Fast Car

by Barbara Worton

The first time I heard Tracy Chapman’s song, “Fast Car,” on the radio, I thought it was written for me. I saw myself and my friends in that fast car. I too had that kind of hope that I could be someone, be someone. Now, Luke Combs, a country singer, is covering that tune and Tracy Chapman has won her first ever CMA award for 2023 Best Single and Best Song of the Year. That makes her the first Black songwriter to ever win a CMA. Some conservatives in Country Music and some liberals are grumbling. Luke Combs isn’t. He’s quoted as saying, “I love this song so much…and would be happy to sing with Tracy Chapman.” And at The Grammys, on Sunday, February 4, 2024, he did. Tracy strumming and singing. Luke standing beside her at his microphone, mouthing the lyrics, awestruck in the company of one of his heroes. Thank you.