my challenge was to find happiness.

[@arothmanmusic]

Tracy is one of the best things to have come out of my city. I recall seeing her open for Sting at Blossom Music Center back when "Give Me One Reason" was on the charts.

[@rmirkovich]

That, "Put my Polyphonic Hat" comment was a welcome bit of levity. Cause I'm with you, I never thought of this as a hopeful song.

[@WesBrook77]

Wonderful

[@rmdodsonbills]

I have heard it and it's good. As noted, it's very similar to the original but on the other hand, it does hit differently coming from a straight, white man.

[@ericepperson8409]

It's a faithful cover, in the sense of a very competent Karaoke bar cover. The singer even does a passable imitation of Chapman's voice. But it lacks the emotion of the original. I played the original for my kid after she said she liked this "new" song. She immediately realized how great of a song it is and far above the current cover.

[@Pokemanic33]

This song resonates with me a lot as a trans lesbian living in rural America. It's the classic sapphic narrative, wanting to pack up everything and escape a bad situation with a partner. The further I get in my transition the more I just want to get out of my neighborhood and find a better life with my partners. And when I'm feeling my most alienated, along comes Luke Combs, through whom I discovered the original song. It feels like the song was hand-delivered to carry me through my angst. The atmosphere has such a deep melancholy and sadness, but it's not loud. It's like laying on the floor, staring and the ceiling, thinking about life, something I find myself doing quite a lot. I have a feeling this song is going to be with me for a long time.

[@tjenadonn6158]

Transbian solidarity. I feel like my life has taken me from the "hyperactive but going nowhere" angst of my youth with tracks like Porcupine Tree's "Fear of a Blank Planet" and Ministry's "Burning Inside" to a more resigned, existential angst represented by tracks like "Fast Car" and NIИ's "Something I Can Never Have." I want someone to see me, to hold me, to get me away from all of this and heal me in all the ways I'm afraid I'll never be able to.

[@gabrieledwards1066]

Okay I just have to point this out. The fact that you got the TNG Enterprise in there is amazing and totally made my day. Thank you.

[@ranga2050]

Googling the song, today, like, right now, in New Zealand, brings up Tracy Chapman first. But also the song was big here in its original form. I'd never heard the Luke Combs version... but the Jonas Blue EDM variant was popular here.

[@ryanjohnson7245]

This song brings a tear every single time. So incredibly sad but achingly beautiful.

[@dearls921]

The definitive version for me will always be Tracy

[@Packbat]

This is one of the songs I grew up on, and I'm really glad to have heard your analysis of it. I interpreted the story much as you did, but it's really cool hearing you talk about the melodic and harmonic decisions support it - it's always felt so natural and right, it's really cool hearing some of the details picked out and emphasized. I actually had no idea about the Luke Combs cover. Definitely going to read that article you shared about it.

[@rainbowdillard8581]

Wow! All the years I listened to, sung, played guitar to, and cried along to this song, I had the wrong lyric in the last verse. I thought it was, "You ain't got no plans. You ain't going nowhere," I thought she was kicking out her partner because of refusal to work toward her/their dreams, that she would pursue her dreams on her own, that she didn't need the fast car anymore, and that perhaps she wants more in life than having a job that pays all their bills. Drat! Now I learned that the pronoun is"I." I thought this song couldn't make me cry any more than I already have, but this makes the song so much sadder. Thanks to the commenter who pointed out that the song is what catapulted her career, so real life was much more hopeful than the song.

[@AhrenAKADan]

The ending line seems like it's talking to the audience or her kids to some degree She ultimately probably feels like she did better even if she didn't achieve her dreams, and the hope is who she's talking to can do even better with that dream She's resigned herself to her life, but has hope for others

[@DanteGrey]

I've heard this melody and song before but never knew the name to it, it always filled me with a feeling of nostalgia or Mourning the loss of something I've literally never had it's a powerful piece

[@BloggerMusicMan]

I absolutely love this song and you do such a wonderful job of relating the technical aspects to the lyrical themes. I'm a long-time fan of your channel and this is just one more example of why. :)

[@silvenshadow]

Beautiful and respectful look into a soulful and candid song. As always a world class analysis. Thanks.

[@RangeWilson]

One of your best breakdowns! Information-rich, impactful, and insightful, without any hand-waving or going down rabbit holes.

