Luke Combs Learned He Recorded The Wrong Lyrics To ‘Fast Car’ From Tracy Chapman Herself
on Nov 07, 2024
“I Remember When She Said It, I Wanted To Crawl In A Hole And Die.“
In 2023, Luke Combs released a cover of the ever-popular song “Fast Car,” originally written and performed by Tracy Chapman. Chapman released the track in 1988, and it performed incredibly well, winning a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
That same year, 1989, the singer won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and Best Contemporary Folk Album for Tracy Chapman. Watch her original hit below.
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Before releasing his take on the classic hit, Combs played the song during his concerts.
After his version was released, he performed the track with Chapman during the 2024 Grammys, which was only 8 months ago. See the duo below.
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Luke Combs Messed Up The Lyrics When Recording
During a recent concert, Luke Combs gave a short speech about “Fast Car.”
Combs revealed that he had a conversation with Chapman, and she shared that he had gotten the lyrics wrong in his recording!
Chapman said, “So when you recorded the song, you said ‘Still gotta make a decision’ instead of ‘We’ve gotta make a decision.‘”
Prior to the chorus, the song goes:
“You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so we could fly away?
Still gotta make a decision
Leave tonight, or live and die this way.”
When it should have been:
“You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so we could fly away?
We’ve gotta make a decision
Leave tonight, or live and die this way.”
Although a simple one-word mistake, it does change the meaning of that sentence. When Combs realized he had made the error, he said he “wanted to crawl in a hole and die.”
During his concert, he also said, “The version you know, ‘Still gotta make a decision,’ is just not the words. I made that up in my head. It’s ‘We’ve got to make a decision.’ Tonight I will probably sing, ‘We’ve gotta make a decision’ because Tracy Chapman told me to, and damn it, I’m gonna do it.”
Gladly, Tracy Chapman, the song’s writer and original performer, was “so cool” about the whole mixup.
According to Combs, “She was awesome about it.”
However, Combs is not letting himself off the hook as easily as she did; he says he will “think about it every single time I sing this song, and I will think about it every single time I sing this song for the rest of my whole life.”
Watch his speech below.
@andreagreenwood3 ♬ original sound – Andrea Greenwood
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Listen to Combs’ rendition of “Fast Car.”
