I think what most people don’t realize, is that, in the 90s, she ruled. She didn’t do hip-hop, she didn’t do rap, she just sang her truth. she is a great true singer and performer.
I've loved her since I heard her at 5. My mom always had her music going🫶 So glad the generations are still discovering and loving her beautiful music🥰
This is about the cycle of poverty. The man she escaped with was just another version of her dad. He never got a job. "You spend more time with your friends than you do your kids". This song is great storytelling poetry
Glad upu got it Kathy she escaped one back situation only to end up in a bad relationship with another man. She just swopped one hell for a different one ...
That line does really hit hard. The one I don't think I've seen anyone else pick up on though is, "I got no plans, ain't goin' nowhere." To me, that's the saddest line in the whole song. Not only has she ended up in the same situation she was running from, all her plans and dreams are well and truly crushed.
@@redessa01 Actually, no. She kicked them out, she's staying in the house she pays for and the kids. Listen close. She says "take your fast car and keep driving" and then she tells them to make a decision. She's staying, but she's not doing this crap again.
This was her first breakout song. One of my favorites from her is 'Give me one reason" - her voice is so soulful & bluesy, plus she is one hell of a musician too. Her contributions to the music world is very underrated & she deserves so much more recognition. Thanks for the upload & reminder that I haven't heard this song in a long time. :-)
If I had to choose one artist to listen to for the rest of my life, Tracy is my girl! Talkin about a revolution, bang bang bang, all that you have is your soul, at this point - damn, she's amazing!
😊❤ I agree I was 6 when this came out and music is my life and because of her and her talent made me get into chorale in middle and high school I sang solos and took voice lessons 6 years...
It is every person's story not Tracy's. She is poet, composer, lyricist extraordinaire. She is her own genre, Her music is as topical, as relevant today as it was in 1988. Thank you for reminding us how great she is.
Tracy's from Cleveland and went to college near Boston and busked in the streets of Cambridge. She got signed to a deal shortly before she graduated. She's a classic folk singer type. Her debut album in 1988 was a huge hit. She won the Best new Artist Grammy and this sing was multi-nominated as well. Her work has been sporadic over the years. She keeps a low profile. But it's all good. Check out her "Baby Can I Hold You" and "Give Me One Reason."
@@danielkelleher2419 Yes, she was attending Tufts University at the time and also performing in some Cambridge coffee clubs (where she was ultimately seen and heard by the right people).
I was in prison the first time I heard this song and it touched my soul. I felt like life was passing me by and I needed a FAST CAR to get away from my past. LOVE TRACY CHAPMAN!!!
Man, I hope life doesn’t pass you by and you enjoy the blessings the lord gives you. I hope you have more successes than failures. Stay blessed brotha.
Fast Car gets better every time I hear it. Something very Dylanesque about the lyrics, a little Springsteen too. Tracy's protagonist's expression of youthful angst is timeless, could be anywhere, especially in America. There's nothing like the feeling of being in a fast car, on the highway, wind in your hair, going somewhere you've never been, starting a new, with a new born sense of hope. Wow, Just a beautiful song, one of the best in the last few decades. A masterpiece, in my humble opinion. Glad Tracy is being recognized again for this wonderful song.
She sang this when she was hurriedly asked to fill in for Stevie Wonder, who was to be a surprise act at the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday concert in London, after a vital piece of his equipment went missing. She had released Fast Car off her eponymous debut album a couple of months earlier but achieved mediocre sales, so she left it out of her scheduled set of 3 songs earlier in the day. When Stevie wouldn't go on in the evening, the organisers asked her to return because she only needed her guitar. Her performance of Fast Car that night somehow resonated with audiences worldwide and it and her album took off.
I recently saw this video, it as amazing watching and listening to her, the audience quieting, wondering who this young women was...imagine her doing that!
@@brendahhstiles9992 That's right. She went from being virtually unknown, certainly here in Britain, to the main subject for discussion at work the following day.. People likened her to our own Joan Armatrading.
@@kaydantonio3719 get use to it… almost everybody on UA-cam is infatuated with calling everything “underrated” whether it is or not. It’s annoying as hell
Doesn’t matter where you’re from, this one hits home. I’m from suburban England with totally different situation but it still gives me chills. Universal.
Whenever I listen to this song, I imagine her starting off singing as the daughter with big dreams in a little town, but by the last ending up singing as the mother who left. The song hits me as a vicious cycle song, beautifully sung.
The Border she's singing about could be interpreted metaphorically, it doesn't necessarily have to be any specific border but instead a boundary that keeps you from crossing and reaching your potential, or where you feel you should be
For sure! Something so visceral and human about this song. So many of us have had these types of feelings or known those that did.. It's an amazing humanistic song.
