No worries gorgeous, but while all your contemporaries are reaching to Queen at Live Aid,( which was brilliant) apparently as it was a long day at Wembley and not all the Acts got their time slots etc,Tracey Chapman came on and literally had the whole stadium mesmerised by her performance x
@@geminiacleo7ewe Yes because there are men also named Tracy. I forget who it is but there's a famous country artist whose first name is Tracy. DANG I forget who he is cuz I'm senile today and I actually like a lot of his music 😅
I think the guy mentioned early in the song is her father (she mentions that her mother left and she had to take care of him), not her boyfriend. She's singing about being tied down and dreaming of escaping with the owner of the "fast car." So it's less denial and more dreaming.
Exactly. This was me at 17, but my dad left, my mom was mentally ill depression, and I dropped out. I was eldest with 2 younger siblings, sometimes we had utilities, sometimes not, is what it is, or was. And I took a fast car and got married to you guessed it, someone mentally ill bipolar, and an alcoholic. This song will always speak to me.
The denial is the insistence on believing or continuing to try and believe her man is anything different than her father, that he and his fast car can move them forward and upward.
Oh you’re gonna love this one! Let’s watch! Her song “Give me one reason” is a MUST Jayy- 💖 Edit: you already know that Tracy is female- Jayy hun, it’s early..DO NOT let any rude assholes that might come in bring you down cause you didn’t know- I feel like I’m gonna have to be on patrol the rest of the day- 🤦🏼♀️love you-💖❤️✌️
Hey, Kimberlini! Hope my comment wasn't considered rude. I have a fascination with names that are considered feminine, but are originally masculine, like Tracy, Stacy, Hillary, Laurie, Evelyn, etc., etc.
@@elysehfm8797 not at all ElyseHFM! No worries hun! ❤️ I was telling someone else I actually had a crush on a boy as a kid, named Tracey- He spelled it with “ey”.. and my best friend is female and spells it with just the “y.” So I totally know what you mean- 💖
@Blaze Temp "Trace Adkins (Musician - country, tries to obscure his name like me) Tracey Katelnikoff (Hockey Player) Tracey Walter (Actor) Tracy Byrd (Musician - country) Tracy Curry (Musician - rap, known as The D.O.C.) Tracy Ferrie (Musician) Tracy Hickman (Writer) Tracy Hines (Auto Racing Driver) Tracy Huth (Associate Athletics Director for Oakland University) Tracy Jones (MLB player for the Cincinnati Reds) Tracy Kidder (Writer) Tracy Lawrence (Musician - country) Tracy Letts (Writer and Actor) Tracy Marrow (Musician and actor - rap, know as Ice-T) Tracy Mesler (Friend and newspaper publisher) Tracy McGrady (NBA Basketball Player and 2-time scoring champion) Tracy Morgan (Actor and Comedian) Tracy Ringolsby (MLB writer - 2004 J.G. Taylor Spink Award by the BBWA) Tracy Scott (Musician - electronic) Tracy Scroggins (NFL player) Tracy Smothers (Wrestler) Tracy Stallard (MLB player famous for giving up Roger Maris’ 61st home run) Tracy D. Terrell (Writer) Tracy T (Musician - rap) Tracy Torme (Writer and Producer) Tracy Ulrich (Musician - rock, known as Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose) Tracy Upchurch (Mayor, St. Augustine, Florida) Tracy Voorhees (Former Under Secretary of the United States Army) Tracy Woodson (MLB player for the Los Angeles Dodgers)"
She first sings of her father when she is in high school. Her mom left, so she quits school to support herself & her dad. Then, later she looks toward her boyfriend to escape her problems. The fast car is a metaphor for running away from your problems. But, she just repeats the cycle of poverty. "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"
She wrote this song growing up in a poor neighborhood in Cleveland, she said people would pray to be able to get out of there. It's what inspired the song.
Saw her at a packed LA Coliseum in 1988, Amnesty International concert with Sting, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen. When she came on, not a pin drop. She was/is awesome!
This girl on my route had a baby last year and named him Luka.so I sung my name is luka,I live on the second floor .and she thought I just made that up.🤣🤣🤣
Great reaction JAYY. I love this song. I love and respect Tracy Chapman she’s the 💣.I think you would also like her songs, talkin’ about a revolution, and give me one reason.She’s absolutely amazing and she can tell A story.😀👍❤️✌️🌼
One of the few reaction videos that actually listened to the lyrics of the song. This is a story of desperation, of a young woman going down the same tragic path as her mother (repeating the cycle of poverty and dysfunction) who eventually left her deadbeat drunk husband in hopes of a better life. Tracy Chapman's understated performance and genius song writing (if you miss the last verse you miss her boyfriend is simply a younger version of her father)puts her in a class by herself. Thank you 👍
Tracy Chapman’s music is so impactful. First time I heard this song was over 20years ago but I can still remember where I was, what I was doing and who I was with...it’s just made me stop and take everything in
I love Tracy Chapman. The album that this song is from was the very first CD I ever owned after I got my first CD player in high school. This song about being a daughter who dropped out of school to take care of her father after her mother left, but who wants to get away and live her own life with what I've always inferred was a romantic partner instead of living to just take care of her father is an absolute classic and really speaks to the reality of many poor or working class people, usually women, who take on caregiving roles out of obligation and end up sacrificing much of their own success, happiness, and well-being as a result.
