The Brave Little Toaster - Worthless 1080p HD (with lyrics)

The Brave Little Toaster
"Worthless"

Songs written by Van Dyke Park
Score composed by David Newman, 1987

[blueaardvark]

I noticed how the cars went from east coast to west coast. Kinda cool when you look at it. One of the best songs ever written.

[BudokaiTH]

"I took a man to a graveyard!"
"I beg your pardon, It's quite hard enough just livin' with the stuff I have learned!"

That part stuck with me for years for some reason.

[mattopiiskamiks]

"You know, for kids!"

such a great movie dealing with dark themes. I never watched it as a child despite always seeing it on our local library's VHS shelf. Thought it sounded lame. I wish I had. This is a great film.

[cattygirl]

"i beg your pardon, its quite hard enough just living with the stuff i have learned" :'(

[sirboomsalot]

The last one though, if you watched the scene, you would know that he was still functional. But he instead drove himself on the convayer belt. Not to mention, the sound it makes when he was crushed resembled a gunshot

[MichaelTheRead]

The first one just wasn't built to last.

The second had problems she couldn't get past.

The third one ran till he couldn't no more.

The fourth one crashed out on lap 24...

The fifth one carried a hapless husband to be,

The sixth one took that man to the cemetery.

The seventh carried a lifestyle that lives to this day,

And the eighth was just happy till he heard them say...

"You're worthless."

[skywalk]

"I must confess, I'm impressed how I did and I wonder just how close that I came..." Still brings a tear to my eye. I remember when I first watched this part, eyes glued, mouth agape in sheer amazement at this song.

[snowbeast]

It's funny because if you listened to an instrumental version of this song, you'd probably think it's an upbeat song. But nah, it's about depression, suicide, losing your life's purpose, and the inevitability of death.

[zesty]

I LOVE how ominous the song gets at the very end as it fades out and the movie score takes over. <3

[raulmelgardelacruz]

This song is so good. This forgotten classic deserves more attention

[lordofbeads]

A bit of trivia here:
This song is quite different in the Spanish version, in that version the stories explained by some of the cars differ:
- The fourth car explains how he won the race, how great he felt and how grumpy is feeling now because nobody loves him anymore
- The fifth just says that she used to bring wealthy Texas people to weddings until they forgot about her
- The sixth explains the irony of suffering the same destiny than the people he used to carry
- The last one just explains how he was substituted by a bus and then was abandoned

The Original Version is quite dark and more emotional, even though I grew up with the Spanish version (I'm from Spain) I prefer this version without a doubt. Quite touching

[victorhernandez]

This songs sums up our throw-away society in a nutshell.

[zacharyscriff]

Ive talked with some and they all say the magnet was evil and I have to say I disagree. Evil is being mean for the sake of being mean. He is more what I would call lawful neutral. He has one job and he is going to do it no matter who he hurts in the process. He's not malicious about it.... just cold. In the words of Air Conditioner "ITS MY FUNCTION!!!"

[YakmanOx]

Remember when the pickup DROVE HIMSELF onto the belt? The look of confusion on the magnet, and the determination on the pickup. Going out on your own terms, because even though you are ABLE to perform a task, if you are not deemed "worthy" of being utilized, then what is the use of being? All ammo, and no gun. It applies to all aspects of living, not just work, like love and emotion for example.
The truck values his use as a worker on a reservation, and clearly holds some sadness and resentment towards those who he believed loved him unconditionally. (Who would believe, they would love me and leave me). Even after this, he helped kids on the wrong path, and the final straw was his "Master" saying, "You're worthless". Also, in the scene, all the stacks of cars surround him and sing the backing vocals. I think that serves to highlight the all-encompassing isolation and desolation that a truly suicidal person feels.
YET. The truck resigns himself to the purgatory of a junkyard, because even to the end, he is loyal to his "Master". And herein lies the dark parallel to the toaster gang: they would have met the exact same fate, if their "Master" didn't deem them "worthless".
Even though the truck had full capability to accelerate, steer, etc, he refused to escape or seek purpose elsewhere, because of the weight behind the word "worthless" assigned to him by the people he held in the highest reverence.

One of the most underrated movies in the world.

[rndmpinkiepie]

I can't be the only person who thinks it would be amazing to hear this song remade with big name country, rock, rap, R&B, jazz, Native American performers

[vaylonkenadell]

The wedding limo and the funeral car together represent classical drama: that is, comedy and tragedy. (Think of the two masks, one laughing and one frowning.) Except, now, _both_ end in tragedy.

[cyansloth]

I related to these cars way too deeply as a child. Man it's probably why my heart still goes out to old vehicles. Each one has a story it has no voice to tell.

[nexus]

That last car is probably the darkest part of the movie. He still worked and willingly drove onto the conveyer belt because his owner’s called him worthless. If you notice even the magnet is slightly surprised by his decision.

[SimonBirch]

Nice to see a high quality version of the non-soundtrack version of this song.

[sid]

"Get up and go get the highway!"
This song was based off depression and suicide, but the cars who said this line are telling us that just because life is tough doesn't mean that we should just slump over and wait for the magnet (illness/injury/age) to come and kill us.