[@DocBolus]

Beautiful analysis to a beautiful song which has always touched with the bittersweet edge it has. In my dreams she takes the car at the end and leaves finding the better life she always deserved.

[@shawnholbrook7278]

It's poetry, it's a lament, and it's real. I love this song.

[@ericepperson8409]

This came out when I was kid. Great song then. Becomes even greater as I get older. Love to listen to it, but anytime I think too much about it, makes me want to cry.

[@teirusureynard9279]

This song has apparently, after your analysis, described my mother's life, and it crushes me to feel that way.

[@kylestillwell7031]

I always interpreted “you've got to make a decision” as her talking to herself

[@rfrbz1269]

I didn't think a 12tone video could make me cry, but here we are 😢

[@OhadLutzky]

For correcting the Google result about the lyrics author, please select the "⋮" button next to "Luke Combs" and select "Send Feedback". It helps if lots of people do this.

[@shawnwhelan5689]

Done! Great idea.

[@gabe_s_videos]

The fact that she never says much about the partner other than they have a fast car always suggested to me that the partner wasn't worth much. The narrator works hard, scrapes together some money and can eventually support herself and her partner, but her partner never does anything. They're just someone with a car. She could take care of her dad without expecting much in return because he's family, but she doesn't have to do that for this other person. In the end, she gives them an ultimatum to either start pulling their weight in this relationship she built for the both of them or, if they don't want to, move along and let her take care of herself, and it's implied that the partner does the latter: they drive off in their fast car and the narrator is just left heartbroken and disappointed.

[@reverse_engineered]

I think another take on it is that the only thing she sees in her partner is the fast car. Her partner is a way for her to escape - someone who can pull her out of her situation. But as the story progresses, it's clear that all they bring to the table is that fast car. They don't have a job, they drink all day and don't take care of their kids. Her partner's fast car helped her get away from her previous situation, but now she's stuck in this new one. The fast car alone wasn't the answer - she ran away but she never got out of her situation. The end of the second-last verse and the final half-verse strongly implies that she's done with her partner and their fast car. It didn't do her any good after all. But she also sees that she doesn't have the choice to leave now - she has a full time job and responsibilities to her children. Her partner still has their fast car and they can leave, but she can't. So now her partner has to make their own decision, just like she did: resign yourself to this life or take your fast car and go find something better. Perhaps this is ultimatum to her partner, perhaps her partner is thinking of leaving she's telling them they have to make a decision, or perhaps she's ruminating on how her partner can still make that choice but she can't anymore.

[@gabe_s_videos]

@@reverse_engineered I like your interpretation a lot more :)

[@DougSalad]

I feel like Tracy, the quiet, to herself woman she seems to be, probably said Combs's karaoke version was good so people would leave her alone and not bother her about it.

[@noracola5285]

Hahaha I never thought of that but you're probably right! 🤣

[@TR4Ajim]

I always imagined the “you” in the last verse, was her talking to herself in a mirror.

[@stephenspackman5573]

I miss my sister. She introduced me to this song (I asked her what album I should be listening to…) and while she was alive, I somehow heard something hopeful behind the wistfulness and the anguish. Now … not so much. Thanks for doing this one, though I admit it hurts every time to be reminded.

[@khicks72]

Fantastic breakdown of an amazing song. Thanks! I hope that these days the world is less likely to overlook Chapman as the songwriter, but we should absolutely do what we can to ensure she gets the credit she deserves.

[@hetgenie]

Awesome analysis, and love how you address the context of the cover version.

[@morganleanderblake678]

I have a very different lyrical interpretation, I guess? Maybe unsupported, but it always felt to me like this was her saying no to someone who WOULD lead her down that path, and that last verse was telling him to keep driving because she wasn't going to join him. I thought she was saying "you gotta make a decision" because she took herself out of the equation. It felt to me like a projection, her imagining their life together and telling him I'm not going to do this because I see who you are and I don't want to end up like that again. I agree on all the beats; I just interpret the overall message much differently. It reads to me like a woman exhaustedly telling a dude that your car and your ideas might be nice but I can tell you don't have any throughput to support your dreams.

[@reverse_engineered]

I like that interpretation! It ends up being much the same narrative, but rather than the story playing out over a lifetime, it's playing out in her thoughts as she things forward on what could be.