Yeah you pretty much named my top as well “ talking about a revolution sounds ..’like a whhiispuuhrr” I think give me one reason is her most popular one but I wasn’t alive for this one and the aforementioned. That one I remember from when I was a kid it was all over the radio where I live.😉👍✌️
@@elysehfm8797 ok 👍 well it’s my favourite. But I wasn’t there to witness the impact it had . I have a vague memory of a younger me; hearing that song a lot when I sat in the car whenever the radio was on or something it always stayed in my head . I must’ve liked it so much and it played so often I assume. still didn’t appreciate music the way I did a few years later when I, at some point, heard the rest of her songs relistened to that one still kind of knew it by heart. I rarely seen somebody who can write something that seems simple but when you look into it it’s just a very solid way to say some thing that sounds amazing I don’t know how to say this really (there is a saying that equates being touched by a bit of ‘genius’ wit simplicity I’m not sure it’s attributed to). I don’t know why I can’t seem to find at least some kind of different equivalent it is weird did things would devolve . makes no sense to me anyways I digress a lot, Bad habit. Thanks for mentioning, my perspective comes in, late ; I wouldn’t know this firsthand👍
This song will now be with you the rest of your life. Back in 1988, I bought the album - I think we all bought the album. But I hear it still, everywhere. Just last Saturday, I was in my small city in the south-east of the UK, and I popped into a supermarket. And there, playing on the tannoy was 'Fast Car'. Not the original but a slightly more upbeat, disco-tinged version. But the power of the song still came through. Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution next! It's a bit shocking to realise that Revolution is less than three minutes long and Tracy is 57. How times fly.
Children raised feeling like they have to hold parents or a parent up at the sacrifice of their own life plans, they finally break lose and continue the cycle. I love her writing and her voice.
Since you like her music, you might wanna give "Baby Can I Hold You Tonight" and "Remember the Tin Man", a listen and reaction. Her song, "She's got a Ticket", is also great.
I keep forgetting how great she is. My buddy in high school’s mother, who passed away when we were in grade 9 from MS and other Illnesses, this was her favourite singer and Give Me One Reason her favourite song. It was mentioned in his eulogy for her.
I'm an old metal head well versed in a lot of shit from old school blues, R&B, Soul, Folk...etc. This is IMO in the top 10 tunes ever written... PEACE!
Hiii Jayyy!! Have loved this song n album since it came out. She was quite young. I think u got it slightly wrong. Her father is who is drinking. Her mom left him n she’s taking care of him. Her bf has the fast car Try her song MOUNTAIN OF THINGS!!!!
I feel like she sings from the point of view of her mom and herself..i take that she tried to help pops herself..maybe he couldnt get over his love for his wife? then Tracy just gave up on her pops and left for better places?
I think her 'old man' was her father. She was trying to get out of the situation and 'be someone'. A fast car is a metaphor for getting out. She finally kicks her boyfriend out. Great song. So melancholy. Tracy is special.
Definitely a classic. This song was a building block of my youth. Your listening to songs that shaped a generation. In short; dont let life pass you by...
Tracy's voice is in that range where it could be a man's voice so the mistake is understandable. Having said that, I love this song and Tracy. Great choice and reaction!
Jayy, it's all good. Making mistakes is going to be part of the journey when you are experiencing new things. Props to you for being so open & possibly taking others along for the ride. I think most people can see no disrespect was intended here. This achingly beautiful song got LOTS of airplay on MTV at the time (rightfully so). It is very satisfying to see people enjoying it again (along with all the other great music of the past), keep up the good work. 👍
This is definitely one of my favourite songs I hadn’t heard it for years til a couple of weeks ago, her with only a guitar and a microphone in front of a whole stadium in Oakland in 1988 is probably one of the coolest things I’ve seen especially this song that was when people sounded as good or sometimes better live. Unfortunately my mom was probably giving birth that moment give or take some hours! I think maybe you misinterpreted the part where she’s talking about her drunk (I’ve always thought father) her mother leaves him because he’s a drunk and she quit school to take care of him.I think she Is painting you are an image a bit of what her life is like and why she wants to leave so bad!…amongst other things I think she’s literally trying to make a deal with a person who has a fast car to get out of there. “We can leave tonight or live and die this way.” She is so solid… And by the way your mistake is not such a big deal since you weren’t looking at her I’ve seen this argued ..some people think she was a transgender I’ve literally seen conversations on going for a couple of years in A section Anyways I don’t think she looks like a guy . She just has a strong voice regardless that’s not really my concern I’m just saying not only is it probably a common mistake some people are convinced about this this I will argue as if they’re gonna win something!…UA-cam comment When the session becomes like a battle to see who is going to become the king of the animal kingdom! 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 Finally see what it means to be living See, my old man’s got a problem He lives with a 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 When momma went off and left him She wanted more from life than he could give I said "Somebody's gotta take care of him" So I quit school, and that's what I did I saw this on UA-cam by the way bringing the house down I think the whole set is online but you can find that song . Something to check out afterwards. I would link it I just find it’s bad UA-cam etiquette on somebody else’s channel! That’s the year I was born is what I meant. I wasn’t there just the most Power I can imagine coming out of a microphone and guitar only her Solo in a stadium/then again it’s very nostalgic hearing this.
love this woman's voice! great story teller. great in acapella. the kind of musician that just breaks your heart. still sounds fresh after all these years.
"Give Me One Reason" is an absolute must. She has such a soulful, Bluesy voice and she plays that fingerstyle guitar that gives her music a folk bibe. Which, if you think about it, is what Blues really is, the purest form of American folk music.