Love how Asia's facial emotions progressively showed vexation with the chorus "you'll get a job" and ended with "we'll move out of the shelter". You definitely feel the tragedy in this song. Ultimately the song is about escaping to find yourself in the same situation. First taking care of dad and then taking care of your partner. The cycle in this song continued.
I loved Asia’s facial emotions as well. I really appreciate how they both listen to the lyrics and the music too. You would not believe how many reactors don’t. I have seen other reactors that the lyrics went over their heads. And in my opinion she uses borders as a term for state line. As an American I have lived on both Canadian and Mexican borders and sometimes use the trim border for state line.
and the music is a simple, repetitive refrain, single instrument, reflecting that life, only breaking out and becoming more when remembering/dreaming about the fast car ride through the city. He vocal notes are mostly short, stunted, not sustained, almost worn out. Good music.
In the early part of the song its, "we gotta make a decision; leave tonight or live and die this way" but later, she realizes that he's not holding up his end. Then it becomes, "you've gotta make a decision...........". It's basically, "hit the road, Jack" all over again. It makes you hope that, in the end, she does better on her own.
This song has the literal meaning of the lyrics and also is herself vs her hopes and dreams. Many people struggle with losing their dreams or opportunities by caring for others.
I remember the exact moment I first heard this song in 1988. I was painting my house and had a big boom box playing. It was a cold winters day and I was alone.
Tracy is one of the greatest and underrated artists of all time. The Album Tracy Chapman was frickin awesome. Everyone says Queen is the memory they have from Live Aid but I remember Tracy most vividly. She walked out so sheepishly and looking like a deer in headlights guitar in hand, reached the mic took a breath and blew us away .. Raw and full of truth.. Gorgeous girl as well
The live performance of this at Wembley Stadium in 1988 is just amazing, a huge number of people spellbound by this simple stripped back and heartfelt song.
JUST GOES TO SHOW HOW A GOOD SONG IS TIMELESS!! THE SONG IS OLDER THAN MOST PEOPLE THAT WERE AT THE AWARDS!! GLAD THE SONG HAS BEEN BROUGHT BACK INTO THE LIMELIGHT!!❤❤
I've always taken this song where she's stuck in her life looking after her father, working in a convenient store, wanting to get out of the shelter - dreaming of getting in the car with her good friend and escaping to a better life. So many are stuck wanting to be free of their situations. Excellent song. Always strikes a chord.
She’s just turned 56, I remember it like yesterday when she burst into notice, with her contraltoish voice, no hint of cutesy stage presence, but total command of her audience. She’s wonderful.
I saw Tracey in concert about 20 years ago and it was phenomenal! She’s just a gifted storyteller and she completely captures your attention. Love her!
She is from Cleveland, Ohio.......She sings about The Black Experience in America......and I love it!!! Some get of it....and some don't. And I did it...Out of it.....In Orangevale, CA. Out of it...and doing Fine!!!! Hahaha....lol....hahahah....but it wasn't easy....it was Hard!!!!.....but I made it!!!
Tracy Chapman is a great singer-songwriter & storyteller. Have always loved her unusual voice. She is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout A Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Crossroads" & "Give Me One Reason".
I just came across this reaction because Tracy is my heart ❤. When she says cross the border into the city she's talking about how they live out in a rural area with no opportunities just poverty. This song came out when I was 15 and it's the first song that made me think. Nothing in common with her, but I felt her soul. Little did I know a few years later this would be my anthem, daily. "Leave, or live and die this way" ..... And that's what me and my son would do, Leave. She saved me by keeping me strong. So much Love and respect for this woman ❤✌️ beautiful reaction.
How can you not remember this song. I am baffled. This is one of the hardest hitting emotional songs ever in my opinion. I am 42 and a big rap fan but this is one of the best lyrical picture painting songs about a personal journey ever.
This song gets me in the heart every time. I saw her live at the Los Angeles stop of the Amnesty International concert (1986 I believe). Everything about her is wonderful. Sting, Bruce Springsteen, and Peter Gabriel were the top headliners and I remember her performance as one of my favorites of the day.
I saw her busking in Harvard Square in Cambridge back in 1986 when I was a teenager. Her VOICE! Drew me over to the crowd listening to her. THEN, 2 years later when I was a student at UMass Amherst I was in my dorm -- Baker Hall -- I heard a record playing in one of the rooms down the hall. That VOICE. I went down the hall and asked the girls who they were listening to and they showed me the album cover. It was her!!
Sh*t, I've heard this a million times and it's making me cry again. Heavy, heavy lyrics. "We've gotta make a decision. Leave tonight or live and die this way."
