Fast Car Chords & Guitar Lesson
Welcome to my Fast Car chord chart by Tracy Chapman. This is a great song for working on fingerpicking since the entire song is basically a series of picking patterns that follow the chord progression.
The song changes over to strumming in the chorus sections, so let’s talk about the strumming pattern first and then we can discuss the picking patterns.
Return to All SongsJump to:
Fast Car Guitar Chords:
Fast Car Strumming Patterns:
Chorus Strumming Pattern:
1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
D D DU U U D U D U
Split Measures: Em changing up up strum
C Em D
1 + a 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 2 + a 3 + 4
D UD D DD DD U D UD
If you would like to strum the Verses try:
C G Em D
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
DDDD D D D D D DD
Picking Pattern:
This pattern repeats over most of the song.
Fast Car Guitar Lesson:
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Fast Car Chord Chart:
Intro: |Cmaj7 G | Em D | Repeat 4 times
Verse:
|Cmaj7 G |
You got a fast car, and
|Em D |
I want a ticket to anywhere.
|Cmaj7 G |
Maybe we make a deal.
|Em D |
Maybe together we can get somewhere.
|Cmaj7 G |
Any place is better.
|Em D |
Starting from zero got nothing to lose.
|Cmaj7 G |
Maybe we'll make something, but
|Em D |
me myself I got nothing to prove.
Interlude:
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
Verse:
|Cmaj7 G |
You got a fast car, and
|Em D |
I got a plan to get us outta here,
|Cmaj7 G |
I been working at the convenience store,
|Em D |
managed to save just a little bit of money,
|Cmaj7 G |
won’t have to drive too far,
|Em D |
just 'cross the border and into the city.
|Cmaj7 G |
You and I can both get jobs, and
|Em D |
finally see what it means to be living.
Interlude:
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
Verse:
|Cmaj7 G |
You see my old man's got a problem:
|Em D |
he lives with the bottle, that's the way it is.
|Cmaj7 G |.
He says his body's too old for working,
|Em D |
His body's too young to look like his.
|Cmaj7 G |.
My mama went off and left him,
|Em D |
she wanted more to life than he could give.
|Cmaj7 G |.
I said, “somebody's got to take care of him,”
|Em D |
so I quit school and that's what I did.
Interlude:
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
Verse:
|Cmaj7 G |
You got a fast car,
|Em D |
but is it fast enough so we can fly away?
|Cmaj7 G |
We gotta make a decision:
|Em D |
leave tonight, or live and die this way.
Interlude:
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
Chorus:
C
So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
G
the speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
Em
and the city lights lay out before us
Dsus4 (crescendo all downs)
and your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulder
|C Em| D
and I had a feeling that I belonged
|C Em| D
and I had a feeling I could be someone
|C D |
be someone, be someone.
Interlude:
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
Verse:
|Cmaj7 G |
You got a fast car,
|Em D |
and we go cruising to entertain ourselves.
|Cmaj7 G |
You still ain't got a job,
|Em D |
and I work in a market as a checkout girl.
|Cmaj7 G |
I know things will get better:
|Em D |
you'll find work and I'll get promoted.
|Cmaj7 G |
We'll move out of the shelter,
|Em D |
buy a big house, and live in the suburbs.
Interlude:
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
Chorus:
C
So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
G
the speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
Em
and the city lights lay out before us
Dsus4 (crescendo all downs)
and your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulder
|C Em| D
and I had a feeling that I belonged
|C Em| D
and I had a feeling I could be someone
|C D |
be someone, be someone
Interlude:
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
Verse:
|Cmaj7 G |
You got a fast car
|Em D |
and I got a job that pays all our bills.
|Cmaj7 G |
You stay out drinking late at the bar,
|Em D |
see more of your friends than you do of your kids.
|Cmaj7 G |
I'd always hoped for better.
|Em D |
Thought maybe together you and me would find it,
|Cmaj7 G |
I got no plans, I ain't going nowhere,
|Em D |
so take your fast car and keep on driving.
Chorus:
C
So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
G
the speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
Em
and the city lights lay out before us
Dsus4 (crescendo all downs)
and your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulder
|C Em| D
and I had a feeling that I belonged
|C Em| D
and I had a feeling I could be someone
|C D |
be someone, be someone
Interlude:
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
|Cmaj7 G |Em D |
Verse:
|Cmaj7 G |
You got a fast car,
|Em D |
but is it fast enough so we can fly away?
|Cmaj7 G |
We gotta make a decision:
|Em D |
leave tonight, or live and die this way.
Outro:
|Cmaj7 G |Em D | |Cmaj7 G |Em D |
|Cmaj7 G |Em D | |Cmaj7 G |
This file is the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It’s intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.
We do not distribute printable chord and lyrics charts. These charts are here only to support online learning. We highly recommend buying music from Hal Leonard or a reputable online sheet music store.