Lyric discussion by JohnGalt23 

Cover art for Merry Go Round lyrics by Replacements, The

I believe this song is about a shy young girl who gets teased by her classmates because all of her clothes are from second hand stores or garage sales. "And they watched you wear the clothes that they claimed that they bought." "In Fall, you knew how much it cost" When school starts up in the fall most kids get to go shopping for new clothes. The girl in this song did not and it made her sad because she just wanted to fit in. I know the feeling, when I was a kid most of my clothes were from garage sales. Once when I was around 12 this girl came up to me in the lunchroom and said "My brothers shirt fits you well."