"Used Cars" as written by and Bruce Springsteen....
My little sister's in the front seat with an ice cream cone
My ma's in the back seat sitting all alone
As my pa steers her slow out of the lot
For a test drive down Michigan Avenue
Now my ma she fingers her wedding band
And watches the salesman stare at my old man's hands
He's telling us all about the break he'd give us, if he could but he just can't
Well if I could I swear I know just what I'd do
Now mister the day the lottery I win
I ain't ever gonna ride in no used car again
Now the neighbors come from near and far
As we pull up in our brand new used car
I wish he'd just hit the gas and let out a cry
And tell them all they can kiss our asses goodbye
My dad he sweats the same job from morning to morn
Me I walk home on the same dirty streets where I was born
Up the block I can hear my little sister in the front seat blowing that horn
The sounds echoing all down Michigan Avenue
Now mister the day my number comes in
I ain't ever gonna ride in no used car again
My ma's in the back seat sitting all alone
As my pa steers her slow out of the lot
For a test drive down Michigan Avenue
Now my ma she fingers her wedding band
And watches the salesman stare at my old man's hands
He's telling us all about the break he'd give us, if he could but he just can't
Well if I could I swear I know just what I'd do
Now mister the day the lottery I win
I ain't ever gonna ride in no used car again
Now the neighbors come from near and far
As we pull up in our brand new used car
I wish he'd just hit the gas and let out a cry
And tell them all they can kiss our asses goodbye
My dad he sweats the same job from morning to morn
Me I walk home on the same dirty streets where I was born
Up the block I can hear my little sister in the front seat blowing that horn
The sounds echoing all down Michigan Avenue
Now mister the day my number comes in
I ain't ever gonna ride in no used car again
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The second verse doesn't happen in the car.
They go for a test drive in a used car in the first verse. Bruce doesn't go because he hates what a used car means.
In the second, they are probably sitting in the office or something, trying to get a deal on the car (or maybe a new one??), but they can't. The salesman eyes the dad's hands, sees that he's a working man and decides not to take a risk on him. More insult in Bruce's eyes.
The neighbors coming out to check out the car is yet another humiliation. In the last two verses, we are back with Bruce, waiting for his parents to get back from the test drive.
But the daughter is too young to notice all this. All she cares about is that it's a 'new' car! Honk! Honk!
Brilliant.
But am I the only person to find the seating arrangement in this song a little wonky? If Ma is in the back seat all alone, Pa, little sis, the salesman, AND Bruce are all in the front seat!
Now, the neighbors come from near and far
As we pull up in our brandnew used car
I wish he'd just hit the gas and let out
a cry
Tell `em all they can kiss our asses
goodbye.
Sums up the way a 9 or 10 year old kid feels in that situation perfectly. As for the question of where the 'narrator' is sitting - try the lyrics of 'My Hometown' for a clue...
I also love how relaxing it is. The sort of songs that would put you to sleep after a long day,