Little Red Light
Fountains of Wayne Lyrics


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Sitting in traffic on the Tappan Zee
Fifty million people out in front of me
Trying to cross the water but it just might be a while
Rain's coming down I can't see a thing
Radio's broken so I'm whistling
New York to Nyack feels like a hundred miles

It's not right
It's not fair
I'm still a mess
And you still don't care
I go to work
I come back home
But you're still gone
And I'm still alone
And the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking
On my big black plastic Japanese cordless phone
Oh no

Stuck in a meeting on Monday night
Trying to get the numbers to come out right
I'm getting tired, I think I just might need a drink
And as I'm reaching in the bottom drawer
I'm dreaming 'bout the way it was before
Life was so easy I never really had to think

It's not right
It's not fair
I'm still a mess
And you still don't care
I go to sleep
When I wake up
The pain sets in
And it never stops
And the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking
On the desktop mailbox of my big black laptop
Oh no

It's not right
It's not fair
I'm still a mess
And you still don't care
I go to work
I come back home
But you're still gone
And I'm still alone
And the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking
No, no the little red light's not blinking




On my big black Radio Shack digital portable phone
Oh no

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Fountains of Wayne's song "Little Red Light" are a poignant illustration of the mundane frustrations of everyday life. The song begins with the singer stuck in traffic on the Tappan Zee Bridge, a notoriously congested thoroughfare connecting Westchester and Rockland counties in New York State. As the rain pours down, the singer muses on the futility of his situation, noting that he is just one of "fifty million people out in front of me" trying to cross the water. To pass the time, he whistles, since his radio is broken. But he can't shake the feeling of desolation, and he fixates on the "little red light" on his Japanese cordless phone, which is not blinking, a sign that he has no messages or missed calls. The repetition of this phrase, "the little red light's not blinking," underscores the singer's sense of isolation and abandonment.


The second verse finds the singer at work, in a meeting on a Monday night, trying to balance the books. He's tired and thirsty, and he reaches into his bottom drawer for a drink. But as he does so, he begins to daydream about the way things used to be, when "life was so easy I never really had to think." The contrast between his current state of drudgery and the ease of his nostalgia further emphasizes his loneliness and sadness. And once again, he fixates on the little red light, this time on his desktop mailbox of his laptop, which is also not blinking.


Throughout the song, the singer bemoans his current state of affairs - "It's not right, it's not fair / I'm still a mess and you still don't care" - and fixates on the little red light, a symbol of his lack of connection to the world around him. The song speaks to the feelings of isolation and displacement that many people experience in modern society, where technology has made it possible to be "connected" to others 24/7, but has not necessarily made us any less lonely.


Line by Line Meaning

Sitting in traffic on the Tappan Zee
I am currently stuck in traffic on the Tappan Zee bridge.


Fifty million people out in front of me
There are a lot of cars on the road ahead of me, making my commute even longer.


Trying to cross the water but it just might be a while
I am trying to get across the water but there seems to be a delay.


Rain's coming down I can't see a thing
It is currently raining so heavily that it is difficult to see the road ahead.


Radio's broken so I'm whistling
My car radio is not working so I have resorted to whistling to pass the time.


New York to Nyack feels like a hundred miles
The drive from New York to Nyack seems like an extremely long distance right now.


It's not right
The situation I am in is not fair or just.


It's not fair
I feel that the situation I am in is unjust and I do not deserve this treatment.


I'm still a mess
I am still struggling to cope with the difficulties in my life.


And you still don't care
The person I am addressing does not seem to care about my problems or the distress that I am feeling.


I go to work
I leave my home to go to my job.


I come back home
I return to my home after finishing my work for the day.


But you're still gone
The person I am addressing is still not present in my life, despite me returning home.


And I'm still alone
I still feel lonely and isolated even though I have returned to my home.


And the little red light's not blinking
The indicator light on my phone is not flashing, indicating that there are no new messages or notifications.


On my big black plastic Japanese cordless phone
The phone I am referring to is a cordless phone, of Japanese make, with a black plastic casing.


Stuck in a meeting on Monday night
I am currently in a meeting on a Monday night and cannot leave.


Trying to get the numbers to come out right
I am struggling to complete the task at hand, which requires precise calculations.


I'm getting tired, I think I just might need a drink
I am becoming fatigued and feel that alcohol might help me relax.


And as I'm reaching in the bottom drawer
I am searching through my desk drawer to find the drink I am looking for.


I'm dreaming 'bout the way it was before
I am reminiscing about how things used to be before I had to face the current challenges in my life.


Life was so easy I never really had to think
In the past, my life was much simpler, and I did not have to worry or think about such difficult things.


On the desktop mailbox of my big black laptop
The little red light is not blinking on my laptop's desktop mailbox.


Oh no
I am feeling a sense of despair about my situation.


On my big black Radio Shack digital portable phone
The phone I am referring to is a portable digital phone sold by the Radio Shack retail chain. It is also of black color.




Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., NAVARR ENTERPRISES, INC.
Written by: Adam Schlesinger, Christopher Brendan Collingwood

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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