Asia, your face when BJ said she’s from earth cracked me up. 😂 She is definitely from earth but her voice sounds like she’s from heaven. 33 years later and this song is still amazing.
This one woman, and one song, changed the music industry. She stepped out and did a whole album of this introspective acoustic music with just a little bit of instrumentation. NOBODY was making the charts doing this when she came out. Not since the early 70s. It was all new wave and hair metal. If it didn’t have synths it wasn’t gonna hit. Ok maybe not Queen, yet lol. But after her came a whole wave of female singer songwriters who had their shot, and some men too. Really incredible how she captured us out of nowhere. She doesn’t get enough credit for totally changing the game of a whole industry. By herself.
I heard this song for years before I finally realized that in the end she'd given up on herself, given up on the desperate hope she was singing about through most of the song. I hadn't realized it had such a sad ending, with her telling her lover to just leave her.
I have always taken it as she has been struggling to build a better life but her partner is not doing his part and supporting her or the family. She has finally decided that if he is not working towards the dreams they have shared then he is just holding them all back. The best thing she can do is let him go unless he wants to also step up. I don’t think she gave up on herself but rather gave up on him.
@@tfodthogtmfof7644 yep always mentions how she’s “working in the market as a check out girl,” or how, “you’ll find work and I’ll get promoted.” She’s the one actually working toward the dream of having something better in life than what they grew up with, and her partner is the one holding both of them back.
This is a beautifully melancholic song by a modern folk music genius. I absolutely love everything about her--her writing, her style, her guitar playing, her one-of-a-kind voice. I saw an interview she did years ago and she talked about this song. It wasn't autobiographical and didn't describe her family situation growing up. She said it was just a song she wrote about a couple trying to make it in life and the struggles they faced. Said she never had a fast car. ✌❤
Thanks for this reaction, it really hit me. The line that mattered to me was "I had a feeling that I belonged. I had a feeling I could be someone." Growing up as a poor, gay, biracial child in the 70's, there were few times I felt that. That's why this song resonates with me. I still strive for that feeling.
Us common folks all start at zero in life and we work very hard to work our way through, Everytime I listen to this song I have to fight back the lump in my throat and the tears in my eyes. I know exactly her pain and how damn hard it is when you are young and trying to establish a long term foothold I raised seven children and there were hard times until they got better!
Her first album blew everyone away when it came out. I remember I was very early in my career. Three years after college. Seemed like she was everywhere for awhile on the radio, etc. Great reaction on the mood and theme of the song. Thanks.
Brings back so many memories. Leaving home for the first time and driving through the desert in Western Australia. I had the tape playing. PS: Tracy is a Cleveland native.
Lawd...thought we were gonna have a Rock/Smith moment when he said "Earth" and Asia...😳😳 😂🤣 Tracy is a gift and so very happy you found her. 😁 She is mesmerizing live too. More please!! ❤👍🏽
Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution • Give Me one Reason • Across The Lines • All That You Have Is Your Soul. Tracy Chapman is one of the best things to come out of the 80s-90s, for me. Since this song hit, in 1988, she's been a favorite in my life. I have several of her albums. They're all really good. I recommend checking out Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution, a live version. And, also live, Give Me One Reason, with Eric Clapton.
Thank you for reacting to this banger. Tracy is an awesome story teller. Such a deep track…. Written from the heart and tells a tale that is rewritten over and over again to this very day….
A HUGE song when it was released. Never stopped influencing artists. Like Chris Issak's Wicked Game, this has to be one of the most covered songs ever. Also worth checking out: anything by Melissa Etheridge (Like the Way I Do, Similar Features).
Saw her Wembley. Won tickets in a raffle. Wasn’t too sure what to expect. Excellent. (The night was freezing - we wrapped up in plastic bags trying to keep warm. It took an hour to get out of the car park.)
This is an amazing classic!! So good 🎶🎵🔥❤️🔥❤️🎵🎶 Btw, she's singing "across the border and into the city" so I always assumed she was referring to growing up in a rural area and wanting to move to the city. I could be wrong, but that's always been my interpretation 🤷♀️
Notice the change at the end of the song. Earlier in the song she sings "we gotta make a decision" about leaving in the fast car, but the final time she sings, "you gotta make a decision". She's given up on things getting better for herself.
I don't think she's given up her aspirations but instead the fantasy that she would need a man to help her escape poverty. She was scarred by her mother leaving her father and her dead-end life with him, but then repeated the same mistake as her mother, investing her energy in a man because of the thrill she felt when he wrapped his arm around her in his fast car. When her fantasy is shattered by a man who is much like her father, shiftless and without ambition or drive, she realizes his fast car has only set her up for another cycle of poverty, financial and emotional, and she orders him to leave. Whether she will make it on her own after a history of trying hard to better herself, remains to be seen -- the end of he song is deliberately ambiguous because the character she writes about doesn't know yet.