She’s a superstar. Apologies are all well and good but you’re monetarizing this stuff. I believe you are a great woman and I really admire you. But although there is some so called “surprise” in reviews do your homework for musical superstars 🙏🏼
Im not able to get monetized for 98% of my videos including this one they are all copyrighted from record companies, bands or corporations . And I don’t like to research things because I like a raw experience when listening to something new. I’m aware that I will make a mistake here and there along the way but everyone makes mistakes and My mistakes are never with Ill intent.
It's not unreasonable to believe a man would sing from a woman's perspective. John Prine wrote & performed Angel From Montgomery from a woman's perspective.
When I first heard this song it was around 1985? 1986? I don't know. I thought Tracy Chapman was a white male folk singer. You grew by learning from your mistakes. As I've gotten older and continued to listen to this song I could hear that those 2 kids were heading into nowhere. Fast. She wasn't living but just surviving. He was just existing. Such is life.
Jayy, Tracey Chapman like Bill Withers is a contemporary folk singer. If you liked this, Give Me One Reason and Talkin’ About A Revolution are two of hers you should listen to.
Ahead of her time, "Talkin bout a Revolution" is my fav by Tracy a WOMAN LOL, one photo her she does resemble Bob Marley, check out his music, "I went to heaven but came back because one of my tennis shoes fell off on the way up" LOl.. not sure of the title, such a loss. Dang you, I cry everytime I hear fast car because my mother went through the same BS anyhow, Tracy's songs are from her heart. When I show my friend her video when the video fast car came out he said "man that guy is ugly" I responded, She is not ugly stop looking from the outside and look into her soul, then my friend you shall find ONLY BUITY!
As long as you don't have kids...you can work at anything. Convenience Stores, Waitressing, Busing, Minimum Wage jobs held by primarily Women...are cancelled out if you are paying many hundreds of dollars to daycare providers. I was fortunate that family stepped in to watch our kids so both my husband and I could go out to work...which we both did...until retirement. Of course if your spouse makes good money, mom or dad can stay home and raise their kids. If a single mom makes a good living...by all means, work and pay for childcare because you can afford it. Same thing for men who are single parents. But those in lower-paying jobs who must pay for childcare...so they can work...are basically screwed. Moral of this story...don't have kids...if you can't afford it. But, sometimes...you get knocked up anyway. No easy answers here.
The name, deeper voice, shown in shadows, black turtle neck sweeter, ect... Most people did confuse her as a him in the beginning. (It's not just you).
If you like this song from Tracy you should try 'Rape of the World' and 'Smoke and Ashes' which are two of the most amazing songs she's done and both very salient.
This ist a good song quite worthy I think. Sadly it wasn't a big hit. It came out at a time when other Rock style was extremely more wanted during that specific era. I liked her voice as well, though honestly...I thought it was a guy who sang it. :-) I never thought about or knew she was black either...Das song just never made it for me as das many others were special remembrance in my life. She ist quite good though of course. :-)
_Fun Fact ✅:_ Michael Jackson and Janet were Tracy Chapman's cousins. I don't know if she's also related to Stevie Wonder since Jacksons and Stevie are cousins on mother side.
She’s talking about her old man, “dad”, being an alcoholic and her mother left him. So Tracy dropped out of school to take care of her dad. Then she also ends up with an alcoholic; so she keeps on driving. Next chapter.
I've seen two reactors suggest that the drunkard she was taken care of was the man who she was in the relationship who had the fast car. I always thought she was referring to her father there, and I think the line saying that her mother left backs that up. To me the song is about how no matter how much you plan and how much you try, life finds a way of holding you back, especially if you care about other people.
Yes. She grows up caring for her alcoholic father and then ends up with a man just like him. It’s a common story, unfortunately. And perhaps she will be like her mother and leave her partner. Her adult history has become the pattern of events of her childhood.
George Michael loved her. He did a cover of her “baby can I hold you tonight”. George n Tracy met at the Pavarotti concert. George said she was one of the best along with Amy Whinehouse
Chapman said: "It's not really about a car at all... basically it's about a relationship that doesn't work out because it's starting from the wrong place."
Listen to The Promise, Baby Can I hold You, Matters of the Heart, Open Arms, Talkin' Bout an Revolution, Heavens Hear on Earth, New Beginning, Smoke and Ashes, The Rape of the World, All that you have is your Soul, You're the One and so so many more.
I knew that you'd see the deepness of this song. However, my reading is that it's two men who held her back,; her alcoholic father that cared for, and boyfriend. And I think that the song is as much about being trapped in poverty then it is about her relationship with men. Also, i think what you said about you not wanting a man who can"t work, because if he's not fit enough to work then he's bit not enough to be a good lover/partner, is a bit ablesist. Imagine if the man had some kind of physical if mental disability that prevented him from working.
I am once again late to the comment game. But I did want to say how much I love Tracey Chapman. She is a singer-songwriter master. Many others have already mentioned how this song is about the horrible cycle of poverty, so will not directly comment on that, but will comment on the musical part of it. (An aside - at first you appear to like her voice and the music, but by the end of the 2nd refrain you clearly got what the song was about and soon the lyrics became your focus. That is how good of a story teller Tracey is.) As to the music, I am not sure if Tracey intended this, or if I am reading too much into it ... but even the way she plays the song has symbology into the cycle that her protagonist endures. If you notice the main acoustic refrain ... its the same, over and over. When she goes into a bridge it always comes back to the same acoustic refrain. Also, the main lyrics of the chorus, while lyrically sung the same or mostly the same ... it means a different thing each time. For me it goes from hopeful ... to something perhaps less hopeful. You mentioned in your reaction that she was "in denial". That is what the 2nd chorus sounds like to me. The last (3rd) chorus seems to "accept" that her hope was just that....which by the end of song appears to disappear with a feeling of resignation. I hate poverty I hate that people feel despair in their lives.
