“In the Car Outside” by The Killers

The reason that the vocalist is “in the car outside” is because he’s having some type of quarrel with his wife, who is inside the house weeping. But this song isn’t simply one of marital discontent. Instead, as is the main subtheme of the album it is derived from, it centers more on the notion of the American Dream, if you will, not materializing as idealized. 

For instance, the vocalist does apparently have a steady job, along with his own home, wife and family, i.e. the type of lifestyle we all more or less strive for. He also has an old girlfriend whom he apparently communicates with from time to time who has her own home and family. But they are both going through their respective marital issues, so the reality of the situation is a far cry from the dream.

And being familiar with the rest of Pressure Machine, we know that the moral of the story would perhaps be something like going along with the status quo isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And no, this isn’t to imply the vocalist wishes he wasn’t married. 

In fact all lyrics considered, it appears that he would be he willing to do whatever it is he can to make things right. But more to the point would be him not really understanding what went wrong in the first place. 

Or rather let’s say, as also applied by the plight of his ex, marital issues are sorta like an epidemic in the ‘hood. 

So the song concludes pretty much as it begin, with the vocalist outside of the home meditating, trying to ascertain exactly what it is that has gone wrong.

Release Date and Album

“In the Car Outside” was made public in full on 13 August 2021. A few days prior to that, The Killers did release a teaser of the song via Instagram.

The album this song is featured on is The Killers’ 2021 project “Pressure Machine” which, as with all of their previous albums, was put out by Island Records.

Credits for “In the Care Outside”

This track was written by The Killers’ Dave Keuning and Brandon Flowers along with one of its co-producers, Jonathan Rado. And the other producer is Shawn Everett.