Luke Combs Says Tracy Chapman Spotted A Lyric Mistake On 'Fast Car' Cover: 'I Wanted To Crawl In A Hole'

2023 Luke Combs scored a No. 2 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 last year with his cover of Tracy Chapman's 1988 pop hit “Fast Car.” Combs' version was named Single of the Year at the CMA Awards and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Solo Performance.

But according to Combs himself, he actually misrecorded one of the song's lyrics — and it was pointed out to him by none other than Chapman herself, who is also the sole writer on “Fast Car.”

During one of his recent concerts, Combs told the crowd that it was a conversation with Chapman that made him realize he had recorded the song's last line — “we've got to make a decision” — as “I still have to make a decision”.

“That was the first time I knew I had recorded the song wrong,” Combs told the crowd, as seen in videos taken by fans. “I remember when he said that, I wanted to crawl into a hole. Luckily, she was awesome at it. I think about it every time I sing that song, and I'll think about it every time I sing that song for the rest of my life, but she was so cool about it.”

He continued, “So the words you know as 'We still have to make a decision' aren't the words… no the words… I just made it up in my head… so tonight I'm probably going to sing 'We still have to make a decision' because Tracy O Chapman told me, and hell, I'll do it.”

Combs and Chapman performed the song together during the 2024 Grammy Awards, Chapman previously said Bulletin board of Combs' version, “I never expected to be on the country charts, but I'm honored to be there. I'm happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced 'Fast Car.''