It's kind of amazing to realize the power that one song seems to have.
One of the hottest tunes in the country right now is Luke Combs' remake of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car". I have always liked the original; the spare music and the story told within the mournful lyrics just stand out much in the way, as NPR put it in a story last week, the way a good Bruce Springsteen song stands out. I've heard several remakes of it over the years but the newest version, by a male country singer singing the lines as written, from the point of view of a woman, is just amazing.
How amazing? Well, even my six year old nephew, when I was hanging out with him last weekend, heard the tune and wanted to let me know that it was his favorite song.
Now, I'm not quite sure what in the song would appeal to a six year old, but but there's something in it that draws both the ear of a six year old and the year of his (slightly) older uncle. I have no idea if Abel would find Tracy Chapman's version as good, but I have a feeling he would. Except for a slight twang the Luke Combs version is a very faithful remake of Tracy Chapman's original, and one of the reasons I think it's so stirring is that, with a song such as this, you really don't need to embellish it much. I've heard techno remakes, I've heard jazz remakes, and I've even heard (believe it or not) a polka-ish remake, but even I, a non-country music fan, thinks that Luke Combs got it right with his remake.
And if my six year old nephew agrees with me, I can't be wrong.
Compare and contrast for yourself. The original--
And Abel's favorite song--
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