Backseat Driver

7:30 in the morning in a Mickey D’s drive thru
Two muffins, one coffee and a little bitty orange juice
I saw a man with a sign on the corner
I rolled my window down, handed him a dollar
That’s when I heard her ask
“Hey, Daddy, who was that?”
And before I could answer back
She said

“Daddy, look, there’s a plane in the sky
Are we there yet? Did you just see that dog run by?
Do squirrels have houses in the trees?
Why’d God put stingers on honeybees?”
It’s crazy all the things she sees on the side of the road
Out of that window beside her
I wish I could be more like her
My little dangling feet, pretty in pink, backseat driver

Later on that day, on the highway back home
I saw a lady in a black Mercedes yelling at her phone
She flew by me with her finger in the air
And I had to act like I didn’t care
And that’s when I heard her ask
“Daddy, why was she so mad?”
Before I could answer back
She said

“Daddy, can you please turn up the radio?
Hey, what are you pushing with your feet that makes us go?
Do squirrels have houses in the trees?
Why’d God put stingers on honeybees?”
It’s crazy all the things she sees on the side of the road
Out of that window beside her
I wish I could be more like her
My little dangling feet, pretty in pink, backseat driver

One day, I’ll look back and I’ll miss when
My whole world wasn’t over that dash
It was back there buckled in

Saying, “Daddy, look, there’s a plane in the sky
Are we there yet? Did you just see that dog run by?
Do squirrels have houses in the trees?
Why would God put a stinger on a honeybee?”
It’s crazy all the things she sees on the side of the road
Out of that window beside her
I wish I could be more like her
My little dangling feet, pretty in pink, backseat driver
Hmm, my backseat driver

7:30 in the morning in a Mickey D’s drive thru
Two muffins, one coffee and a little bitty orange juice