Fast Car

I am a little more than obsessed with Tracy Chapman's Fast Car from her eponymous debut album right now. It makes for very good thesis-writing music. She seems to have made a huge impact on music and the world in general; the Itunes reviewer really liked her, saying that "she made protest music relevant again in the Reagan Era." I need to learn more before I can say more. For now I am content to listen..and listen..and listen. 


Tracy Chapman-Fast Car 
You got a fast car
And I want a ticket to go anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Anyplace is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
But me myself I got nothing to prove

You got a fast car
And I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far
Just 'cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living

You see my old man's got a problem
He live with the bottle that's the way it is
He says his body's too old for working
I say his body's too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said somebody's got to take care of him
So I quit school and that's what I did

You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so we can fly away
We gotta make a decision
We leave tonight or live and die this way

I remember we were driving driving in your car
The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
And I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
And we go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain't got a job
And I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You'll find work and I'll get promoted
We'll move out of the shelter
Buy a big house and live in the suburbs

You got a fast car
And I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do of your kids
I'd always hoped for better
Thought maybe together you and me would find it
I got no plans I ain't going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving

You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so you can fly away
You gotta make a decision
You leave tonight or live and die this way

If I Stay on the Rez Campaign

While doing thesis research a while ago, I stumbled upon this awesome campaign entitled If I stay on the Rez. It seeks to combat the negative perceptions of living on reservations and to raise awareness that reservations are sites of culture, identity, and opportunities.

In popular culture and in real life, reservations usually get a bad rap, and for a good reason. Reservations have long been portrayed as tough crime-ridden, overall sense of hopelessness, loneliness, far from society, no job opportunities, third world country conditions, etc. Unfortunately, conditions like these used to, and continue to be, daily life on some, not all, reservations. (Think, if you saw it, Katie Couric's show on conditions at Pine Ridge in S. Dakota.)

Anyways, these ads and PSA completely shatters those notions for both indian and non-indian people who see the ads. (Oh it was the American Indian College Fund who came up with this brilliant idea) Also I just noticed that this ad is their ad from 2006. They have others!
 Well its not possible to click and drag so I will have to believe that providing a link will be good enough. But you know what they say, curiosity killed the cat...

http://www.collegefund.org/content/if_i_stay_on_the_rez