Respect

It was introduced to the world largely by accident.  Tracy Chapman had played her set at a multi-artist concert, but Stevie Wonder ran into technical problems later in the show, so they asked Tracy to hop back onstage and play a little more.  This second set included Fast Car, a song she had not included earlier. 

Wembley Stadium is not the place to perform with just an acoustic guitar; it’s a soccer stadium, so even the most polite spectators feel compelled to be a little vocal.  Not now.  Not with these lyrics.

That entire Tracy Chapman album caught Luke Combs’ attention at an early age, and when his destiny for music became clear, he knew he had a debt to pay.  His version of Fast Car isn’t exactly karaoke—he’s got a great voice, and there’s a little pedal steel that hangs around—but there isn’t a huge chorus or advanced technological fireworks.  Sometimes the best way to pay a debt is without compound interest.

It’s unclear who the genius is who thought these two musicians should perform the song together, at the Grammys—but whoever it is should earn a trophy just for that.  The music starts before Tracy Chapman is lit, symbolic of the quiet nature of the song or her emerging from what has been a very private life for a rare pubic performance.  Luke Combs is miles away, out of the picture.  He takes his turns with the vocals, and they split the lyrics 50-50. Her acoustic guitar is the lead instrument, just like in 1988, with a lilting violin stopping by now and then.  The song ends with a final chord and a light cymbal hit, and the crowd goes crazy.  This is the opening of the Grammys, but everyone knows, the show is already over.

Purists express concerns about this version, and about Luke Combs’ success—his version is the reason Tracy Chapman became the first black female to win the Song of the Year award from the Country Music Association.  But Luke Combs has three things going for him:

* In divvying up the lyrics 50-50 for the Grammy performance, Luke Combs ended up singing the line “And I work in a market as a checkout girl”—and that’s what he sang.  Not guy.  Girl.

* Except for taking their bow together, Luke Combs was so far off stage, he may as well have been in Cleveland.  He clearly wanted this to be her moment.

* Tracy Chapman willingly participated in it all—and once you listen to this, to this, and especially to this, it’s tough to see her getting talked into anything she doesn’t want to do.

I can’t tell you the number of gifts I got as a teacher that were apples—shellacked ones, drawn ones, ones on cards.  Truth is, I’m not really an apple fan when it comes to décor.  But the real gift was the look on the student’s face as they gave me the gift.  The box could have been empty.  The look was the real gift.

Tracy Chapman’s version of Fast Car was number 1 on the Apple Music chart this week, with Luke Combs’ version at number 5 at the same time.  If only the genius who thought to put them together had uploaded their joint version sooner, three versions of the same song would have been in the Top 10 at once. As it is, somewhere, Aretha Franklin is still beaming—and rightfully so.

Constitution

It took a while
In a hot city
With gargantuan flies
Mandating closed windows.
Why sweat so much
I’ve often wondered
When
Live your life
Pay your debts
Love
Is more than enough
To govern.
Think that can’t be legislated
Executed or ruled on?
Try living those
In life’s daily walk
And see.

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