Tracy Chapman “All That You Have Is Your Soul” released

 

All That You Have Is Your Soul Tracy Chapman

Writer(s): Tracy Chapman (see lyrics here) Released: October 3, 1989 (album cut) First Charted: -- Peak: 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 14.6 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Folk singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman was born in 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio. She was signed to a record contract with Elektra Records in 1997 and released her self-titled debut album the next year. Buoyed by the top-10 hit “Fast Car,” the album was a surprise success, reaching #1 in the United States and selling 20 million copies worldwide. She won the Grammy for Best New Artist, the song won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and the album won for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Some artists might have been overwhelmed by the success such that they would take several years to release a follow-up. Instead, Chapman went right back in the studio to record her sophomore album, Crossroads. It didn’t match the success of its predecessor, but it was still a top-10 album in the United States where it sold a million copies. The title cut was released as the lead single, stalling at #90 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would, however, be a top-10 hit on the modern rock chart. The album’s second and third singles, “All That You Have Is Your Soul” (which was covered in 2008 by Emmylou Harris) and “Subcity” respectively, failed to chart. In the All Music Guide of Crossroads, Alex Henderson describes “Subcity” as a “compelling…lament for the poor, disenfranchised underclass that stands on the outside of the American dream looking in.” AMG Overall, though, Chapman “isn’t going for immediacy – introspective and subtle songs like…’All That You Have Is Your Soul’ require at least several listens in order to be fully appreciated.” AMG At BahaiTeachings.org, David Langness acknowledges exactly that, saying he didn’t really discover “All That You Have Is Your Soul” until 30 years later. He says”it sounds like it comes directly out of her lived experience and you can hear that conviction in her voice, her phrasing and her quiet intensity.” BT In the song, Chapman heeds her mother’s advice to “never give your or sell your soul away.” Langness says, Chapman “tells us that we can only really own and truly possess one thing in this world and the next – the spiritual core of our being we call the soul.” BT Resources: AMG All Music Guide review of Crossroads by Alex Henderson BT BahaiTeachings.org (8/3/2019) by David Langness WK Wikipedia page for Crossroads Related Links: First posted 9/23/2022.