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Luke Combs shared a special moment with thousands of fans in a packed stadium as he performed one of his latest singles, his cover of Tracy Chapman’s 1980s classic, “Fast Car.” Combs premiered the official live video, and credited Chapman with delivering “one of my favorite songs of all-time.”
Combs recently told Billboard that his rendition of “Fast Car” has “surprised me more than you can imagine.” He released it on his 18-track album Gettin’ Old (the follow-up to 2022’s Growin’ Up) earlier this year, and previously shared that his dad inspired the cover as he remembered listening to the song together during his childhood.
“I remember being 5 years old. I was living in Charlotte, North Carolina, with my parents,” Combs previously said during a show, remembering his dad’s 1988 Ford F-150 with a cassette player in it. “Me and my dad would ride around and listen to all sorts of things. My dad listens to everything. ...One of the first songs I remember hearing, he popped a cassette in, and — I loved this whole album — there was this one song that really stuck out to me, though, and it was called ‘Fast Car.’ That song has meant a lot to me ever since then. My whole life. I always think about my dad when it comes on, and us spending time together. As soon as I could play guitar, I tried to learn how to play this song, and it took me so long to learn how to play it because I was so bad. Last year I got to record my own version.”
“So 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 around my shoulder/ And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged/ I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone”
“Tracy Chapman wrote this perfect song that that I first heard with my dad and it has stayed with me since,” Combs said in his statement to Billboard. “I have played it in my live show now for six-plus years and everyone — I mean everyone — across all these stadiums relates to this song and sings along. That’s the gift of a supernatural song writer. The success of my cover is unreal and I think it’s so cool that Tracy is getting recognized and has reached new milestones.”
Combs’ comments come shortly after Chapman told the outlet that she “never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there. I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car.’”
“Fast Car,” the sole cover song on Gettin’ Old, quickly became a fan-favorite, along with “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old,” “Love You Anyway,” “Tattoo on a Sunburn,” “5 Leaf Clover” and many others. Combs previously explained that the “coming of age” album aims to capture his current stage of life.
“This album is about the stage of life I’m in right now,” he previously said. “One that I’m sure a lot of us are in, have been through, or will go through. It’s about coming of age, loving where life is now but at the same time missing how it used to be, continuing to fall for the one you love and loving them no matter what, living in the moment but still wondering how much time you have left, family, friends, being thankful, and leaving a legacy. Me and so many others have poured their hearts and souls into this record and I hope you love it as much as we do.”
Watch Combs perform “Fast Car” here: