Fast Car Reading Log

Title: Fast Car     

Author/Composer: Tracy Chapman
Published/Released: Original- 1988, Remix (Jonas Blue)- 2015
Text Type: Song lyrics    Date Read: Saturday 30th April



Plot Summary
This song is about a girl who is struggling, working hard just to get by each day and hoping that sometime in the future, her life will get better. This is a very inspirational and moving song and if you read the lyrics they actually have some real meaning, rather than just talking about her last boyfriend who broke her heart,or some rude song about a certain girls backside.

Personal Response 1- My Interpretation of the Lyrics
These lyrics made me think about my life and how good it is compared to her life, but it also made me think about how she was always so optimistic and hopeful for the future, even her life looks like it is heading in the wrong direction. I think a few of us could take something from this song. They explain how she had to drop out of school to look after her dad and how she wanted to escape her old life to build a new one. I like this song also because it has no swear words and no insensitive or rude comments. Each verse actually has a emotional/deep meaning. 
She is hoping that life will get better, she wants a better life for her and her boyfriend. Shows how hard it must be for some people. In the first verse it says " Any place is better, Starting from zero, got nothing to lose." This gives you a glimpse into what her life must have been like. Showing that she must have had nothing and that her upbringing must have been a pretty hard time and she struggled/is still struggling. It also mentions things about how her father was an alcoholic and she had to quit school to look after him.
They describe what she is doing to try and get a better life, pull herself out of her old/previous hard life,and how she works hard to get there. Throughout the lyrics there is a theme of hope, eg."We won't have to drive too far, just across the border and into the city"and in some verses things look like they are starting to go bad but she thinks positive and is hopeful, eg."You still ain't got a job, and I work in the market as a checkout girl. I know things will get better, you'll find work and I'll get promoted". This I think makes the song more happy and positive than depressing, even though some of the lyrics may be kind of sad, they are balanced out with her optimistic thinking.  I think the significance of repeating the line "You got a fast car" at the start of each verse, is showing that she is thinking about her freedom, being free from her old life and starting a new one. You can relate cars with freedom, because when you have a car you are able to go anywhere, move away. (As long as you have petrol). This song also gives you an insight into the world/community Tracy Chapman lived in.

Personal Response 2- Lyrics Relation to the Music Video (Jonas Blue Version)
The music video starts off with a lady riding through an old derelict town, with run down houses on a dirt bike. I think this is a good setting for the song because it shows her in, what looks like a poorer area and that is what the song is mainly talking about how they are trying to get out of a place like that. The two people in this video both have fast modes of transport, the lady has a dirt bike and the man has a horse. But I think the lady's dirt bike is what they are trying to relate fast car to in this video. I think that the guy/cowboy is representing the person Tracy Chapman is talking about, because it shows him doing the things mentioned in the lyrics, such as when the man is leaving town it shows him nodding to the guys from the convenience store and it goes with the lyric" I've been working at the convenience store, managed to save just a little bit of money". And also as I said before the lady has the "fast" car.
The lyrics also match other parts in the video such as - When it says "leave tonight or die this way", he is dragged away by the convenience store workers, who I personally think did not want him to leave his old hard life because they still had to live in the same way. And at the end when she finds him in the convenience store at the checkout and gives him back the charm the lyric "And I, I had a feeling that I belonged, and I, I had a feeling that I could be someone" Is her saying that he let her down that she thought she could trust and that they could've been something. Also in the lyrics when it says "I said, somebody's got to take care of him, so I quit school and that's what I did" He is watching her, I think it is that he wants to take care of her give her a better life. That he has taken it into his hands to give her a better life. I personally think that the video conveys the lyrics well but in different way, rather than just trying to copy exactly what the say and then reflect it in the video, they managed to find a kind of unique and interesting way to do it.

Personal Response 3- Music (Jonas Blue Version)
The music itself makes you really stop and want to listen carefully. I personally think it is an easy and nice song to listen to and has a nice gentle tune that is calming and relaxing. I think this is because it sounds like it is made with real instruments, not just harsh computer generated beats that make you wince or sound like a dying cat if you put the music up too loud. The woman's voice itself is actually very unique, kind of husky, and is not the usual cliche pop-star voice that has been changed using auto-tune.
This music feels, to me, motivational, like I could be listening to it while I am doing a run to keep me pushing myself. It makes you want to keep on going. It also has a good beat so it would be good for, from my point of view and my experience, a dance or gymnastics routine. This is shown between verses and during the chorus the beat is fast and upbeat, kind of a techno beat. But they also use drums and people clapping at the start, then they use a nice, quiet subtle tune and piano behind the woman's vocals, and the occasional jingle of bells. This provides a charge in tune, so it is not the same beat throughout the song and repeating what I have said above, makes the song nice to listen to. 

Recommendations-
I personally would recommend this song to people of all ages. It sends out a good positive message about working hard and never to stop believing. And for smaller children who won't be able to understand the lyrics, it has a nice calming tune to it, that is nice to listen to.

Lyrics

You got a fast car I want a ticket to anywhere Maybe we make a deal Maybe together we can get somewhere Any place is better Starting from zero, got nothing to lose Maybe we'll make something Me, myself, I got nothing to prove You got a fast car And I got a plan to get us out of here I've been working at a convenience store Managed to save just a little bit of money We won't have to drive too far Just across the border and into the city You and I can both get jobs And finally see what it means to be living You got a fast car Is it fast enough so we can fly away? We gotta make a decision We leave tonight or live and die this way So I remember we were driving, driving in your car The speed 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 feeling that I belonged And I, I had a feeling that I could be someone Had a feeling that I could be someone You 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 You got a fast car And we go cruising to entertain ourselves You still ain't got a job And I work in a market as a checkout girl I know things will get better You'll find work and I'll get promoted We'll move out of the shelter Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs You got a fast car Is it fast enough so we can fly away? You gotta make a decision We leave tonight or live and die this way So I remember we were driving, driving in your car The speed 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 feeling that I belonged And I, I had a feeling that I could be someone Had a feeling that I could be someone