Love this song so much. And yes, for a while I thought she was a male. Anyway, If I get reincarnated as a black woman, I want to just be able to be Tracy Chapman singing this song. I Don't want to come back as a woman, or as someone else, but just to be able to sing this song like her whenever possible. This song hurts my heart, but in a beautiful way.
The beginning is about how her father "lived with the bottle" and her momma went off and left him. She felt like she had to take care of him, so she quit school. Next, she meets a man with a fast car, and she feels like she is ready to Fly Away to a New Life of freedom. She gets a job and makes plans to move up in life. The man won't work, and spends all his time out drinking with his buddies. Now she tells him to take his fast car and fly away. The cycle is being repeated of women who are trapped in bad relationships with men who wont step up to the plate and take responsibility. She was a music major in college and did not come from poverty, but she writes beautiful songs and is a wonderful singer and musician. I don't think she has ever done anything similar to this, though.
The dad was the alcoholic. The mom left him. She quit school to take care of her father. Runaway to get a better life or get stuck this way? But do u gotta car fast enough? ..You probably already got the real meaning of the song by now but. Just in case😋
I remember when this song dropped. She was so different from the typical music of the time. Everyone loved her music. She has 4 or 5 other songs just as good.
Do the deep dive into Tracy's music, you will not regret it. She is stuck in a terrible situation and longs for escape. She has had to drop out of school and start a dead-end job to support her alcoholic father. She's hoping for escape with her boyfriend, let's just get in the car and go, we can start again somewhere else, we can both work, and get ahead. She discovers she exchanged her deadbeat father for a deadbeat man, and she is now supporting her man and their children. Trapped. It helps to have the lyrics ready to read, hard to catch all the meaning in the first listen.
The song is basically about having a alcoholic father and she had to take care of him. The boyfriend had a car and she thought that he was her ticket out of that life. She got a job and worked her way up from cashier to a job that pays all of their families bills but he spends more time at the bar with his friends than his family. He's basically an alcoholic like her dad and she's pretty much telling him to take his fast care and keep on driving. She's done with him.
She's talking about her father, who cant work and drowns his sadness in the past (the old car) and alcohol, so he ended up broke and she was the only one in her family who supported him and she's encouraging him to have hope to leave the way they're living. The song
IM SORRY GUYS ABOUT MY MISTAKE IT WAS NOT INTENTIONAL BUT OVERALL SHE IS BEAUTIFUL AND LOVED HER VOICE AND HOPE TO LISTEN MANY MORE SONGS BY HER
No worries gorgeous, but while all your contemporaries are reaching to Queen at Live Aid,( which was brilliant) apparently as it was a long day at Wembley and not all the Acts got their time slots etc,Tracey Chapman came on and literally had the whole stadium mesmerised by her performance x
Yes Jayy! Just keep it going hun- “give me one reason” should be next- 💖😘
This ALWAYS makes me cry. I adore Tracy Chapman! (You aren't the first to mistake gender,no sweat
😆
@@geminiacleo7ewe Yes because there are men also named Tracy. I forget who it is but there's a famous country artist whose first name is Tracy. DANG I forget who he is cuz I'm senile today and I actually like a lot of his music 😅
I think the guy mentioned early in the song is her father (she mentions that her mother left and she had to take care of him), not her boyfriend. She's singing about being tied down and dreaming of escaping with the owner of the "fast car." So it's less denial and more dreaming.
Yup and she’s repeating her parents by dating and having children with a man like her dad.
Perfectly explained...
Yep. This is a song about a girl falling for a guy who is just like her father.
Exactly. This was me at 17, but my dad left, my mom was mentally ill depression, and I dropped out. I was eldest with 2 younger siblings, sometimes we had utilities, sometimes not, is what it is, or was. And I took a fast car and got married to you guessed it, someone mentally ill bipolar, and an alcoholic. This song will always speak to me.
The denial is the insistence on believing or continuing to try and believe her man is anything different than her father, that he and his fast car can move them forward and upward.
Give Me One Reason should be your next Tracy Chapman track!
Love that one too! ❤
Yes please! I was pregnant rubbing my belly when 'Give Me One Reason' came out!!!
My favorite of her’s
Tracy's song writing is brilliant. She is one of a kind talent.
Oh you’re gonna love this one! Let’s watch! Her song “Give me one reason” is a MUST Jayy- 💖 Edit: you already know that Tracy is female- Jayy hun, it’s early..DO NOT let any rude assholes that might come in bring you down cause you didn’t know- I feel like I’m gonna have to be on patrol the rest of the day- 🤦🏼♀️love you-💖❤️✌️
Hey, Kimberlini! Hope my comment wasn't considered rude. I have a fascination with names that are considered feminine, but are originally masculine, like Tracy, Stacy, Hillary, Laurie, Evelyn, etc., etc.
@@elysehfm8797 not at all ElyseHFM! No worries hun! ❤️ I was telling someone else I actually had a crush on a boy as a kid, named Tracey- He spelled it with “ey”.. and my best friend is female and spells it with just the “y.” So I totally know what you mean- 💖
@@kimberlinibambini1988, cool, just making sure. Hard to read intentions on the internet.
Those unisex names are confusing, lol. She's awesome.
It's not just the name, the voice is just as gender-ambiguous.
