When Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” premiered on MTV, I held my breath.

Yo! MTV Raps hadn’t yet aired, so by and large, all the “black music” was on BET. Except here was this genre-bending black woman singing… blues folk? Folk rock? Acoustic pop rock? Didn’t matter, I was starstruck. Between church, school, and my friends, the acoustic guitar had been a constant in my life, but never before had I seen a black woman behind it.

My lower-pitched voice that was once mistaken for a boy’s over the phone was suddenly hearing its potential future in Tracy’s velvety sound. Her all-natural appearance and dark skin were a culture shock next to the “traditional” beauties in MTV’s video lineup. It all came together to make me feel that there could be a place in mainstream music for someone like me, too.

With age comes experience and with each new listen, I only appreciated Tracy’s voice even more. She wasn’t just telling a heartbreaking story of whirlwind-love-turned-commonplace. “Fast Car” recounts an endless cycle of class and gender inequality that keeps dreams of escaping for better buried under day-to-day responsibilities. No wonder it’s among Rolling Stone’s Greatest 500 Songs of All-Time, and at #167, the highest ranking by a solo female artist.

“Fast Car” is so endlessly relevant, relatable, and touchingly simple, that even listening 32 years later, Tracy Chapman will pull at your heartstrings like she held them all along.

𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘:
“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”

𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗥 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬 | 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗥 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