For Women’s History Month, I’m selecting some of my favorite songs from some of the most talented and influential women in music. From frontwomen to singer-songwriters to iconic performers, I’m picking one song a day on Mental Jukebox until the end of March.

Until the moment “Fast Car” came on to the radio in 1988 we had heard nothing else like it. It was a deliberately simple story about ordinary people. Something seemingly so easy to create, yet only achieved by music’s true luminaries: Dylan, Springsteen, Waits, Simon. With songs like “Fast Car”, “Across the Lines” and “For My Lover”, Chapman showed the vulnerability and bravery of telling stories from the heart as if they were her very own. And the underrated acoustic guitar riff cleverly embodies the plight of the song’s characters.

“You got a fast car. Is it fast enough so you can fly away? You gotta make a decision. Leave tonight or live and die this way.”