Storytelling As a Strategy: Tracy Chapman Fast Car

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 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

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 when we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast it 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, entertain ourselves
You still ain’t got a job
And I work in the 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 it 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’d find it
I got no plans, I ain’t going nowhere
Take your fast car and keep on driving

So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast it 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

These lyrics break my heart each time I read them. The story is raw and cuts deep into the relationship the woman had with her father and then her partner. This is what she said about this song…

“I wrote the song “Fast Car” in 1986. At the time that I wrote the song, I actually didn’t really know who I was writing about. Looking back at it, and this happens with other songs as well, I feel like I understand it only later. I think that it was a song about my parents. And about how when they met each other they were very young and they wanted to start a new life together and my mother was anxious to leave home. My parents got married and went out into the world to try to make a place for themselves and it was very difficult going.

My mother didn’t have a high school diploma and my father was a few years older. It was hard for him to create the kind of life that he dreamed of with the education that he had and with the opportunities that were available to him. In a sense, I think they came together thinking that together they would have a better chance at making it.”

I want you to know that this song is not about Tracy’s story, or even her parents’. Although her parents divorced while she was still a toddler and she was raised by her mother, Tracy’s life has been a very different one since her childhood.

The point I am making here is that the story you share with the world doesn’t need to be a detailed one based in the truth of your life situation. You’re not preparing to write your autobiography with each story you share. Instead, create a story that is comprised of a compilation of your life experiences, told in a way that will resonate with your target audience in a creative and innovative way.

For example, the photo I’m sharing above was taken in Savannah, Georgia during a Mastermind Retreat I was a part of in January of 2023. I spent a week with several women I’ve known and worked alongside in my online business since 2006. You know there are some stories I could, and will share over time. Storytelling as a strategy makes a difference in your business, and you decide exactly how you will present your stories to the world.

My story has been used as a Case Study for many people whom I mentor and work with closely online. When I started my business in 2006, I quickly discovered that what made me unique was my story. I had been a classroom teacher during the previous twenty years, while working simultaneously in real estate as a listing broker and residential appraiser. Along the way, I had a work injury where I needed rotator cuff surgery on my shoulder and surgery to repair a torn meniscus in my knee.

During this difficult period that stretched to half a year, I was also not able to do any work in real estate. It was all I could do to pay my bills and help my elderly mother, and it was also humbling to be in such a dire financial situation when I was in my 40s. Listening to Tracy’s soulful voice in this simple, yet powerful song somehow gave me hope for my future.

Country singer Luke Combs covered this song in his album Gettin’ Old in March of 2023. He was introduced to music by his father, and this is what he had to say about first hearing Tracy Chapman’s version of the song:

“There was this one song that really stuck out to me. It was called “Fast Car.” That song meant a lot to me since then—for my whole life. I always think about my dad when it comes on and us spending time together.”

Everything we write tends to be autobiographical to one extent or another. Sometimes, I don’t even realize I’m writing about an experience in my life, current or past, until I read it over when it is finished. I can tell you that this has been the case in every one of my more than twenty-five books, yet each time I honestly believed what I was writing had little or nothing to do with me.

Thinking of storytelling as a strategy to connect more deeply with others, whether they are friends, family, neighbors, or people in your online or in person community allows you to have a rich life experience that is truly meaningful. Give it a try and see what happens.

UPDATE: Luke Combs and Tracy Chapman performed the song “Fast Car” together during the 2024 Grammy Awards,
and I think you may agree that this is a quite touching performance.

This was a recent update from journalist and author Dan Rather on his Substack feed and I’m sharing it with his permission. Please join at no cost or obligation at https://steady.substack.com/

While watching the Grammys last Sunday, I was delighted by a duet performed by Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs. They sang “Fast Car,” a hit for Chapman in 1988. I was not the only one so moved. As I have discovered, it was one of the most popular performances of the night. I am an old-school country music fan, so I was not aware of Combs’ cover of Chapman’s hit. It certainly is a reason to smile.

One of my Team Steady colleagues is a big fan of both Chapman and the song and told me all about another live performance nearly 36 years ago.

In June 1988, dozens of musicians gathered at London’s Wembley Stadium to stage a tribute concert to Nelson Mandela on his 70th birthday and to push for his release from prison. As Stevie Wonder was about to go on stage, he was informed of a technical problem with his musical equipment. He left in tears, unable to perform. The concert’s producers needed to fill time before the next act and asked a little-known American folk singer, who had performed a song earlier in the day, to go back on stage. Tracy Chapman obliged and sang “Fast Car” to 70,000 concertgoers and 600 million people watching worldwide.

It was a life-changing performance for Chapman. After the Wembley concert, her record sales soared, and she went on to win three Grammys, including Best Female Pop Performance for “Fast Car” and Best New Artist.

It seems fitting that the song has gotten a second life with Combs’ version. It hit number one on the country charts, won Song of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards, and has been introduced to a whole new generation of fans.

This is yet another example of how we are all connected and why relationship building, and in my case relationship marketing is so very important to both the human condition and the way we interact with one another as we navigate through our lives.

I’m author, marketing strategist, and online entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green, striving to use storytelling as a strategy and share this superb method of connection with everyone I encounter in my life experience.