What is most unsettling is that, thirty-two years after Fast Car’s release, these struggles still exist for millions of American citizens in a similar, if not identical or even intensified, way. Mobility doesn’t have an answer to these problems-even if it claims to. She sings that even though she has a job that pays all the bills, she can’t stop her husband from drinking and neglecting his children. Instead, it functions as a distraction from those values. These are the ways that people succeed in life.īy the end of Fast Car, Chapman reaches the realization that the “American Dream”, especially for underprivileged populations, is unconcerned with people's true happiness and the happiness of their loved ones. Cruising through the city at night, spending time with each other, moving in together. Chapman suggests that true happiness lies in embracing shared moments with the people you love, even in the most modest ways. Mobility is not a reality, and the pressure to reach an unreachable goal only contributes to uneasy family relationships. The problem, though, is that this system is a paradox-especially for minority groups. Society suggests a solution in the concept of “mobility”, the hollow promise that everything will be well if you just work hard enough. They tell of the all too common struggle of people in the United States that has existed for ages: family dysfunction caused by financial strain, being passed down through generations like a curse. The similarities only strengthen the song’s message. Upon each listen, the story transports the listener, not to the past, but to a present society that continues to possess many of the same issues. Despite over three decades since its release, Fast Car still holds relevance in today's social and political realms.
This year, the beautifully simple song, along with the rest of the socioeconomically charged album, turns thirty-two. Early April marks the anniversary of the release of Fast Car, the leading single on Tracy Chapman’s self-titled debut album.
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