soo they're both car songs...both about trynna get out of where they r...go some where else.

ya got fefe dobsons we went 4 a ride

and tracy chapmans fast car

whos do ya think is better?

i dunno i like em both...i don't listen to tracys (heard it once) cuz i don't like her voice...i also like fefes..i listen to it..and i think the lyrics r nice..same as wit tracys..what do ya think?

There are a lot of great songs about cars taking someone to a place of rescue and salvation (Prince's Lady Cab Driver is perhaps my favorite ... and in Annie Christian Prince also uses a taxi motif for protection/rescue from an evil world)


But since we're talking about just these two car songs. I pick Chapman's Fast Car (which I actually listen to frequently).

You don't like Tracy's voice and I'm the opposite -- (I love Tracy's voice, hate Fefe's) I've tried to like Fefe, but her voice is a very boring, monotone instrument. It doesn't have a bottom .. no layers ... no depth ... it just doesn't convey any solid emotion or passion for me (and I love rock music!).

Also, fefe's We Went for a Ride to me degenerates into just a love song ... Tracy's has more desperation and really captures what it feels like to be caged and seeking a way out:

"We can finally see what it means to be livin' ... speed so fast felt like I was drunk ... and I-I had a feeling that I belonged ... I-ee-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone ... You've got a fast car, but is it fast enough so you can fly away. We gotta make a decision. Leave tonight or live and die this way" Very moving.

Although I can understand why once would not enjoy Tracy in excess. Her music can be very melancholy ... leave your overly meditative or depressed (!)

Moonwalkbjrain said:

You've heard that song once? You must live under a rock. "Fast Car" is the better song, no contest.

Fast Car is a masterpiece. Fefe Dobson is such a prat.

VoicesCarry said:

Where is Tracy Chapman?

eldog98 said:

Still doin' her own thing. Let It Rain was her latest release (2002), and she toured to support that. New album soon.

VoicesCarry said:

I agree that it's a lyrical masterpiece. It's not a song that should be reduced to being a "car song" really. It's about the circumstances that many downtrodden poor people find themselves in, and the desperate need to find a way to quickly get out of that situation to find a better life.

"And I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone...

Leave tonight or live and die this way"


I've never heard anything by the Dobson girl.

Supernova said:

I love the change in dynamics in the last few verses, where she says:

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

you got a fast car
but is it fast enough so you could fly away
you gotta make a decision
you leave tonight or live and die this way

Very similar to the point in Smokey Robinson's "You Beat Me To The Punch", where Mary Wells beats her boyfriend to the punch for once.

The first time I heard of Tracy Chapman, it was through this song... "Fast Car".

It's not a "car song" per se, it's like what Supernova said, it's a situation. Any song that can make me listen to it over and over again, and buy everything she's ever put out is saying something about a piece of music. I've never been let down by her music-wise either.

Fast Car is a masterpiece.

Tracy Chapman is an incredible artist.

Never heard of the other artist you're comparing her to, but, I'll keep my ear open for her.

"Fast Car" is brilliant.



Nothing Fefe Dobson does could ever hope to compare.

I don't think it's fair to compare Tracy's classic to Fefe's newbie. "Fast Car" is in a league of its own. I like both songs, so I'm not going to choose. Fefe Dobson's new LP is great by the way -- love "Don't Go (Boys & Grrrls)."