Released: 2017
Passenger’s cover of Tracy Chapman’s timeless hit, “Fast Car”, provides a haunting and captivating narrative, drenched in the pursuit of the American dream via a troubling socio-economic landscape. It’s a song about aspiration, desperation, and the yearning for escape – delivered through the lens of a protagonist trapped in the brutal unforgiving cycle of poverty.
The first verse places us in the midst of a proposition; an opportunity to leave a life of nothingness behind. “You’ve got a fast car / I want a ticket to anywhere” speaks to the longing for liberation and the promise held in the ‘fast car’. The desire to make something out of nothing is crystal clear, with the poignant line – “Starting from nothing we got nothing to lose.”
In the second verse, the protagonist outlines their plan – to escape their current situation and start anew in the city, shedding the shroud of hopelessness. The verse paints a vivid picture of a convenience store job, scraping together money, with the goal of reaching the city – a beacon of opportunity and life, synonymous with survival and prosperity in their eyes.
The chorus whisks us into an intoxicating memory of driving in the ‘fast car’, filled with a sense of belonging and potential. The ‘speed so fast’, the city lights, and the comforting arm around the shoulder – they all contribute to this powerful image of escape and desire. The insistent repetition of ‘be someone’ affirms a deep-seated desire to escape the chains of their current identity.
The third verse delves into the heart of the protagonist’s home life – a father hooked on the bottle, a mother who’s fled, leaving the protagonist to quit school and care for their father. It’s a bruising snapshot of the dirge-like existence they’re desperate to escape.
Subsequent repetitions of the chorus underline the ongoing aspiration, the relentless pursuit. Each reiteration serves to underscore the desperation, the continuing dream. Throughout the song, Passenger skillfully manages to retain the poetic sadness and desperation of Chapman’s original, while imbuing it with a unique sense of longing and raw authenticity.
When all’s said and done, “Fast Car” is a stark exploration of the universal human yearning for escape, for improvement, and, in essence, for freedom. It serves as a poignant reminder of the struggles of socio-economic disparity, the people caught within it, and the dreams they foster as their beacon of hope.
