The band's name was taken from the name of a lawn-ornament store in Wayne, New Jersey, not far from Montclair, New Jersey. That city is the hometown of the band's bassist and cofounder Adam Schlesinger (the store has since gone out of business). According to Songfacts, there were prominent fountains there.
The concept of the band was formed by Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood. The two first met as freshmen at Williams College and began playing music together in various groups. The two eventually went their separate ways with Collingwood forming the Mercy Buckets in Boston and Schlesinger forming Ivy in New York City. The duo initially set out to work together in the early 90s under various band monikers (including ones named "Pinwheel" and "The Wallflowers"), and recorded a full album's worth of demos in 1993. Although never released, the "Pinwheel" demos are widely bootlegged by fans and display a very different (yet still earnest) version of the pair's songwriting, though several songs from this period would be re-tooled and appear on later releases.
After failing to get their project off the ground, the two met up once again during the mid-90s and formed Fountains of Wayne. A demo eventually landed the two a deal with Atlantic Records and in 1996 they released their self titled debut. The album spawned the singles Radiation Vibe and Sink To The Bottom which received airplay, but it was Schlesinger's song entitled That Thing You Do! which became a hit being used as the lead track for the Tom Hanks film of the same name. "That Thing You Do!" also brought Schlesinger an Oscar nomination and an RIAA gold certification for the hit soundtrack.
Along with guitarist Jody Porter and drummer Brian Young, the band toured the world extensively behind the album playing alongside bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins and The Lemonheads.
In 1999, the band returned with their second album, Utopia Parkway, a loosely-based concept album about life in the American suburbs in the late 1990s. Unfortunately, a much-changed radio climate left little room in playlists for Fountains of Wayne's snarky power-pop, and the album, along with its three singles Denise, Red Dragon Tattoo, and Troubled Times, sank without much notice. The following year, the band was mostly quiet, contributing a song each to a soundtrack and a compilation (Too Cool for School to the "Scary Movie" soundtrack and California Sex Lawyer to the third installment of the International Pop Overthrow series). They were dropped by Atlantic soon thereafter.
The band spent much of the early 2000s in seclusion, occasionally rejoining to record or play an occasional gig, but mostly Schlessinger was focusing on work with Ivy and Collingwood founded an alt.country band near his Western Massachusetts home called The Gay Potatoes. In addition, the band wrote and performed the theme song to the popular Comedy Central program "Crank Yankers," and contributed a cover of The Kinks "Better Days" to a tribute album. The song was also later featured prominently in a scene of the 2004 remake of "The Manchurian Candidate." During this time, the band's stature only grew in indie pop circles, raising expectations high for the release of their next album.
Welcome Interstate Managers, Fountains of Wayne's third record and first for Virgin, was released in June of 2003. Preceeded by the single and video for the Cars-ish Stacy's Mom, the song became a surprise top 20 hit on the strength of its video--a send-up of 1980s teen comedies like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"--which starred Rachel Hunter as Stacy's Mom. The video went into heavy rotation on MTV, pushing the album to become Fountains of Wayne's most successful with sales exceeding 400,000 units.
Like most bands who have a major hit driven by a clever video, follow-up singles did not fare as well. Despite a similarly-clever video for Mexican Wine, the single failed to take off after MTV banned the video due to a scene where two underage girls lip-synch the words to the chorus, a reference to drinking tequila. Third single Hey Julie initially made only a minor dent on AAA and Hot AC format stations, but it was later featured in "Scrubs" and other TV shows and grew in stature over time, becoming something of a sleeper hit. During this time, the band also wrote a series of short, almost They Might Be Giants-styled songs for a short-lived VH1 TV series titled "Hey Joel!," which was written by critic Joel Stein. The show was canceled before it aired in the United States and the songs were never released.
The song named "Red Dragon Tattoo" was also featured in the 2004 series "Kingdom Hospital", based on a novel by Stephen King, that aired on BBC.
In 2005, the band issued the 2-disc Out-of-State Plates, a compilation rounding up the band's various import-only B-sides as well as several new songs. Maureen was released as a single yet received little attention.
The band's fourth proper album, titled Traffic and Weather, was released April 3, 2007. One abandoned track from these sessions, a novelty throwaway titled Monster House that was written for the movie of the same name but not used, was leaked in advance of the album's release via the band's MySpace page. "Traffic and Weather" met with typically strong reviews but fewer sales than its predecessor, although the single and video for Someone to Love made a minor impact.
In early 2009, the band embarked on a small tour where they began to debut some new songs from an as-yet-untitled fifth album. Progress was slow, however, and other than some scattered shows the band dropped almost entirely out of view for two years. In late 2010, the band announced that they were now without a label but that they had completed their as-yet-untitled fifth album, which they were hoping to release sometime in 2011 once they found a new label. During this time they gave away one new free song via their website. Song of the Passaic was written for an NPR segment using a poem about New Jersey's famed, industrial Passaic River.
In May 2011, the band has announced that their fifth album, Sky Full of Holes will be released on August 1st, 2011 on Lojinx in Europe, August 2nd, 2011 on YepRoc in North America and on Warner in Japan. Two singles were released in advance of the album itself: Richie and Ruben in May 2011, followed by Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart the following month. Like their previous releases, the album garnered critical praise from a variety of publications. Jill Menze of 'Billboard' called the release "excellent", describing it as "a new minimal sound with a poppy, folk-leaning flair."
After a six-month tour in support of the album, the band quietly went defunct in favor of side projects. Although they never officially broke up, the band has been completely inactive since sometime in 2012.
On April 1st, 2020, co-founder Adam Schlessinger passed away due to complications from COVID-19 at the age of 52.