@@ThatSomethingGuy, plus, the picture's dark, and they don't show much more than head and shoulders. Short haircut and no makeup. I get it.
@Blaze Temp "Trace Adkins (Musician - country, tries to obscure his name like me)
Tracey Katelnikoff (Hockey Player)
Tracey Walter (Actor)
Tracy Byrd (Musician - country)
Tracy Curry (Musician - rap, known as The D.O.C.)
Tracy Ferrie (Musician)
Tracy Hickman (Writer)
Tracy Hines (Auto Racing Driver)
Tracy Huth (Associate Athletics Director for Oakland University)
Tracy Jones (MLB player for the Cincinnati Reds)
Tracy Kidder (Writer)
Tracy Lawrence (Musician - country)
Tracy Letts (Writer and Actor)
Tracy Marrow (Musician and actor - rap, know as Ice-T)
Tracy Mesler (Friend and newspaper publisher)
Tracy McGrady (NBA Basketball Player and 2-time scoring champion)
Tracy Morgan (Actor and Comedian)
Tracy Ringolsby (MLB writer - 2004 J.G. Taylor Spink Award by the BBWA)
Tracy Scott (Musician - electronic)
Tracy Scroggins (NFL player)
Tracy Smothers (Wrestler)
Tracy Stallard (MLB player famous for giving up Roger Maris’ 61st home run)
Tracy D. Terrell (Writer)
Tracy T (Musician - rap)
Tracy Torme (Writer and Producer)
Tracy Ulrich (Musician - rock, known as Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose)
Tracy Upchurch (Mayor, St. Augustine, Florida)
Tracy Voorhees (Former Under Secretary of the United States Army)
Tracy Woodson (MLB player for the Los Angeles Dodgers)"
@Blaze Temp
Blaze Temp, even worse I've seen English males being named 'Ashley'.
Even worse than Tracy, IMO.
Yeah, my grandfather Tracy is forever being misgendered.
She first sings of her father when she is in high school. Her mom left, so she quits school to support herself & her dad. Then, later she looks toward her boyfriend to escape her problems. The fast car is a metaphor for running away from your problems. But, she just repeats the cycle of poverty.
"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"
Tracy is such a great story teller and beautiful voice. Try "Give Me One Reason". I used to sing it all the time to my boss!
She wrote this song growing up in a poor neighborhood in Cleveland, she said people would pray to be able to get out of there. It's what inspired the song.
Yes, HER voice is beautiful. LOL. You are wonderful by the way.
I thought I was mishearing .....
Jayy is wonderful- I pray rude buttholes don’t come in as the days go on...🤦🏼♀️ ❤️TJS Fam
Saw her at a packed LA Coliseum in 1988, Amnesty International concert with Sting, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen. When she came on, not a pin drop. She was/is awesome!
Another song you might like and is worth a reaction: Suzanne Vegas - Luka
I second this, wholeheartedly.
This girl on my route had a baby last year and named him Luka.so I sung my name is luka,I live on the second floor .and she thought I just made that up.🤣🤣🤣
Great reaction JAYY. I love this song. I love and respect Tracy Chapman she’s the 💣.I think you would also like her songs, talkin’ about a revolution, and give me one reason.She’s absolutely amazing and she can tell A story.😀👍❤️✌️🌼
One of the few reaction videos that actually listened to the lyrics of the song. This is a story of desperation, of a young woman going down the same tragic path as her mother (repeating the cycle of poverty and dysfunction) who eventually left her deadbeat drunk husband in hopes of a better life. Tracy Chapman's understated performance and genius song writing (if you miss the last verse you miss her boyfriend is simply a younger version of her father)puts her in a class by herself. Thank you 👍
It is also about being accepted for who you are and what you want to achieve in life.
Everyone has a different story/life.
it was about taking care of her father...
Tracy Chapman’s music is so impactful. First time I heard this song was over 20years ago but I can still remember where I was, what I was doing and who I was with...it’s just made me stop and take everything in
I love Tracy Chapman. The album that this song is from was the very first CD I ever owned after I got my first CD player in high school. This song about being a daughter who dropped out of school to take care of her father after her mother left, but who wants to get away and live her own life with what I've always inferred was a romantic partner instead of living to just take care of her father is an absolute classic and really speaks to the reality of many poor or working class people, usually women, who take on caregiving roles out of obligation and end up sacrificing much of their own success, happiness, and well-being as a result.
Aye, usually the women doing the unpaid care work...
FIRST! I ADORE this song. I know Jayy's going to love it too. "Revolution" "Baby Can I Hold You" "Give Me One Reason."
Wonder if we'll get tears. :'(
No tears. This song always makes me cry. It's SO true to life.
Yeah you pretty much named my top as well “
talking about a revolution sounds ..’like a whhiispuuhrr”
I think give me one reason is her most popular one but I wasn’t alive for this one and the aforementioned.
That one I remember from when I was a kid it was all over the radio where I live.😉👍✌️
@@vittop2uesicilie914, I always think of Fast Car as her most popular, but I could be very wrong. ; )
@@elysehfm8797 ok 👍 well it’s my favourite. But I wasn’t there to witness the impact it had . I have a vague memory of a younger me; hearing that song a lot when I sat in the car whenever the radio was on or something it always stayed in my head . I must’ve liked it so much and it played so often I assume. still didn’t appreciate music the way I did a few years later when I, at some point, heard the rest of her songs relistened to that one still kind of knew it by heart. I rarely seen somebody who can write something that seems simple but when you look into it it’s just a very solid way to say some thing that sounds amazing I don’t know how to say this really (there is a saying that equates being touched by a bit of ‘genius’ wit simplicity I’m not sure it’s attributed to). I don’t know why I can’t seem to find at least some kind of different equivalent it is weird did things would devolve . makes no sense to me anyways I digress a lot, Bad habit. Thanks for mentioning, my perspective comes in, late ; I wouldn’t know this firsthand👍
Don't worry, everyone I've seen react has made the same mistake at 1st, she has a beautifully unique voice.
