Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car: one more look at the economic stimulus plan (or, the hermeneutic of a U2 song)

“Daddy’s Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car” is a quirky U2 song from the Zooropa album (1993). It’s always struck me as a commentary on greed and excess, but the recent economic stimulus plan has really helped me see it in a specific context. As with many U2 songs, this one has taken on a new life and a fresh interpretation due to a particular situation.

Millions of Americans received their stimulus rebates today, over a hundred million more will receive them in the coming weeks.  The story that is being lived out is almost surreal: here’s some money, go out and spend it so that the American economy will be healthy. Not a very hopeful story. Nor is “Daddy’s Gonna Pay.” Check out my previous posts if you’re interested in some theological problems with the government's “big give.”

You're a precious stone, You're out on your own
You know everyone in the world, But you feel alone
Daddy won't let you weep, Daddy won't let you ache
Daddy gives you as much as you can take

A-ha sha-la, a-ha sha-la, Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car

The economic stimulus plan was designed by Washington to infuse the economy with $168 billion dollars of buying power. The message: be a good American and spend, spend, spend. The government says the answer to our economic anxieties, high gas and food prices, and deflated home values is a little extra cash. “Daddy” will watch out for us, take care of us, reassure us. No room for weeping or aching here. Contentment and moderation have no place in this story. Three thousand advertisements a day work to reinforce the notion that pain is bad and that happiness can be bought. Get as much as you can take.

A little uptight, You're a baby's fist
Butterfly kisses up and down your wrist
When you see daddy coming, You're licking your lip
Nails bitten down to the quick

A-ha sha-la, a-ha sha-la, Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car

Remember that experiment with Pavlov and his dogs? He learned that dogs salivate even before they receive food; this is a conditional reflex associated with the mere presentation of food.  The stimulus in our situation is money, the response is the irresistible need to buy something. In fact, that is exactly the response Washington wants. The economy is a junkie searching for a fix. Gratification comes in the short term, but the health of the organism is certainly in jeopardy. So we wait for our checks, salivary glands working over time, licking our lips.

You've got a head full of traffic, You're a siren's song
You cry for mama, But daddy's right along
He gives you the keys to a flamin' car
Daddy's with you wherever you are
Daddy's a comfort. Daddy's your best friend
Daddy'll hold your hand right up to the end

A-ha sha-la, a-ha sha-la, Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car

Isn’t it nice to know that our government, both Republicans and Democrats (there’s no difference on this issue), is with us? The political spin on the stimulus package is strong. Congressional representatives feel our pain; our president has only our best interests in mind. I never had so many best friends! It’s good to know that no matter how stupid or self-indulgent or materialistic or in debt I am, “Daddy’s” gonna pay for my metaphorical crashed car.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday's alright...

In one of Jesus’ parables he tells the story of a very self-righteous self-confident man who found great success and had acquired vast wealth.  The man said to himself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." (Luke 12:19, NIV). There is a kind of arrogance in this man’s perspective. He believes he is immune to the troubles that plague those without money and resources. He is a self-made man. It’s the same kind of arrogance that prods, “Just be a good citizen and spend your rebate check at Sears or Best Buy, and everything will be alright.”

If you want to experience, and not just listen to, the song, you must watch it on the Zoo TV tour from Sydney. Bono plays Mr. MacPhisto, that decrepit persona of a has-been rock star who bears a striking resemblance to Mephistopheles. It’s not a coincidence that pyrotechnic canons shower the crowd with paper play money just when the boys sing “Sunday, Monday..., Saturday's alright.” Hmm, a shimmering devil offering monetary rewards to a blindly addicted populace only concerned with their own addictive materialistic cravings…. Sounds vaguely familiar. See MacPhisto sing “Daddy’s Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car” here. See MacPhisto’s speech following the song here.

People of the former Soviet Union
I've given you capitalism
So now you can all dream of being
As wealthy and glamorous as me
                                    -MacPhisto

 

Comments

[Tim Neufeld]

Derek, I see the song as a kind of parable (seems that many of U2's songs are). Because of the imagery, specific in some cases and vague in others, it allows for multiple interpretations and applications. In our current situation it functions (for me) as a great commentary on the economy in America. When it was written, I believe Bono was greatly influenced by the fall of the Berlin wall and the close of the cold war. I might hear this song completely different in five years because I will be in a different context. So, you are also making a good interpretation of the song. I think that's why we get so much to talk about when we start discussing U2 songs. That's what I love about their music, there's always more to discuss/learn/question....

[Derek]

Hi
Good article - I came here from Beth Maynard's blog.

I've always taken the song as being about a drug pusher (Daddy) and the user - who crashes their life, and also about God's grace to sinners. It's an incredibly dangerous parallel but the Pop album is full of them (looking for baby Jesus under the trash...).

Grace and Peace

[Bill]

This was a great piece to read. I plan to donate some of my refund. And pay some bills.

When you write it is with great insight ot share with others.

BF

[Tim]

Thanks Paul. I'm guessing Bono has read some Schaeffer. It seems the artists and the prophets are the ones who teach us best about the culture we live in. I often asks my students, "What's the hardest thing to teach a fish?" Answer: water. We are swimming in a religion of consumption and don't even know we're wet. Thanks also for the link on your excellent blog!

[Paul]

Excellent.

Schaeffer got there first, of course - with his prediction that people will sacrifice anything for personal peace and affluence, in "How Should We Then Live?". What's amazing is how few Christians actually bother to listen, but instead continue to buy into the surrounding culture.

[Tim Neufeld]

Michael, I agree. We could have a long discussion about how far ahead of their time U2 and company were on the Zoo TV tour. The commentary on media, electronic stimulation and over-indulgence was definitely prophetic and relevant to the new millennium. Out of curiousity, what do you think of the Russian fanfare included in the intro to the album version of "Daddy's Gonna Pay...?" Seems pointed.

[Micheal]

Really good stuff the last few days Tim. It is amazing how prophetic MacPhisto seems to have been.