What do I say? It’s a beautiful song. Listen on.
Ok ok. It’s a blog I can’t be so lazy and just put a youtube
link on Tracy Chapman’s fast car and say – aaj ka post ho gaya. I heard this
song many years ago when it was nominated for the Grammys. Doordardhan the state
run channel would play English music only when the Grammy nominations were
announced. That too a small clip. And then we would stay up and watch the Grammy
awards. It was ‘the’ thing to watch. For youngsters who were depraved of the in
demand western culture, Grammy’s were all you could get to see a part of ‘their’
life and hope to adopt a part of it in yours.
Fast car remains an all-time favorite. Simple tune and a simple
song. Though till many years I never got the lyrics. I only got the guitar
going ting toing Fast Car. The rest was a bit of blabber gibberish. Today when
it was played on a podcast and I heard the song and understood the lyrics.
I heard this stanza
You got a fast car
I got a plan to get us
out of 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
And finally see what
it means to be living
It seems to be a song of hope and despair. It’s funny how
the poverty around me is rising and hitting me a lot these days. I just
finished reading the City of Joy. Then I went to Devki’s house (previous blog)
and then this song hits me. I read the whole lyrics for the first time today
and I realized what makes this song so special. While Jispa learns about
browing and his poetry and possibly Robert Frost – I have argued that this is
as much serious poetry as it gets and must be a part of curriculum. Why can
this not be taken in school? Just because it’s sung? And that its popular.
This is what wikipedia says about the song.
The song is a
narrative tale of generational poverty. The song's narrator tells the story of
her hard life, which begins when her mother divorces her jobless, alcoholic
father, forcing the narrator to quit school in order to care for him.
Eventually, she leaves her hometown with her partner in the hope of making a
better life. Despite her employment at a grocery store, she falls victim to the
cycle of poverty, as her life begins to mirror her mother's: her partner
remains largely unemployed and becomes an alcoholic. She is left alone with her
children while her partner spends time drinking with friends.
Finally, after getting
a job that will support her family, she comes to accept her life as the way it
is and to give up chasing empty dreams. She tells her partner to leave her; to
take "your fast car and keep on driving." The final refrain is sung
in variation, changing from "We gotta make a decision, leave tonight or
live and die this way" to "You gotta make a decision, leave tonight
or live and die this way."
Isn’t there a Dickensian streak in this? imagine having a
song being played in class and then analysed in class. Then it takes us to the
cycle of poverty and the discussion on economics and taxation and the welfare
state. What an enriching class. But alas!
Here read the complete lyrics.
You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Anyplace 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
I got a plan to get us out of 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
And finally see what it means to be living
You see my old man's got a problem
He live 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
Is it fast enough so we can fly away
We gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way
So remember we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
We go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain't got a job
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
I remember we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking 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 would find it
I got no plans I ain't going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving
I remember we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so you can fly away
You gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way
And now go back to the top and close your eyes
and listen to it again and suddenly the song and the poetry has a different meaning for
you. It did for me.
And now to close on a slightly up
beat yet melancholic note. (opposites reconciling :) ) It’s beautiful and I just
heard it for the first time as the next song on some playlist as I was
listening to Tracy Champan.