I find it so strange that they do. I always knew she was a girl. Been listening to this song since high school
I was 4 when this song came out and I remember arguing with my dad because I thought it was a "boy voice" I wanted to marry the fast car "guy".
@@juliebarry7393 Aww, that's adorable!!! Great memory to have.... :)
She does an amazing cover of The Animals “House of the Rising Sun”.
This song will now be with you the rest of your life.
Back in 1988, I bought the album - I think we all bought the album. But I hear it still, everywhere. Just last Saturday, I was in my small city in the south-east of the UK, and I popped into a supermarket.
And there, playing on the tannoy was 'Fast Car'. Not the original but a slightly more upbeat, disco-tinged version. But the power of the song still came through.
Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution next!
It's a bit shocking to realise that Revolution is less than three minutes long and Tracy is 57. How times fly.
this song always give me goosebumps and her voice is lovely
Children raised feeling like they have to hold parents or a parent up at the sacrifice of their own life plans, they finally break lose and continue the cycle. I love her writing and her voice.
Since you like her music, you might wanna give "Baby Can I Hold You Tonight" and "Remember the Tin Man", a listen and reaction. Her song, "She's got a Ticket", is also great.
You gotta do Give Me One Reason...it’s the ultimate
yes. her voice is amazing there too.
BB King plays the lead guitar in the video "Give me one reason"
You youngins could never, ever recreate the experience of hearing her on the radio in the 80s and 90s ❤ thank God we grew up with this.
I keep forgetting how great she is. My buddy in high school’s mother, who passed away when we were in grade 9 from MS and other Illnesses, this was her favourite singer and Give Me One Reason her favourite song. It was mentioned in his eulogy for her.
Yes her voice is special...lol I made that same mistake for years! 🤣 Looking good girl!
“Baby Can I Hold You Tonight” Tracy Chapman and Luciano Pavarotti. It. Is. Beautiful.
I'm an old metal head well versed in a lot of shit from old school blues, R&B, Soul, Folk...etc. This is IMO in the top 10 tunes ever written... PEACE!
Hits you right in the feels
Haha I know right. solid all around
Tracy Chapman give me one reason is great too! My mom used to listen to that song all the time
♥ that song
I'd suggest another powerful late 80s folk rock song: Suzanne Vega - Luka
At my age I’ve seen too many men take off with younger women (including mine). Always have a plan B to support yourself. Always.
Hiii Jayyy!!
Have loved this song n album since it came out. She was quite young.
I think u got it slightly wrong. Her father is who is drinking. Her mom left him n she’s taking care of him.
Her bf has the fast car
Try her song MOUNTAIN OF THINGS!!!!
Talking about a revolution is a great song.
I feel like she sings from the point of view of her mom and herself..i take that she tried to help pops herself..maybe he couldnt get over his love for his wife? then Tracy just gave up on her pops and left for better places?
HIS voice.....SHE is an Icon🤣🤣🤣 I know you didn't mean nothing by it, but that had me rolling.
I think her 'old man' was her father. She was trying to get out of the situation and 'be someone'. A fast car is a metaphor for getting out. She finally kicks her boyfriend out. Great song. So melancholy. Tracy is special.
Definitely a classic. This song was a building block of my youth.
Your listening to songs that shaped a generation.
In short; dont let life pass you by...
Her FATHER is the one she quit school to take care of. But ultimately, she marries a man just like her father.
This whole album is so good.
There is one other song by Tracy that you will probably enjoy it’s called “Give me one reason to stay here”
Check it out
Off topic, but your hair looks fabulous Jayy ❤️
Yeah Tracy is phenomenal!!!!! 💯🤗❤✌
Tracy's voice is in that range where it could be a man's voice so the mistake is understandable. Having said that, I love this song and Tracy. Great choice and reaction!
Most remarkable talent so much depth thanks
Another classic that will never die
Hey Jayy! I love this song. Thank you for the reaction! Stay blessed ❤️😎
Jayy, it's all good. Making mistakes is going to be part of the journey when you are experiencing new things. Props to you for being so open & possibly taking others along for the ride. I think most people can see no disrespect was intended here.
This achingly beautiful song got LOTS of airplay on MTV at the time (rightfully so). It is very satisfying to see people enjoying it again (along with all the other great music of the past), keep up the good work. 👍
This is definitely one of my favourite songs I hadn’t heard it for years til a couple of weeks ago, her with only a guitar and a microphone in front of a whole stadium in Oakland in 1988 is probably one of the coolest things I’ve seen especially this song that was when people sounded as good or sometimes better live. Unfortunately my mom was probably giving birth that moment give or take some hours! I think maybe you misinterpreted the part where she’s talking about her drunk (I’ve always thought father) her mother leaves him because he’s a drunk and she quit school to take care of him.I think she Is painting you are an image a bit of what her life is like and why she wants to leave so bad!…amongst other things I think she’s literally trying to make a deal with a person who has a fast car
to get out of there. “We can leave tonight or live and die this way.” She is so solid… And by the way your mistake is not such a big deal since you weren’t looking at her I’ve seen this argued ..some people think she was a transgender I’ve literally seen conversations on going for a couple of years in A section Anyways I don’t think she looks like a guy . She just has a strong voice regardless that’s not really my concern I’m just saying not only is it probably a common mistake some people are convinced about this this I will argue as if they’re gonna win something!…UA-cam comment When the session becomes like a battle to see who is going to become the king of the animal kingdom!