'92 Subaru
Fountains of Wayne Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Took of the greenpeace sticker in the middle Hempshire plates
My friends are saying that I may have made a mistake but I
I tell'em to have a little faith now fellas just you wait
Put in the new shocks and the anti-light brakes
One touch ignition for a convenience sake
And when I'm through it's gonna look and run better than new
Because I'm coming for you
I'm coming for you
You better make way 'cause I'm coming through
In my late 92 baby-blue subaru
My cousin kerry is taking a look at the transmition
Putting in a lime green plasma screen television
Seats feel like leather, you can't even tell that they're fake
And I only got a couple easy payments lef to make
Just a little alcohol in the glove compartiment minibar
Open up the moon-roof so we sit back and watch the stars
Oh yes and the GPS so I always know where you are
So baby don't go too far
Because I'm coming for you
I'm coming for you
You better make way 'cause I'm coming through
In my late 92 baby-blue subaru
Pumping in are some trip from some swiss mountain
Alarm system so confusing we can't even get in
This thing is a beast value will only increase
In negotiating terms I'm pissing in middleast
There's only three of it's kind they're easy to find
Got people waiting in line to pay me double for mine
So baby just let me now
Are you ready to go?
C'mon sugar let's roll
You know I'm coming for you
That's what I'm gonna do
You better make way 'cause I'm coming through
In my
You know I'm coming for you
Baby now it's true
You better make way 'cause I'm coming through
In my late 92 baby-blue subaru
The song '92 Subaru by Fountains of Wayne, describes the singer's love for his Baby-blue 92 Subaru, which he bought off a couple of ladies, making it sound like it's a car of his dreams. At the beginning of the song, the singer is confident that despite the car's antique look, he can give it a new, much better, and stylish look. He describes the features of the car, such as the new shocks, anti-light brakes, and one-touch ignition, that make his car smoother and comfortable. He also mentions the changes he has made to the car's interior, adding lime green plasma screen television, leather seats, moon-roof, and a GPS system. The song shows the singer's pride in the car and his confidence in his ability to make it look and feel new.
The chorus, "I'm coming for you, You better make way 'cause I'm coming through, in my late 92 baby-blue Subaru" is a declaration of the singer's intentions to be with someone he fancies. He uses the car to emphasize his confidence in achieving his goal, and the ending line, "you better make way 'cause I'm coming through," is a metaphor for his determination.
Overall, the lyrics of the song are simple and straightforward. The song's upbeat rhythm, catchy melody, and humorous lyrics make it a relatable and fun song for car lovers.
Line by Line Meaning
I bought a car of couple of ladies way off state
I purchased a car from two women located far away from where I live.
Took of the greenpeace sticker in the middle Hempshire plates
I removed the Greenpeace sticker from the car, which had New Hampshire license plates in the middle.
My friends are saying that I may have made a mistake but I
My friends think I may have made a mistake by buying the car, but I am confident in my decision.
I tell'em to have a little faith now fellas just you wait
I assure my friends that they should trust me and wait to see how the car turns out.
Put in the new shocks and the anti-light brakes
I installed new shocks and brakes that are resistant to light.
One touch ignition for a convenience sake
I added an ignition that can be activated with just one touch for convenience.
And when I'm through it's gonna look and run better than new
After I finish making modifications to the car, it will look and run better than it did when it was new.
So baby don't make a move
I am addressing my significant other and asking them not to go anywhere.
Because I'm coming for you
I am telling my significant other that I am on my way to them.
My cousin kerry is taking a look at the transmition
My cousin named Kerry is inspecting the car's transmission.
Putting in a lime green plasma screen television
Kerry is installing a bright green television screen in the car.
Seats feel like leather, you can't even tell that they're fake
The seats in the car feel like real leather, and it is hard to tell that they are not genuine.
And I only got a couple easy payments lef to make
I have only a few payments left to make on the car, and they are relatively easy to manage.
Just a little alcohol in the glove compartiment minibar
I keep a small amount of alcohol in the car's glove compartment minibar.
Open up the moon-roof so we sit back and watch the stars
I opened the moonroof, and now we can sit and enjoy the stars.
Oh yes and the GPS so I always know where you are
I installed a GPS system so that I can always know my significant other's location.
So baby don't go too far
I am asking my significant other not to go too far away from me.
Because I'm coming for you
I am on my way to meet my significant other.
Pumping in are some trip from some swiss mountain
I am playing music from a trip I took to a Swiss mountain.
Alarm system so confusing we can't even get in
The alarm system on the car is so complex that we are having trouble getting inside the car.
This thing is a beast value will only increase
The car is a true beast, and its value is likely to increase.
In negotiating terms I'm pissing in middleast
In terms of negotiating for this car, I have all the power and control the situation, much like the situation in the Middle East.
There's only three of it's kind they're easy to find
There are only three cars like mine, but they are easy to locate.
Got people waiting in line to pay me double for mine
There are people who are willing to pay me twice as much as I paid for the car.
So baby just let me now
I am asking my significant other to tell me if they are ready to go.
Are you ready to go?
I am asking my significant other if they are ready to leave.
C'mon sugar let's roll
I am urging my significant other to come with me and leave.
You know I'm coming for you
I am reminding my significant other that I am on my way to meet them.
That's what I'm gonna do
I am stating that my goal is to meet up with my significant other.
Baby now it's true
I am confirming that everything I said is true.
You better make way 'cause I'm coming through
My significant other needs to make way for me because I am on my way to meet them.
In my late 92 baby-blue subaru
I am driving my 1992 baby-blue Subaru to meet my significant other.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Adam Schlesinger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind