Genius.com, the first Google result I found in looking for the lyrics, has it as “sweet family.”
I have only ever picked up one hitch hiker, but I knew him. Dropped him off at the interstate on-ramp near my destination. He still had an hour’s ride to hitch, but that was in the 55 mph limit days.
Hmm, in the late 80s I picked up a teenager who had driven into a flooded section of the road and his car died. I took him home.
More recently, when the commuter train was really late I offered a ride to the nearest subway. I’ve bummed rides from fellow commuters, too, including into the city, and home when i didn’t have a car in the lot. Now it’s easy to grab a Lyft, though, so I’m less likely to ask a stranger to drive me home from the train station.