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
Finally see what it means to be living
See, my old man’s got a problem
He lives with a 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
When momma went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said "Somebody's gotta take care of him"
So I quit school, and that's what I did
I saw this on UA-cam by the way bringing the house down I think the whole set is online but you can find that song . Something to check out afterwards. I would link it I just find it’s bad UA-cam etiquette on somebody else’s channel! That’s the year I was born is what I meant. I wasn’t there just the most Power I can imagine coming out of a microphone and guitar only her Solo in a stadium/then again it’s very nostalgic hearing this.
One of my ole time favorites
Her song The Promise 😭😭😭 it gets me every single time I listen to it.
She took care of her drunk father.
love this woman's voice! great story teller. great in acapella. the kind of musician that just breaks your heart. still sounds fresh after all these years.
I loved your reaction to the song, and what you said at the end. Always stand on your own two feet! 💪🏻😁
this song always drives me to tears
...no pun intended... :-)
Me too.
@@willrichardson519 Really not, just an association. ;-)
Beautiful unique voice. I could listen to her all day. 💗🎶
She is purposefully androgynous so you're fine.
"Give Me One Reason" is an absolute must. She has such a soulful, Bluesy voice and she plays that fingerstyle guitar that gives her music a folk bibe. Which, if you think about it, is what Blues really is, the purest form of American folk music.
This is my favorite song by her
For being so young..... You are very mature in the way you think. Congratulations !! Great review!! 👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
She’s a superstar. Apologies are all well and good but you’re monetarizing this stuff. I believe you are a great woman and I really admire you. But although there is some so called “surprise” in reviews do your homework for musical superstars 🙏🏼
Im not able to get monetized for 98% of my videos including this one they are all copyrighted from record companies, bands or corporations . And I don’t like to research things because I like a raw experience when listening to something new. I’m aware that I will make a mistake here and there along the way but everyone makes mistakes and My mistakes are never with Ill intent.
It's not unreasonable to believe a man would sing from a woman's perspective. John Prine wrote & performed Angel From Montgomery from a woman's perspective.
LOL. Not HIS voice. It is HER voice. She is pretty andogynous though so I get it.
You need to listen to everything with Tracy Chapman AND also Behind The Wall
When I first heard this song it was around 1985? 1986? I don't know. I thought Tracy Chapman was a white male folk singer. You grew by learning from your mistakes. As I've gotten older and continued to listen to this song I could hear that those 2 kids were heading into nowhere. Fast. She wasn't living but just surviving. He was just existing. Such is life.
Jayy, Tracey Chapman like Bill Withers is a contemporary folk singer. If you liked this, Give Me One Reason and Talkin’ About A Revolution are two of hers you should listen to.
Ahead of her time, "Talkin bout a Revolution" is my fav by Tracy a WOMAN LOL, one photo her she does resemble Bob Marley, check out his music, "I went to heaven but came back because one of my tennis shoes fell off on the way up" LOl.. not sure of the title, such a loss. Dang you, I cry everytime I hear fast car because my mother went through the same BS anyhow, Tracy's songs are from her heart. When I show my friend her video when the video fast car came out he said "man that guy is ugly" I responded, She is not ugly stop looking from the outside and look into her soul, then my friend you shall find ONLY BUITY!
As long as you don't have kids...you can work at anything. Convenience Stores, Waitressing, Busing, Minimum Wage jobs held by primarily Women...are cancelled out if you are paying many hundreds of dollars to daycare providers. I was fortunate that family stepped in to watch our kids so both my husband and I could go out to work...which we both did...until retirement. Of course if your spouse makes good money, mom or dad can stay home and raise their kids. If a single mom makes a good living...by all means, work and pay for childcare because you can afford it. Same thing for men who are single parents.
But those in lower-paying jobs who must pay for childcare...so they can work...are basically screwed. Moral of this story...don't have kids...if you can't afford it. But, sometimes...you get knocked up anyway. No easy answers here.
Loved your reaction! Tracy is a bona fide gifted musician, a singular talent. All the things.
The name, deeper voice, shown in shadows, black turtle neck sweeter, ect... Most people did confuse her as a him in the beginning. (It's not just you).
If you like this song from Tracy you should try 'Rape of the World' and 'Smoke and Ashes' which are two of the most amazing songs she's done and both very salient.
This ist a good song quite worthy I think. Sadly it wasn't a big hit. It came out at a time when
other Rock style was extremely more wanted during that specific era.
I liked her voice as well, though honestly...I thought it was a guy who sang it. :-)
I never thought about or knew she was black either...Das song just never made it for me as
das many others were special remembrance in my life.
She ist quite good though of course. :-)
_Fun Fact ✅:_ Michael Jackson and Janet were Tracy Chapman's cousins. I don't know if she's also related to Stevie Wonder since Jacksons and Stevie are cousins on mother side.
She’s talking about her old man, “dad”, being an alcoholic and her mother left him. So Tracy dropped out of school to take care of her dad. Then she also ends up with an alcoholic; so she keeps on driving. Next chapter.
I've seen two reactors suggest that the drunkard she was taken care of was the man who she was in the relationship who had the fast car. I always thought she was referring to her father there, and I think the line saying that her mother left backs that up. To me the song is about how no matter how much you plan and how much you try, life finds a way of holding you back, especially if you care about other people.