I remember the first time I ever heard this song. It was her video on MTV. I always remember being taken by her voice. I'd never heard a woman with a voice like hers. I don't think I've heard once since. She's truly an original.
This entire album is awesome. Not a bad song on the whole thing. I had this CD and played it often when driving. Every song on the record is beautifully written and amazing
wow man... i grew up listening to tracy. I'm 45 y/o, & back in my high school days she was blowing up the Caribbean music scene. 🙂 ps: She's Jamaican, as far as I know.
She is from Cleveland, Ohio. She is a national treasure in my book.
@Donatella Loncar Canada much better than now yr terrible US!
@Donatella Loncar right on. I had assumed she was from NY and talking about the Canadian border
@Donatella Loncar when you look on a map and see where Ohio is, that would be my guess , to cross the border in to Canada, most likely Ontario
Amen Brother. A gift.
She meant cross the state border for anyone wondering. Not the national border.
I think what most people don’t realize, is that, in the 90s, she ruled. She didn’t do hip-hop, she didn’t do rap, she just sang her truth. she is a great true singer and performer.
I was a 21 yo white man and I absolutely loved Tracy, still do
I've loved her since I heard her at 5. My mom always had her music going🫶 So glad the generations are still discovering and loving her beautiful music🥰
I always thought she was a country singer! She’s not a country singer?
@@theboyisnotright6312so she’s not a country singer?
@@Reese8531 I would say not a country singer
This is about the cycle of poverty. The man she escaped with was just another version of her dad. He never got a job. "You spend more time with your friends than you do your kids".
This song is great storytelling poetry
Glad upu got it Kathy she escaped one back situation only to end up in a bad relationship with another man. She just swopped one hell for a different one ...
I think she also started to understand why her mother left her dad.
That line does really hit hard. The one I don't think I've seen anyone else pick up on though is, "I got no plans, ain't goin' nowhere." To me, that's the saddest line in the whole song. Not only has she ended up in the same situation she was running from, all her plans and dreams are well and truly crushed.
I thought this song was about her lover, a woman she had a relationship with
@@redessa01 Actually, no. She kicked them out, she's staying in the house she pays for and the kids. Listen close. She says "take your fast car and keep driving" and then she tells them to make a decision. She's staying, but she's not doing this crap again.
This was her first breakout song. One of my favorites from her is 'Give me one reason" - her voice is so soulful & bluesy, plus she is one hell of a musician too. Her contributions to the music world is very underrated & she deserves so much more recognition. Thanks for the upload & reminder that I haven't heard this song in a long time. :-)
Gimme one reason is adorable
Thumbs up for your comment because A: you expressed it so well and B: you’re one of the few people who know how to spell ‘too’ (sorry)
IMO, the whole album was fabulous. So totally agree, She is one of the most underrated artist and her voice is so soulful.
Give me one reason brings back a lot of great memories...This song is definitely a vibe! Tracy Chapman has such a bluesy voice! Love her vibe ❤
If I had to choose one artist to listen to for the rest of my life, Tracy is my girl! Talkin about a revolution, bang bang bang, all that you have is your soul, at this point - damn, she's amazing!
Gen Xer here. Cannot tell you how big of a hit this was back then - and now!
We GenXers were spoiled with the best music...
😊❤ I agree I was 6 when this came out and music is my life and because of her and her talent made me get into chorale in middle and high school I sang solos and took voice lessons 6 years...
Millenial and this was a huge hit with us too
It is every person's story not Tracy's. She is poet, composer, lyricist extraordinaire. She is her own genre, Her music is as topical, as relevant today as it was in 1988. Thank you for reminding us how great she is.
America!! Be very proud of this woman. She is iconic
Tracy's from Cleveland and went to college near Boston and busked in the streets of Cambridge. She got signed to a deal shortly before she graduated. She's a classic folk singer type. Her debut album in 1988 was a huge hit. She won the Best new Artist Grammy and this sing was multi-nominated as well. Her work has been sporadic over the years. She keeps a low profile. But it's all good. Check out her "Baby Can I Hold You" and "Give Me One Reason."
and Talkin' 'bout a Revolution :)
Used to see her in Harvard Square! A real talent!
Very much in the spirit of the amazing Joan Armatrading ... 💙🇬🇧
@@danielkelleher2419 Yes, she was attending Tufts University at the time and also performing in some Cambridge coffee clubs (where she was ultimately seen and heard by the right people).
@Walter Panovs, you mentioned "Baby Can I Hold You', so many don't know that one and it's a great one too!