[@dustinglynn8721]

My wife pointed out that this song sounds strikingly similar in chord progression to Jack and Diane by the Cougar, Thoughts? Both tell a similar story from two perspectives.

[@winespringinc.9447]

one thing that is also interesting thing, that was pointed out by a vocal reaction video, is that the way she phrases the verse is less singing and more like talking. Which lends the feeling of listening to someone telling their story

[@lysanamcmillan7972]

I personally settled on her asking her partner to leave in the last verse. The last time she tried to fix things, she left. It failed. Now she's staying and asking for the problem person to go while admitting if they don't, status quo will remain and they'll both have lives of quiet desperation until they're dead.

[@BernieSandersOfficial]

I am of the opinion that this is the best song ever made. Like if aliens came to earth and wanted to hear human music this would be the best example.

[@tonyleukering8832]

It would certainly show how well we do at keeping a criminally large percentage of the population in poverty.

[@sanchellewellyn1681]

I love Tracy Chapman. I always use her as an example of sad songs in a major key.

[@feasible]

Amazing song, great video. Admittedly I couldn't help but laugh at how you drew "loss" and then your gesturing at your arm/skin at the end, but I do appreciate you realizing your limitations.

[@writethepath8354]

17:53 Thank you Love this song

[@Julesb2183]

I actually disagree that it's ambiguous. She's asking him to leave. She says "I got no plans, I ain't going nowhere, so take your fast car and keep on driving." That's pretty straightforward to me. She has the job that pays the bills. She's staying because she built this life, without help from the partner. She gets to keep what she built and isn't leaving it nor is she letting him have it. He's the one with the fast car who needs to use it. She leaves him with a scathing rebuke, the one from when she escaped with him: "You got to make a decision. Leave tonight or live and die this way." That's her washing her hands of him. He's going to leave, but it's his decision if he is going to live and die the way that he is or if he's going to change. So, she's able to better he life, but still falls into the traps of her parents somewhat. It's hopeful in a way, but not. Edit: the context of the last verse is she's resigned that things with him aren't working, but she finally gets the job she wants to support them. He cares more about alcohol and his friends than his family, so she realizes she's not going to find what she hoped to with him (thought together you and me would find it).The next lyrics are that she's not leaving and telling him to keep driving with the fast car.

[@squarecymbals]

Yesss, thank you, I did a video about fast car a lil bit ago and there's so much intention and power in it's composition and lyrics

[@ManfredGeorgPhd]

As with so many songs, I never really listened to it until I tried to play it. And oh my, what a song.

[@dianahorbatiuk4809]

this was a great video, thank you very much for this.

[@tylerhackner9731]

One of my favorite songs

[@quinn7894]

In my experience, both the tonic and the dominant (of a major scale) can be used as drones. Here, the tonic (A) is being used as a drone.

[@maxwellpollockable]

even completely deconstructed, i cant get through this without getting emotional

[@grimblgrombl8623]

The only song I know that really captures the mundanity of crushed dreams. You're just too busy, or too tired until you wake up to find half your life has gone by and the door is closing fast.

[@BensBrickDesigns]

I love this song, but "Give Me One Reason" is where it's at.

[@riirah1010]

17:32 I didn't realize this song was covered so much, so I thought the title was about a different song entirely. I know this song by the Jonas Blue cover, and didn't realize it was covered so much. I've never heard of Tracy Chapman, but I am fairly young, so I haven't had that many opportunities to. I thought it was a hopeful song from the perspective of being in the same place. I hadn't checked the lyrics yet either, but I appreciate the message of the song regardless. My family is very low income and we were hit undeservedly hard by COVID. I cried to the song when I heard the cover.

[@CorySchoolland]

Thanks! Great analysis. I have a whole new appreciation for the song. (Also didn't know there was a big cover of it...)

[@chipparkerson2701]

This was really well done..one if the best you have ever done.

[@InventorZahran]

I first discovered this song from a cover version by Mary Spender and Reina Del Cid, and without the context of the original, I got a slightly different narrative out of the song. I thought it was a story of two longtime friends who wanted to escape from poverty together, but ultimately had a falling-out because the one with the car was not as motivated to find work and be responsible.

