Fast Car

It was June 11, 1988, and 75,000 people were packed into Wembley Stadium for Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Tribute concert. The crowd had already been treated to musical acts from Sting and the Bee Gees, speeches from Whoopi Goldberg and Richard Attenborough, and stand-up comedy from Fry and Laurie, amongst a star-studded programme of other acts.

And there was more to come, music legend Stevie Wonder due on next. But unbeknownst to them, as Stevie Wonder was about to walk onto the stage, he realised he didn’t have a piece of equipment which was integral to his act. Exclaiming that he couldn’t play without it, he threw up his hands and stormed out of the stadium. The organisers needed to think fast; the audience was waiting expectantly!

In their panic, they turned to Tracy Chapman, a young, relatively obscure singer-songwriter from Ohio who had played a few songs earlier in the day before the household names had arrived. Now she was backstage watching the show. She was the only act ready to play at such short notice.

So Tracy was thrust onto an empty stage in front of 70,000 restless people, with only a microphone and her acoustic guitar for company. What happened next - you can see for yourself in the video.

Then she sang a song. It was the emergency stopgap song that became the most memorable performance of the whole concert.

And you can watch it below …

An emergency stopgap song became the concert's most memorable performance.

Before this concert, Tracy Chapman had sold 250,000 albums in total. In the two weeks that followed, she sold two million. With very few words, Tracy Chapman told a story that represented the experience of so many people. Speaking in 2011 about the reaction to the song, Tracy Chapman said:

“I had so many people come up to me and say that they felt it was their song and someone told me at one point that they thought I’ve been reading their mail, they were saying “You seem to know my story” and people would come up and tell me about a car relationship and some detail that they felt was in the song that represented something that happened in their lives.”

The song’s enduring resonance and popularity are evidenced by the fact that it is one of the most covered songs of the last decade. “Fast Car" has been covered by everyone from Justin Bieber to Sam Smith, Khalid to Passenger. Just a few months ago, Tracy Chapman performed “Fast Car” at the Grammys with country singer Luke Combs, whose cover of the song reached number one on the country music charts and won Country Song of the Year in 2023.

While many hits come and go, few, like “Fast Car,” have stayed consistently popular and relevant with the passing of over three decades. Fast Car clearly touches a deep reality in the human experience. Songs like this reveal the desires and longings of the human heart in a very raw form. Therefore, considering the song in the light of the word of our Creator will clarify the truths therein.

So, let’s have a look at the 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

The song begins with a line that will be repeated throughout: “You got a fast car.” The first thing to note is that this song is not about a literal fast car. Tracy Chapman herself has said that this song is not about a car at all but a relationship that exhibits the qualities of a fast car. A fast car that, to the singer, represents a means of escape from her desperate situation. She has got to the stage where she has come to the end of herself and realizes that on her own, she cannot make it out of this situation. In a world that is becoming increasingly individualistic, the Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that “Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively. (Ecclesiastes 4 v 9). However, the nature of this relationship indicates that there may be problems down the road. The first verse describes the relationship as a car, a ticket, or a deal. There is something transactional about it; it seems to be a means to reach a destination rather than something or someone to be desired in and of themselves. This this fast car is her chance to escape and better place would be better than where she is now.

In Hebrews 11, we find a list of people from Old Testament history who are united by God's commendation of their faith. Verse 16 says they were all united in their desire for “a better country.” Like the songwriter and perhaps all of us, we desire our lives to progress towards a better place that will fulfil and satisfy us. Will the songwriter reach their perfect somewhere? Will we? Let's check back in with the songwriter as she tells us more about her desired destination and the route she’s planning to take.

You got a fast car
I got a plan to get us outta 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

She has worked hard and saved up some money, all with the goal of escaping to the city where the two of them can get better-paid jobs and so “finally see what it means to be living”. The implication is that, at present, she feels that they are merely existing, but a comfortable, fulfilling life is waiting for them just over the border in the bright lights of the city.

This begs the question, have you seen “what it means to be living?” In John 4, Jesus says that he is the giver of living water and that everyone who drinks from the water he provides will never be thirsty again. If your thirst for life is not satisfied by what this world considers “living your best life,” then maybe it's time to return to the Source of life itself. The opening verses of John’s gospel tell us that through Jesus, all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

You see my old man's got a problem
 He live 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

Here she details her tough childhood. Her father was a lazy alcoholic, and his mother abandoned him as a result. She dropped out of her education to care for her father, probably getting a job in the convenience store to support him. But now she, just like her mother, has had enough and wants to leave to pursue the life she can see over the horizon. This boy with the fast cat is her ticket out of here. This is her opportunity to run away from her problems towards the hope of a better life.

So 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
 I had a feeling that I belonged
 I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

In the chorus, she recalls her feelings as she sped with hope and anticipation towards a better future. She hoped that she could finally find her purpose and identity. We often have the same feeling of hope and anticipation as we approach as we strive towards a goal. But the chorus turns out to be the high point of the song. The destination disappointed and left her yearning for the journey when she was blissfully ignorant of this fact. The Bible presents the exact opposite. The lives of the pioneers of faith listed in Hebrews 11, such as Abraham, Jacob and Moses, had many jolting twists and turns, as well as periods when they didn’t feel like they were moving forward at all. But they pressed on in faith and did not turn their back on God because they believed their destination would be worth the arduous journey. “The city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God”. In God’s presence, there is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.

You got a fast car
 We go cruising to entertain ourselves
 You still ain't got a job
 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 how did the couple get on in the big city? Well, it has been a slow start. He has yet to find a job, while she has got a job that bears a striking similarity to the job she had before. But the fast car provides entertainment, and she hopes it won’t be long until she achieves her dream of a comfortable living. To quote another great songwriter, Paul Simon, “The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains”. Are we looking for this “better life” in the right place? It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.

 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

More time passes, and we check in again on the couple. She has the comfortable living and the family she craved for, but her man is constantly staying out all night drinking. Throughout the song, she is continually being let down by those closest to her. She is taking responsibility for taking care of her dad, saving up money, getting jobs and taking care of the kids, and the only thing her man has to offer is his fast car. A fast car that was never enough to get her away from her problems. It is only in the final verse that she realises this. The fast car has only driven her around in circles. By the end of the song, the lyrics have gone full circle. She has become everything she was trying to run away from. Her mother left her father because all he did was a lazy drunk. She ran away from this life to find herself stuck in a relationship like her parents.

Despite all her plans and hard graft, she is back where she started seeking escape, except this time, it's just the driver of the fast car she wants to drive towards the horizon and out of her life. She wants the thrill of the chase again, but she has reached this road’s destination, and the grass on the other side isn’t as green as she imagined. She hoped for better, but she didn’t find it.

The book of Ecclesiastes has a good expression that befits this song. “A chasing after the wind.” A pursuit that ultimately leads to frustration. The Bible shows us another path, a solid foundation, an enduring hope, and a heavenly treasure, all available in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who put their faith in him and follow him will be greeted at the gates of the city, which has foundations. The builder and maker is God,” with the commendation. “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your master’s happiness!”