One of the most beautiful songs ever created- she’s the perfect voice for this classic
I was in prison the first time I heard this song and it touched my soul. I felt like life was passing me by and I needed a FAST CAR to get away from my past. LOVE TRACY CHAPMAN!!!
Man, I hope life doesn’t pass you by and you enjoy the blessings the lord gives you. I hope you have more successes than failures. Stay blessed brotha.
Fast Car gets better every time I hear it. Something very Dylanesque about the lyrics, a little Springsteen too. Tracy's protagonist's expression of youthful angst is timeless, could be anywhere, especially in America. There's nothing like the feeling of being in a fast car, on the highway, wind in your hair, going somewhere you've never been, starting a new, with a new born sense of hope. Wow, Just a beautiful song, one of the best in the last few decades. A masterpiece, in my humble opinion. Glad Tracy is being recognized again for this wonderful song.
💯
Yes!!!well said!!!
She sang this when she was hurriedly asked to fill in for Stevie Wonder, who was to be a surprise act at the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday concert in London, after a vital piece of his equipment went missing. She had released Fast Car off her eponymous debut album a couple of months earlier but achieved mediocre sales, so she left it out of her scheduled set of 3 songs earlier in the day. When Stevie wouldn't go on in the evening, the organisers asked her to return because she only needed her guitar. Her performance of Fast Car that night somehow resonated with audiences worldwide and it and her album took off.
I recently saw this video, it as amazing watching and listening to her, the audience quieting, wondering who this young women was...imagine her doing that!
@@brendahhstiles9992 That's right. She went from being virtually unknown, certainly here in Britain, to the main subject for discussion at work the following day.. People likened her to our own Joan Armatrading.
I did not know that. I’ve loved this song from the moment I heard it and every time since but I didn’t know that. Thanks
@@way2deep100 Oh gosh, I love Joan Armatrading too.
@kitskivich My mama always says first there was the great Joan Armatrading then came the genius earth angel Tracy Chapman. Love them both.
This song touches so many people. The lyrics, her voice… it’s such a magical combination. ❤️
Hey, do you know if she's still singing?
She is from Cleveland Ohio.
Tracy also plays guitar and is openly gay.
Do you think y'all might react to Marc Cohn, Walking in Memphis sometime ?
@Tammy Bennett Who cares if she's gay or not. Enough said at great musician and talent 👌
This song is profound . I cry every time I hear it.
She is from Cleveland.
Such an underrated artist. This whole album is really good.
She’s never been underrated. That album won 6 Grammys and she herself has won 4. I originally said 3 but it’s 4. My goodness.
@@kaydantonio3719 👌
@@kaydantonio3719 Absolutely. She deserves every ounce of fame she has, and more
@@kaydantonio3719 get use to it… almost everybody on UA-cam is infatuated with calling everything “underrated” whether it is or not. It’s annoying as hell
She won 3 Grammys for this, the video was in constant loop on mtv & radio. She was acclaimed & loved across genres & generations at the time
Doesn’t matter where you’re from, this one hits home. I’m from suburban England with totally different situation but it still gives me chills. Universal.
🇺🇲 🇬🇧 🍻
Brazil here✋and I feel exactly the same.
"She's from Earth." WOW! Nailed it! She is us. What we feel. We are all us. The same.
Whenever I listen to this song, I imagine her starting off singing as the daughter with big dreams in a little town, but by the last ending up singing as the mother who left. The song hits me as a vicious cycle song, beautifully sung.
Well said.
Or grew up to find herself in the same situation.
This is a great way to visualise this song.
The Border she's singing about could be interpreted metaphorically, it doesn't necessarily have to be any specific border but instead a boundary that keeps you from crossing and reaching your potential, or where you feel you should be
That’s what I thought too. Like a border between one’s hopes and reality.
This song always makes me emotional and makes me think about people struggles. Powerful lyrics and delivery
For sure! Something so visceral and human about this song. So many of us have had these types of feelings or known those that did.. It's an amazing humanistic song.
Tracy Chapman is amazing. Saw her live in 1996. She was spellbinding.
Tammy...is she still singing?
I also saw her in concert, later in 2002. Still just as talented as always, but not sure whether she still performs today though.
She is amazing!
Love how Asia's facial emotions progressively showed vexation with the chorus "you'll get a job" and ended with "we'll move out of the shelter". You definitely feel the tragedy in this song. Ultimately the song is about escaping to find yourself in the same situation. First taking care of dad and then taking care of your partner. The cycle in this song continued.
