"I had the feeling that I belonged...that I could be someone"

We all have one song that has the ability to transport us to a different reality or to reflect our current situation. I'm a music lover and for that reason I listen to a lot of music from different genres. In my iPod you can find more than 1,000 songs performed by artists from all over the world: from the sweet Italian singer Laura Pausini to the American rock bands My Chemical Romance and Linkin' Park and the soul of Amy Winehouse and Ray Charles.

But there is one song that I really like and I've been fascinated about it since I was a little kid. It is Fast Car from Tracy Chapman.

When I was a kid I didn't know a word of English and I couldn't understand the lyrics but the great voice of Tracy amazed me. She's so expressive! It's true the fact that music goes beyond languages and cultures.

A few years ago I rediscovered this amazing song and I paid attention to the lyrics. Fast Car is a song that talks about the vicious circle that many poor families live in North America, but also in the rest of the world. It's about living in a disfunctional family and the will to escape, to try to improve in life and become a better person. In the end, the sons repeat the same mistakes of their parents or at least it seems.

The song is a jewel in the memorable repertoire of this gifted American singer and it's a classical Chapman composition. The singer from Ohio has always written songs about poverty, racism and human rights. The curious thing is that the album where this song was included was released when she only was 24 years old!

Fast Car is a very mature song. It was the first single of her homonymous album released in 1988 but the song is more actual than ever.

Chapman, Grammy winner, started making songs in 1980 when she was still studying Anthropology and African Studies in Massachusets. Her voice started being known to the public when she participated in a concert for Nelson Mandela's birthday in 1988.

I personally feel part of this song, not because I had lived in a situation like that. My family is perfect and I'm so blessed for that. But I think that deep inside this song talks about freedom and youth and how sometimes our goals when we are young are blocked because of the circumstances. It's about taking risks at the right moment in the middle of the uncertainty.

One of the parts that I really love of this song is when Tracy says: "I had a feeling that I belonged...I had a feeling I could be someone". Enjoy it!

FAST CAR