"Fast Car" was written and
originally recorded by Tracy Chapman, a folk singer from Cleveland, Ohio. It was her first single, released in 1988.
Luke Combs, who was born in 1990, brought it to a new generation with his 2023 cover, which sticks close to the original, even retaining the line, "I work in a market as a checkout girl." Combs says it's one of his favorite songs.
Combs has a strong personal connection to the song. He first heard it (appropriately) while driving with his dad, and it really struck him. "That song meant a lot to me since then - for my whole life," he wrote on Instagram. "I always think about my dad when it comes on and us spending time together."
Like Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs grew up working class and could relate to the struggles of the couple in "Fast Car." The song isn't really about a car - it's about hopes dashed, dreams deferred, and a love turning sour. Chapman wrote the lyric inspired by the folks she came across in Cleveland who were struggling to get by.
Combs decided to record the song after playing it live and seeing the incredible reaction from the crowd. "Everyone - I mean everyone - across all these stadiums relates to this song and sings along," he told Billboard. "That's the gift of a supernatural song writer."
It was a live performance from Chapman that jump started the song originally. She was little-known and low on the bill at the June 11, 1988 tribute concert for Nelson Mandela at Wembley Stadium in London, and didn't even include the song in her set. But later on, in prime time, Stevie Wonder had a technical problem and Chapman returned to the stage to fill time. She played "Fast Car" with just her acoustic guitar, and even though most in the crowd had never heard the song, they were transfixed. Word quickly spread and the song raced up the charts. It's a case of a song speaking for itself - Chapman does very little press.
The song raced to #1 on the Country chart September 30, 2023. When the song entered the chart in July, Chapman made a rare public statement,
telling Billboard: "I never expected to find myself on the Country charts, but I'm honored to be there. I'm happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced 'Fast Car.'"
Combs responded: "The success of my cover is unreal and I think it's so cool that Tracy is getting recognized and has reached new milestones. I love that she is out there feeling all the love and that she gave me a shout-out! Thank you, Tracy!"
The song never topped the Hot 100 but it spent eight (non-consecutive) weeks at #2. Remarkably, all eight weeks it was held back by a different country song. The first five weeks (July 1, 8, 22 and August 12 and 19) it was blocked by Morgan Wallen's "
Last Night"; the next two (August 26, September 2) by Oliver Anthony's "
Rich Men North Of Richmond." The last week (September 9) it was held off by the Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves collaboration "
I Remember Everything."
"Fast Car" won both Song and Single Of The Year at the 2023 CMA Awards. This made Tracy Chapman the first Black songwriter to win Song Of The Year at the country music ceremony.
"Fast Car" was one of the first songs Combs learned on guitar. "The journey of sitting in my apartment, I was teaching myself how to play guitar at 21 years old and spending days and days and days trying to teach myself how to play that lick which we all know is so iconic," he told the media of "Fast Car." "I finally figured it out after about a month and a half or two months because I was so new at playing guitar, but I knew that I wanted to play that song."
"I remember the first time I got it down," Combs continued. "Then I tried to sing while I was playing. I couldn't do it because it was so advanced of a thing for me where I was as a guitar player. It took me a few more months to be able to sing it and play it at the same time and it's been a long journey. That song has always been a huge part of my life for a long time. All credit to Tracy for writing one of the best songs ever."
Tracy Chapman joined Combs to perform "Fast Car" at the Grammy Awards in 2024, where he was up for Best Country Solo Performance for his cover (it lost to "
White Horse" by Chris Stapleton). In a video before the performance, Combs said, "Tracy is one of the best songwriters I think any of us will be around to see."
If you go to a Luke Combs concert, you might catch a subtle change he's made to the lyrics in "Fast Car." In the recorded version, Combs sings, "Still gotta make a decision. Leave tonight or live and die this way." But he's since updated the lyrics to "We gotta make a decision" - a tweak he made after realizing he'd initially misquoted the line.
Combs explained during a show that Chapman herself pointed out the error. "She said, 'So, when you recorded the song, you said 'Still gotta make a decision' instead of 'We gotta make a decision.'"
Combs was mortified when he learned of the mistake.
"When she told me, I wanted to crawl into a hole," he admitted.
Though Chapman was "awesome" about it, Combs still feels a bit embarrassed, especially given his love for the song and his desire to honor it in his cover.