I loved Asia’s facial emotions as well. I really appreciate how they both listen to the lyrics and the music too. You would not believe how many reactors don’t. I have seen other reactors that the lyrics went over their heads. And in my opinion she uses borders as a term for state line. As an American I have lived on both Canadian and Mexican borders and sometimes use the trim border for state line.
and the music is a simple, repetitive refrain, single instrument, reflecting that life, only breaking out and becoming more when remembering/dreaming about the fast car ride through the city. He vocal notes are mostly short, stunted, not sustained, almost worn out. Good music.
In the early part of the song its, "we gotta make a decision; leave tonight or live and die this way" but later, she realizes that he's not holding up his end. Then it becomes, "you've gotta make a decision...........". It's basically, "hit the road, Jack" all over again. It makes you hope that, in the end, she does better on her own.
Yep. She ended up stuck with a guy who wouldn't take care of his business.
Probably about her not him since she is quietly gay!
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 So women really fall for guys that remind them of their fathers... Oedip would be proud.
She’s a lesbian. FYI.
@@RaduRadonysShe’s a lesbian, so, no.
This song has the literal meaning of the lyrics and also is herself vs her hopes and dreams. Many people struggle with losing their dreams or opportunities by caring for others.
I remember the exact moment I first heard this song in 1988. I was painting my house and had a big boom box playing. It was a cold winters day and I was alone.
transcendent
Its crazy i remember two i was 14(2001) on a car trip with my fam with my siblings all asleep and my mom driving into the night. Such a perfect song.
Tracy is one of the greatest and underrated artists of all time. The Album Tracy Chapman was frickin awesome. Everyone says Queen is the memory they have from Live Aid but I remember Tracy most vividly. She walked out so sheepishly and looking like a deer in headlights guitar in hand, reached the mic took a breath and blew us away .. Raw and full of truth.. Gorgeous girl as well
Recognized as one of the greatest songs of all-time.
That voice! It grabbed me the first time I heard it 30+ years ago and still does.
The live performance of this at Wembley Stadium in 1988 is just amazing, a huge number of people spellbound by this simple stripped back and heartfelt song.
This song takes me back hard. Driving into the unknown on adventures with the sweetheart. What a voice. great reaction
Not only does she perform it beautifully, it's also so beautifully written.
Just watched y’all’s reaction to Tracy’s song. It’s one of my favorite and you’re right Bj, every word hits the soul and cooks.
Talking about a Revolution, live version by her, is wonderful.
Oh my goodness, yes!!!!
This song is truly timeless.
JUST GOES TO SHOW HOW A GOOD SONG IS TIMELESS!! THE SONG IS OLDER THAN MOST PEOPLE THAT WERE AT THE AWARDS!! GLAD THE SONG HAS BEEN BROUGHT BACK INTO THE LIMELIGHT!!❤❤
I've always taken this song where she's stuck in her life looking after her father, working in a convenient store, wanting to get out of the shelter - dreaming of getting in the car with her good friend and escaping to a better life. So many are stuck wanting to be free of their situations. Excellent song. Always strikes a chord.
One of the best songs ever written. It's absolutely perfect, and cannot be improved upon in any way.
Check out the Luke combs cover this is a beyond beautiful song her way but I love the Luke combs version more tbh
Tracy can bring me to tears with her emotional voice ,lyrics and smooth acoustic guitar. 💘 🎶
"You got to make a decision, to leave tonight or live and die this way."
Shes from earth...no more explanations needed. Great Song
When she's talking about crossing the boarders...She's definitely talking about to overcome the challenges she face...What a wonder song
She’s just turned 56, I remember it like yesterday when she burst into notice, with her contraltoish voice, no hint of cutesy stage presence, but total command of her audience. She’s wonderful.
Gen x ❤
She was born in 1964. She's 59 now.
I saw Tracey in concert about 20 years ago and it was phenomenal! She’s just a gifted storyteller and she completely captures your attention. Love her!
She is from Cleveland, Ohio.......She sings about The Black Experience in America......and I love it!!! Some get of it....and some don't. And I did it...Out of it.....In Orangevale, CA. Out of it...and doing Fine!!!! Hahaha....lol....hahahah....but it wasn't easy....it was Hard!!!!.....but I made it!!!
Tracy Chapman is a great singer-songwriter & storyteller. Have always loved her unusual voice. She is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout A Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Crossroads" & "Give Me One Reason".
I just came across this reaction because Tracy is my heart ❤. When she says cross the border into the city she's talking about how they live out in a rural area with no opportunities just poverty. This song came out when I was 15 and it's the first song that made me think. Nothing in common with her, but I felt her soul. Little did I know a few years later this would be my anthem, daily. "Leave, or live and die this way" ..... And that's what me and my son would do, Leave.
She saved me by keeping me strong. So much Love and respect for this woman ❤✌️ beautiful reaction.
