The History Behind Luke Combs Only Cover On His New Album, Tracey Chapman's Fast Car

February 7th 2023

This morning (February 7th) Luke Combs revealed the track list for his upcoming album "Gettin' Old."

The 18 track album includes songs fans were hoping for like "Joe," and "Five Leaf Clover." To be honest we are most excited about the only cover the award winning songwriter has ever released Tracey Chapman's hit "Fast Car"

Luke first posted the cover to his YouTube page during the 2020 pandemic and fans were immediately impressed! Fans have noticed that in the past weeks the cover has been pulled from his YouTube only aiding the rumors! But we did manage to find this video!

Fans have been speculating that the 1988 hit would be on the record as he has been playing the hit live at a string of his current shows!

Luke David Bergman. Tracey: GETTY

"Fast Car" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was orgianlly released on in April 1988, as the lead single from her 1988 self-titled debut studio album. But the song gained global acclaim after Chapman's appearance on the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute helped the song become a top-ten hit in the United States, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100.

Rolling Stone ranked "Fast Car" number 167 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It is Chapman's only song on the list, and the highest ranking song performed and solely written by a female artist. When Rolling Stone updated the list in 2021, "Fast Car" was promoted to the 71st spot.

"I definitely felt the emotionality of the song that there were something… You never know how other people are going to respond" Chapman told the BBC in a 2010 interview.

In the end Fast Car is a song about a couple trying to escape a life of little promise of a better future the lyrics explore who the characters are and suck listeners in the story.

We go cruising, entertain ourselves

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

We'll move out of the shelter

Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs

To us this song and Luke make perfect sense. Its storytelling lines up with Comb's aesthetic and love of painting a great picture for his fans! Luke has a gift like Tracy to pull listeners in and place fans inside their songs!

Needless to say here at All Country News we are thrilled to finally have this cover at our fingertips!