Yes. She grows up caring for her alcoholic father and then ends up with a man just like him. It’s a common story, unfortunately. And perhaps she will be like her mother and leave her partner. Her adult history has become the pattern of events of her childhood.
"Had a feeling I could be someone....be someone....be someone..." is where her voice breaks me every time.
George Michael loved her. He did a cover of her “baby can I hold you tonight”. George n Tracy met at the Pavarotti concert. George said she was one of the best along with Amy Whinehouse
She....she....I know these are reactions...but knowing the gender of the singer is critical.
Tracy is wonderful artistically speaking
Chapman said: "It's not really about a car at all... basically it's about a relationship that doesn't work out because it's starting from the wrong place."
Listen to The Promise, Baby Can I hold You, Matters of the Heart, Open Arms, Talkin' Bout an Revolution, Heavens Hear on Earth, New Beginning, Smoke and Ashes, The Rape of the World, All that you have is your Soul, You're the One and so so many more.
I knew that you'd see the deepness of this song. However, my reading is that it's two men who held her back,; her alcoholic father that cared for, and boyfriend.
And I think that the song is as much about being trapped in poverty then it is about her relationship with men.
Also, i think what you said about you not wanting a man who can"t work, because if he's not fit enough to work then he's bit not enough to be a good lover/partner, is a bit ablesist. Imagine if the man had some kind of physical if mental disability that prevented him from working.
My favourite Tracey Chapman song is Give me a reason 🥰😍
I am once again late to the comment game. But I did want to say how much I love Tracey Chapman. She is a singer-songwriter master. Many others have already mentioned how this song is about the horrible cycle of poverty, so will not directly comment on that, but will comment on the musical part of it.
(An aside - at first you appear to like her voice and the music, but by the end of the 2nd refrain you clearly got what the song was about and soon the lyrics became your focus. That is how good of a story teller Tracey is.)
As to the music, I am not sure if Tracey intended this, or if I am reading too much into it ... but even the way she plays the song has symbology into the cycle that her protagonist endures. If you notice the main acoustic refrain ... its the same, over and over. When she goes into a bridge it always comes back to the same acoustic refrain.
Also, the main lyrics of the chorus, while lyrically sung the same or mostly the same ... it means a different thing each time. For me it goes from hopeful ... to something perhaps less hopeful. You mentioned in your reaction that she was "in denial". That is what the 2nd chorus sounds like to me. The last (3rd) chorus seems to "accept" that her hope was just that....which by the end of song appears to disappear with a feeling of resignation.
I hate poverty
I hate that people feel despair in their lives.
Reminds me, you should listen to Joan Armatrading, Down To Zero.
Love this song so much. And yes, for a while I thought she was a male. Anyway, If I get reincarnated as a black woman, I want to just be able to be Tracy Chapman singing this song. I Don't want to come back as a woman, or as someone else, but just to be able to sing this song like her whenever possible. This song hurts my heart, but in a beautiful way.
The beginning is about how her father "lived with the bottle" and her momma went off and left him. She felt like she had to take care of him, so she quit school. Next, she meets a man with a fast car, and she feels like she is ready to Fly Away to a New Life of freedom. She gets a job and makes plans to move up in life. The man won't work, and spends all his time out drinking with his buddies. Now she tells him to take his fast car and fly away. The cycle is being repeated of women who are trapped in bad relationships with men who wont step up to the plate and take responsibility. She was a music major in college and did not come from poverty, but she writes beautiful songs and is a wonderful singer and musician. I don't think she has ever done anything similar to this, though.
Tracy chapman- Bang, bang, bang. You should checkout that too.
The dad was the alcoholic. The mom left him. She quit school to take care of her father. Runaway to get a better life or get stuck this way? But do u gotta car fast enough? ..You probably already got the real meaning of the song by now but. Just in case😋
I remember when this song dropped. She was so different from the typical music of the time. Everyone loved her music. She has 4 or 5 other songs just as good.
Do the deep dive into Tracy's music, you will not regret it. She is stuck in a terrible situation and longs for escape. She has had to drop out of school and start a dead-end job to support her alcoholic father. She's hoping for escape with her boyfriend, let's just get in the car and go, we can start again somewhere else, we can both work, and get ahead. She discovers she exchanged her deadbeat father for a deadbeat man, and she is now supporting her man and their children. Trapped. It helps to have the lyrics ready to read, hard to catch all the meaning in the first listen.
Offspring - Get a job is more what you're describing this was about her father and being trapped in a dead end life. Relatable.
I don’t think she has a boyfriend. Rather, a girlfriend.
Please listen Tracy Chapman’s give me one reason. 👍🏼❤️
This song poor folks can relate to. It’s a sad sound of Americana.
The song is basically about having a alcoholic father and she had to take care of him. The boyfriend had a car and she thought that he was her ticket out of that life. She got a job and worked her way up from cashier to a job that pays all of their families bills but he spends more time at the bar with his friends than his family. He's basically an alcoholic like her dad and she's pretty much telling him to take his fast care and keep on driving. She's done with him.
Don't worry, you still loved the song from Tracy, as well as I did!!
She's talking about her father, who cant work and drowns his sadness in the past (the old car) and alcohol, so he ended up broke and she was the only one in her family who supported him and she's encouraging him to have hope to leave the way they're living. The song
Please react to "give me one reason", by Tracy Chapman. This auntie thanks you sunshine 🌞
you should listen to "fast car" cover by "luke combs" he does such justice for tracy chapmans song