Last night (Nov. 2), Tracy Chapman shared a performance of “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” from her 1988 self-titled debut album, on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
As Chapman has strayed away from the spotlight in recent years, Monday night’s performance marked her first major TV appearance in five years—just in time for Election Day.
In Ellen Johnson’s recent Paste feature on Chapman’s everlasting relevance, she says, “Her self-titled debut is, in some unfortunate aspects, still as relevant as it ever was. More than 30 years after its release, we still haven’t fully answered her call to remove the blinders and speak the truth. The least we can do is listen again.”
At the end of her Late Night performance of the song, Chapman altered the lyrics, singing, “Talkin’ ’bout a revolution / Go vote, Talkin’ bout a revolution / Go vote.” Before leaving the stage, she stepped away from the black curtain behind her to reveal a small sign: “VOTE.”
“This is the most important election of our lifetime,” she said in a statement Monday. “It is imperative that everyone vote to restore our democracy.”
Watch Chapman perform “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” on Seth Meyers below, and find a Chapman set circa 1988 further down.