This song just grabs my heart and squeezes and squeezes until there's tears in my eyes and goose bumps all over. Life. xoxo
How can you not remember this song. I am baffled. This is one of the hardest hitting emotional songs ever in my opinion. I am 42 and a big rap fan but this is one of the best lyrical picture painting songs about a personal journey ever.
Her vocals are amazing and her under appreciated guitar skills are fantastic! She’s an American treasure. 🌺✌️
Beautiful,unique voice.Beautiful unique story teller.Tracy Chapman.
This song gets me in the heart every time. I saw her live at the Los Angeles stop of the Amnesty International concert (1986 I believe). Everything about her is wonderful. Sting, Bruce Springsteen, and Peter Gabriel were the top headliners and I remember her performance as one of my favorites of the day.
I saw Tracy Chapman in concert in 1988 in Oakland CA. It was a Human Rights Concert with Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, and Youssou N'Dour
Impossible to overstate the impact of this song when it was released. A diamond 💎
I saw her busking in Harvard Square in Cambridge back in 1986 when I was a teenager. Her VOICE! Drew me over to the crowd listening to her. THEN, 2 years later when I was a student at UMass Amherst I was in my dorm -- Baker Hall -- I heard a record playing in one of the rooms down the hall. That VOICE. I went down the hall and asked the girls who they were listening to and they showed me the album cover. It was her!!
She has such a beautiful special voice. This song always makes me emotional. Great reaction ❤️
I love how this song is just about being young. Everyone can relate to this.
Sh*t, I've heard this a million times and it's making me cry again. Heavy, heavy lyrics. "We've gotta make a decision. Leave tonight or live and die this way."
We’ve all had a turning point opportunity in our lives that we did or didn’t take.
One of her favorites and a mentor…buddy guy. Love buddy guy.
Asia, your face when BJ said she’s from earth cracked me up. 😂
She is definitely from earth but her voice sounds like she’s from heaven. 33 years later and this song is still amazing.
This one woman, and one song, changed the music industry. She stepped out and did a whole album of this introspective acoustic music with just a little bit of instrumentation. NOBODY was making the charts doing this when she came out. Not since the early 70s. It was all new wave and hair metal. If it didn’t have synths it wasn’t gonna hit. Ok maybe not Queen, yet lol. But after her came a whole wave of female singer songwriters who had their shot, and some men too. Really incredible how she captured us out of nowhere. She doesn’t get enough credit for totally changing the game of a whole industry. By herself.
With the possible exception of Heart, the greatest female rock song performed.
Midwestern Soul.
I heard this song for years before I finally realized that in the end she'd given up on herself, given up on the desperate hope she was singing about through most of the song. I hadn't realized it had such a sad ending, with her telling her lover to just leave her.
I have always taken it as she has been struggling to build a better life but her partner is not doing his part and supporting her or the family. She has finally decided that if he is not working towards the dreams they have shared then he is just holding them all back. The best thing she can do is let him go unless he wants to also step up. I don’t think she gave up on herself but rather gave up on him.
@@tfodthogtmfof7644 yep always mentions how she’s “working in the market as a check out girl,” or how, “you’ll find work and I’ll get promoted.” She’s the one actually working toward the dream of having something better in life than what they grew up with, and her partner is the one holding both of them back.
certain songs bring you close to tears.. this is one of them.. more than just a song
This is a beautifully melancholic song by a modern folk music genius. I absolutely love everything about her--her writing, her style, her guitar playing, her one-of-a-kind voice.
I saw an interview she did years ago and she talked about this song. It wasn't autobiographical and didn't describe her family situation growing up. She said it was just a song she wrote about a couple trying to make it in life and the struggles they faced. Said she never had a fast car. ✌❤
Baby Can I Hold You Tonight and Talking ‘bout a Revolution are gems by Tracy.
From Earth ha! You cheeky dawg. 😎💙👍
Thanks for this reaction, it really hit me. The line that mattered to me was "I had a feeling that I belonged. I had a feeling I could be someone." Growing up as a poor, gay, biracial child in the 70's, there were few times I felt that. That's why this song resonates with me. I still strive for that feeling.
This is a masterclass of songwriting... Absolutely beautiful.
Us common folks all start at zero in life and we work very hard to work our way through, Everytime I listen to this song I have to fight back the lump in my throat and the tears in my eyes. I know exactly her pain and how damn hard it is when you are young and trying to establish a long term foothold I raised seven children and there were hard times until they got better!
Great Great song. Tracy has always been LEGENDARY TO ME.
Her first album blew everyone away when it came out. I remember I was very early in my career. Three years after college.
Seemed like she was everywhere for awhile on the radio, etc.
