"Worthless" is the final song of The Brave Little Toaster, sung by the Junkyard Cars at Ernie's Disposal. Each car sings about their life story before they get killed by Crusher, and all of them contain themes of depression, mental illness, and even suicide. Because of this, it is frequently considered as one of the darkest songs in Disney films, alongside "Hellfire" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Despite its sad and depressing lyrics, it is somewhat fast-paced, giving it a feeling of anticipation for eight of the Junkyard Cars as they face their deaths. It also sets the scene for Toaster and his gang's final tribulation.
Lyrics[]
Blue Sedan:
I can't take this kind of pressure
I must confess one more dusty road
Would be just a road too long
Chorus:
Worthless
Pink Convertible:
I just can't, I just can't
I just can't seem to get started
Don't have the heart to live in the fast lane
All that has passed and gone
Chorus:
Worthless
(Brown Car: And there ain't nothing you can do about it!)
Worthless
(Black Car: Pardon me while I panic!)
Worthless, worthless, worthless
Red Corvette:
I come from KC, Missouri
And I got my kicks out on Route 66
Every truck stop from Butte to MO
Motown to old Alabama
From Texarkana and east of Savannah
From Tampa to old Kokomo
Chorus:
Worthless
Old Race Car:
I once ran the Indy 500
I must confess I'm impressed how I did it
I wonder how close that I came
Now I get a sinking sensation
I was the top of the line, out of sight; out of mind
So much for fortune and fame
Limousine:
Once took a Texan to a wedding,
Once took a Texan to a wedding
He kept forgetting, his loneliness letting
His thoughts turn to home and we turned
Hearse:
I took a man to a graveyard
I beg your pardon, it's quite hard enough
Just living with the stuff I have learned
Chorus:
Worthless
Yellow Station Wagon:
Once drove a surfer to sunset
There were bikinis and buns, there were weenies
Fellini just couldn't forget
"Pico, let's go up to Zuma"
"Pico, let's go up to Zuma"
From Zuma to Yuma the rumor was
I had a hand in the lay of the land
(with Chorus:)
Get up and go hit the highway
Saxophone Solo
Chorus:
(Oo-wooh...)
Green Pickup:
I worked on a reservation
Chorus:
(Ooh...ooh...)
Green Pickup:
Who would believe they would love me and (with Chorus) leave
On a bus back to old Santa Fe?
(without Chorus) Once in an Indian Nation
I took the kids on the skids where the Hopi
(with Chorus) Was happy 'til I heard 'em say...
"You're worthless"
Trivia[]
- An alternate version of the song was proposed during development.
- Originally, during his solo, the Pickup tried to escape but was captured almost immediately by the Magnet.
- Producer Donald Kushner intended on removing the entire song and sequence from the movie. With his reasoning including this alternative solo, and the sequence where the Yellow Station Wagon loses her headlight after being picked up.
- Whilst the Pickup's scene was rewritten to have run directly to the conveyor belt, the Station Wagon's scene was left unchanged.
- Originally, during his solo, the Pickup tried to escape but was captured almost immediately by the Magnet.
- In some foreign dubs, many of the cars have their genders swapped or tell different stories than the ones in the original English version.
- The Serbian (Croatian) dub is noteworthy as it's almost entirely instrumental and has very minimal dialogue from any of the vehicles.
- Several US place names are mentioned in the Red Corvette's verse:
- "KC, Missouri" refers to Kansas City, the most populous city in Missouri and Walt Disney's hometown.
- Butte, a city in Montana.
- "Motown" is a nickname for Detroit, the most populous city of Michigan.
- Alabama, a US state.
- Texarkana, twin cities in Arkansas and Texas.
- Savannah, a city in Georgia.
- Tampa, a city in Florida.
- Kokomo, a city in Indiana.
- The song "Route 66" is also referenced in his verse.
- In the soundtrack version of the song, the lyric "There were bikinis and buns, there were weenies" in the Yellow Station Wagon's verse is changed to "There were 'kinis and hot dogs and weenies."
- "Zuma" in the Station Wagon's verse refers to Zuma Beach in Malibu, California. "Yuma" is a city in Arizona.
- The Green Pickup mentions the Hopi tribe in his verse. Its members primarily live in northeastern Arizona.
Goofs[]
- The Red Corvette's hood is shown to be stuck open during his solo. However, when the camera shows his interior as he nears the Crusher, his hood isn't visible anymore.
- When the Yellow Station Wagon is first shown, she is missing both her front and rear-axles. However, when the Magnet picks her up, she is shown to have regained her rear-axle, which she maintains for the rest of her solo.
- Similarly, when the Yellow Station Wagon loses her eye. Her left eye is shown to be the one falling out and smashing. But in the next scene, her right eye is shown to be the one missing, and her left one remains intact.
- As the Green Pickup drives onto the conveyor belt during his solo, he shown moving forwards heading straight at the crusher. But in the final shot of him rolling towards the Crusher, he is shown to be facing the opposite direction.
