You got a fast car,
I wanna ticket to anywhere,
Maybe we can make a deal,
Maybe together we can get somewhere,
Any place is better,
Startin' from zero, got nothin' to lose,
Maybe we'll make somethin',
Me myself I've got nothin' to prove.
You got a fast car,
I got a plan to get us outta here,
Been working at a convenience store,
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far,
Just 'cross the border and into the city,
You and I can both get jobs,
And finally see what it means to be livin'.
See, my old man's got a problem,
He live with the bottle, that's the way it is
He say his body's too old for workin',
I say 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.
You got a fast car,
Is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta make a decision,
We leave tonight or live an' die this way.
CHORUS
'cause I remember when we were drivin',
Drivin' in your car,
Speeds so fast I felt like I was drunk,
City lights lay out before us,
And your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulder,
And I, I had a feelin' that I belonged,
And I, I had a feelin' I could be someone,
Be someone,
Be someone.
You got a fast car,
We go cruisin', entertain ourselves,
You still ain't got a job,
Now I work in the market as a checkout girl,
I know things'll get better,
You'll find work and I'll get promoted,
And we'll move out of the shelter,
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs.
CHORUS
You got a fast car,
I got a job that pays all our bills,
You stay out drinkin' late at the bar,
See more of your friends than you do of your kids,
I'd always hoped for better,
Thought maybe together, you and me'd find it,
I got no plans, I ain't goin' nowhere,
So take your fast car and keep on drivin'.
CHORUS
You got a fast car,
Is it fast enough, so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision,
You leave tonight or live and die this way.
I wanna ticket to anywhere,
Maybe we can make a deal,
Maybe together we can get somewhere,
Any place is better,
Startin' from zero, got nothin' to lose,
Maybe we'll make somethin',
Me myself I've got nothin' to prove.
You got a fast car,
I got a plan to get us outta here,
Been working at a convenience store,
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far,
Just 'cross the border and into the city,
You and I can both get jobs,
And finally see what it means to be livin'.
See, my old man's got a problem,
He live with the bottle, that's the way it is
He say his body's too old for workin',
I say 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.
You got a fast car,
Is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta make a decision,
We leave tonight or live an' die this way.
CHORUS
'cause I remember when we were drivin',
Drivin' in your car,
Speeds so fast I felt like I was drunk,
City lights lay out before us,
And your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulder,
And I, I had a feelin' that I belonged,
And I, I had a feelin' I could be someone,
Be someone,
Be someone.
You got a fast car,
We go cruisin', entertain ourselves,
You still ain't got a job,
Now I work in the market as a checkout girl,
I know things'll get better,
You'll find work and I'll get promoted,
And we'll move out of the shelter,
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs.
CHORUS
You got a fast car,
I got a job that pays all our bills,
You stay out drinkin' late at the bar,
See more of your friends than you do of your kids,
I'd always hoped for better,
Thought maybe together, you and me'd find it,
I got no plans, I ain't goin' nowhere,
So take your fast car and keep on drivin'.
CHORUS
You got a fast car,
Is it fast enough, so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision,
You leave tonight or live and die this way.
Lyrics submitted by mrdave2001, edited by LeMarkyDussod
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On March 25, 1996 Tracy Chapman said: "I believe that I wrote the song "Fast Car" in 1986. At the time that I wrote the song, I actually didn't really know who I was writing about. Looking back at it, and this happens with other songs as well, that I feel like I understand it only later... I think that it was a song about my parents... And about how when they met each other they were very young and they wanted to start a news life together and my mother was anxious to leave home. My parents got married and went out into the world to try to make a place for themselves and it was very difficult going. My mother didn't have a high school diploma and my father was a few years older. It was hard for him to create the kind of life that he dreamed of... With the education that he had.... With the opportuinities that were available to him... In a sense I think they came together thinking that together they would have a better chance at making it" I had so many people come up to me and say that they felt it was their song and some one told me at one point that they thought I've been reading their mail, they were saying "You seem to know my story" and people would come up and tell me about a car relationship and some detail that they felt was in the song that represented something that happened in their lives."