[@technopoptart]

there is nothing wrong with an ace interpretation

[@InventorZahran]

⁠@@technopoptartAce? As in asexual? Not sure how that's relevant here...

[@technopoptart]

@@InventorZahran you don't have them as a romantic couple even though they are a couple narratively. that is a very ace interpretation.

[@TroublesomeOwl]

@@InventorZahran ace just means excellent most of the time

[@Morning404]

Love your videos, been listening to Tracy a lot so this video is perfectly timed!

[@lz4005]

Another read on the last half verse: "you've got to make a decision" is her talking to the audience. Telling them to at least try to escape.

[@civilizationkills3138]

I'm glad you made this I'm surprised you did

[@Simich92Marty]

Awsome video and analysis, keep up with your good work!🙂

[@JasonfromMinnesota]

Quality labor is so rare just subbed

[@YetAnotherAaron]

18:42, you can click on the 3 dots to the right, go to send feedback, and fill out a feedback form stating the attribution is incorrect. Something like "This song is originally Written and Sung by Tracy Chapman. It was recently covered by Luke Combs with no lyrical changes." should be able to get this changed if enough people report it.

[@kaell76]

Been waiting for this video for years now! Amazing stuff, thank you so much man

[@toasty9670]

THIS SONG IS SO FUCKING GOOD THANK YOU FOR MAKING A VIDEO

[@ActiveAdvocate1]

When I was a little kid, I thought she was a guy, because I didn't understand the concept of being an alto yet. IRONY, considering I'm a contralto now. I grew up with this song, and when I found out that it's a true story, I listened more carefully, and my Gods did she have a hard time of it.

[@jordan_forty5]

Love this new video! I love all of your content and analysis. I don’t know if you take requests but do you plan on doing “Somebody That I Used to Know” at some point in the future? I’d love to see how you break that song down

[@cuttybang415]

FANTASTIC analysis.

[@robertbeaman5761]

Traci Chapman is amazing

[@AustinSmithProfile]

Oof: beyond Google listing Fast Car as a song by Combs, if you click "Other recordings," Chapman's original is just listed as one of 16 others (and not even the first!)

[@merseyviking]

If you search for the lyrics and see the incorrect attribution, you can click on the three dots menu, select inaccurate content, and say that it was Tracy Chapman who wrote it. Eventually Google will listen. Right?

[@rubywest5166]

One thing I'm curious whether you have any personal insight/experience with is that, to my ears at least, this song just *sounds* queer. One of those songs where even with no specific lyrical content or background knowledge it just *sounds* like it's being written/sung by a queer person. I *vaguely* remember reading that some folks were studying whether LGBTQ+ folks are able to pick up if the artist is a well, but whether that was genuine or the work of a mid 2000's internet troll, but this isn't the only song I've had it with

[@zeromech1450]

I had obviously heard the song before. But I didn't really pay attention to it until Jonas blue did his rendition of it. I love EDM and in that version it feels very hopeful. Now that I know it's actually a lost cause and you won't actually get anywhere. It feels much deeper. It's one of my favorite songs

[@verdatum]

I'M FORTY, HOW HAVE I NOT HEARD THIS SONG?!?!?

[@kev25811]

I'm guessing coma?

[@verdatum]

@@kev25811 So, I've looked into it, and, for some reason, I guess this was considered a "country" song? I can only guess that's the case because "Alternative" was not yet a concept? But wait, at that time I was probably listening to "Top40s" stations...so, it should've gotten airplay there, right? MUSIC INDUSTRY, YOU WEIRD.

[@kev25811]

@verdatum my experience when that song was out was that it was on every radio station, the grocery store, and just about anywhere music was found. Lol. And I'm talking in like 93 long after it hit originally. Wild how being in different places creates huge differences in enculturation.

[@verdatum]

@@kev25811 fascinating.

[@FalconicofPern]

Wishbone reference is a DEEP cut! Love it!

[@CaptainParatos]

I hope this inspires her to re-record this as a stripped down version, of just her vocals, and her accompaniment, on an acoustic guitar. Hopefully, with her own percussive accompaniment as well, if she has the technique, to be using the soundboard as a drum. The strength of those two elements, her guitar playing, and her vocals, have always made it hard for me to "hear" anything else, when I remember this song, and am reminiscing about it.