Tracy Chapman: Poet First, Songwriter Always

Her lyrics began as poetry, and maybe still are.

“As a child, I was always interested in poetry, and I read a lot of poetry and wrote poetry before I started writing songs, so my interest in the word comes from that, from being an avid reader, and as someone who loves good storytelling and who appreciates the poetic use of language.” Tracy Chapman

Yes, Tracy Chapman has written poetry, and she continues to write it. I would have loved to tell you how to access her poems so you can read them, but unfortunately, to this day, they have not been published. I doubt they will ever be published, although I guess that you and I would love that so much. But we have her songs, and what songs they are!

Songs are not poems, at least not to Tracy

Can we consider each of her songs to be poems in some way? I would say yes, but Tracy says no. Although she first wrote poetry, Chapman did not consider songwriting to be the same as setting poetry to music, stating that the two are different.

Back in 1982, when she was just 18 (!!), she explained that poetry was not a great vehicle for expressing ideas in the U.S. due to its low readership. Poetry "calls for actual reading and attention," she said, whereas songs can be listened to while doing other things.

“I started writing (music) when I was 12. I was writing poetry before then. Unfortunately, I don’t write poetry anymore, but now I write songs.”

When questioned if Chapman considers her song composing as setting poetry to music, she immediately said, “No, I don’t. They are different.” She continued on, “For anyone who wants their ideas expressed in this country, poetry isn’t a great vehicle. I think it’s something like 3% of the population who read poetry. Poetry calls for the actual reading, attention … but with songs, you can do anything while you listen.” ¹

As Bob Dylan would sing, "The times they are a-changin'," and not always for the worse. Proof of this can be seen in the popularity of poetry, which is significantly more widely read in the U.S. today than in the 1980s. Currently, 9.2% of U.S. adults regularly read poetry², and this figure rises to 28% among readers under 30³. This increase is due to digital innovation, changing demographics, and the genre's renewed cultural relevance, particularly on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Poetry is cool again, and it matters.

Tracy Chapman didn't start writing songs just because they were more popular than poetry and would reach more people. Songwriting simply brought together two of her passions: music and poetry.