Great reaction on the mood and theme of the song. Thanks.
Brings back so many memories. Leaving home for the first time and driving through the desert in Western Australia. I had the tape playing. PS: Tracy is a Cleveland native.
Lawd...thought we were gonna have a Rock/Smith moment when he said "Earth" and Asia...😳😳
😂🤣
Tracy is a gift and so very happy you found her. 😁
She is mesmerizing live too.
More please!! ❤👍🏽
My favorite album when I was 14. I listened to it on a family trip from the east coast to the west coast
"Give me one reason" is also really good, Tracy Chapman is an amazing musician, ty guys 4 great reaction
Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution • Give Me one Reason • Across The Lines • All That You Have Is Your Soul. Tracy Chapman is one of the best things to come out of the 80s-90s, for me. Since this song hit, in 1988, she's been a favorite in my life. I have several of her albums. They're all really good. I recommend checking out Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution, a live version. And, also live, Give Me One Reason, with Eric Clapton.
I get chills everytime she sings. I hope you explore her other songs too. She’s a true artist and her sound is unique.
Talking Bout A Revolution - Live in England. Just her and a guitar in front of almost 100,000 ppl is a must.
Thank you for reacting to this banger. Tracy is an awesome story teller. Such a deep track…. Written from the heart and tells a tale that is rewritten over and over again to this very day….
Says alot in 4 mins. One of my all time favs! TY!1
Hey y’all- Her song “Give me one reason” is definitely an absolute MUST- Love Tracy- Beautiful- 💖💙👍✌️
And the beat goes on. Tracy has a special way of saying it.
A HUGE song when it was released. Never stopped influencing artists. Like Chris Issak's Wicked Game, this has to be one of the most covered songs ever. Also worth checking out: anything by Melissa Etheridge (Like the Way I Do, Similar Features).
Me & Bobby McGhee for 'Generation X' 🌻
Saw her Wembley. Won tickets in a raffle. Wasn’t too sure what to expect. Excellent. (The night was freezing - we wrapped up in plastic bags trying to keep warm. It took an hour to get out of the car park.)
The version of "give me one reason" she does with Eric Clapton is great.
First time I heard Tracy she was playing for tips in the Boston subway. A couple years later she had a hit record.
Lovely voice with powerful storytelling abilities. One of the few that I actually feel the energies of what she sings.
Her self titled debut Album Tracy Chapman - one of the best albums of the 80's
Also has another great song Give Me One Reason, theres a liveversion she plays with Eric Clapton thats phenomenal
Excellent song from a great singer.
Asia: Where's she from? BJ: She's from Earth. Quick as lightning - love that. Also love this song and the reaction. Take care guys!
Yeah that was funny. But did you see the look she gave him? I saw her decide not to go off on him for being a smarty pants! That's love!
I love this song 🥰🇬🇧
This is an amazing classic!! So good 🎶🎵🔥❤️🔥❤️🎵🎶
Btw, she's singing "across the border and into the city" so I always assumed she was referring to growing up in a rural area and wanting to move to the city. I could be wrong, but that's always been my interpretation 🤷♀️
I,ve listened to this many, many times, and it makes me cry every single time. beautiful.
Notice the change at the end of the song. Earlier in the song she sings "we gotta make a decision" about leaving in the fast car, but the final time she sings, "you gotta make a decision". She's given up on things getting better for herself.
I don't think she's given up her aspirations but instead the fantasy that she would need a man to help her escape poverty. She was scarred by her mother leaving her father and her dead-end life with him, but then repeated the same mistake as her mother, investing her energy in a man because of the thrill she felt when he wrapped his arm around her in his fast car. When her fantasy is shattered by a man who is much like her father, shiftless and without ambition or drive, she realizes his fast car has only set her up for another cycle of poverty, financial and emotional, and she orders him to leave. Whether she will make it on her own after a history of trying hard to better herself, remains to be seen -- the end of he song is deliberately ambiguous because the character she writes about doesn't know yet.
I have loved Tracy Chapman from the first time I heard her.
I remember the first time I ever heard this song. It was her video on MTV. I always remember being taken by her voice. I'd never heard a woman with a voice like hers. I don't think I've heard once since. She's truly an original.
Check out the folk icon , Odetta , from the 60’s. Gorgeous contralto.
Tracy Chapman is amazing. Give me One Reason is one of my favorite songs ever.
This entire album is awesome. Not a bad song on the whole thing. I had this CD and played it often when driving. Every song on the record is beautifully written and amazing
wow man... i grew up listening to tracy. I'm 45 y/o, & back in my high school days she was blowing up the Caribbean music scene. 🙂 ps: She's Jamaican, as far as I know.