Tracy Chapman, 1988

Tracy Chapman’s song “Fast Car” was a hit for her in 1988, and in 2023 it was a hit for country singer Luke Combs. After Chapman performed the song with Combs at the 2024 Grammys, digital sales of her original recording (which had won a Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance) shot up 38,400%.
The song is about the possibility of making a big change, so it works well as a springboard for talking about change.

Choose from the following activities:

• Listening Listen to Chapman’s 1988 performance of the song while reading the punctuated lyrics below. Lyrics intended for nonprofit educational use only.

fast car lyrics.pdf

• Listening Watch any or all of these performances: Chapman’s live concert performance, Luke Combs’ live concert performance (excellent closed captioning, with accurate lyrics and correct spelling), or Chapman’s and Combs’ duet at the 2024 Grammys.
• Writing / Dictation In this activity, students, working individually, in small groups, or as a class, write sentences that describe the life of the singer. (You could prompt students with questions like “Where does she work?”) Possible sentences:

She works at a convenience store.
She is a cashier.
She saved a little bit of money.
She wants to leave in a fast car.
She wants to go across the border into the city.
She wants to get a new job.
Her father has a drinking problem.
Her mother left him.
She had to take care of her father.
She quit school.
She lives in a shelter.
She wants to buy a big house and live in the suburbs.

Choose 6-10 sentences and write them on the board. Then use the sentences for a Pair Dictation or Disappearing Text activity.

• Grammar / Usage The singer uses the word gotta to mean have to. (We gotta make a decision. You gotta make a decision.) The activity below gives students practice using this informal expression. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

gotta.docx          gotta.pdf          gotta (webpage)

• Discussion The singer wants to go somewhere in a fast car. In the activity below, students prepare to talk about where they would go if they had a fast car that could take them anywhere. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

fast car.pdf          fast car (webpage)

• Discussion In the song, the singer imagines a different life for her and her partner. In the activity below, students prepare to talk about the changes they want to see in their lives one year from now. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

my life, one year from now.docx          my life, one year from now.pdf

• Discussion In the activity below, students prepare to talk about changes they want to see in the world, in their countries, in their communities, or in their personal lives.The activity created a sense of camaraderie in my class as students discovered that they wanted many of the same changes. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

change activity.docx     change activity.pdf     change activity (webpage)

• Discussion In the activity below, called “Then and Now,” students prepare to talk about three changes they have experienced in their lives. (Students need to be familiar with the expression “used to.”) Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

changes.docx          changes.pdf          changes (webpage)

• Discussion Choose questions on the topic “change” from the discussion questions posted by teachers on the Internet TESL Journal. You could structure the discussion by setting up Conversation Stations.