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.
Valley Winter Song
Fountains of Wayne Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't take it so bad
You know the summer's coming soon
Though the interstate is choking under salt and dirty sand
And it seems the sun is hiding from the moon
Your daddy told you
When you were a girl
So give it a rest girl
Take a deep breath girl
And meet me at the Bay State tonight
And the snow is coming down
On our New England town
And it's been falling all day long
What else is new
What could I do
I wrote a valley winter song
To play for you
And late December
Can drag a man down
You feel it deep in your gut
Short days and afternoons spent pottering around
In a dark house with the windows painted shut
Remember New York
Staring outside
As reckless winter made its way
From State Island to the Upper West Side
Whiting out our streets along the way
And the snow is coming down
On our New England town
And it's been falling all day long
What else is new
What can I do
But sing this valley winter song
I wrote for you
The lyrics to Fountains of Wayne's song "Valley Winter Song" acknowledge the difficulties of living through a bleak New England winter, but also offer hope and comfort. The song speaks directly to Sweet Annie, an individual who is feeling worn down by the long, cold season. The first verse encourages her to be patient and look forward to the coming of summer, despite the difficulties of the present. The second verse paints a picture of late December, when the winter can feel particularly oppressive, and speaks to the feeling of being trapped inside with little to do.
However, the chorus of the song is what elevates it beyond just a description of sadness and hardship. The snow may be falling, but the song itself is a gift - written by the singer for Sweet Annie. It's a gesture of hope and love, something to make the difficult times easier. The final verse reiterates the joys of being together, of finding warmth and happiness even during the coldest season.
Overall, "Valley Winter Song" explores the way that winter weather can impact us both physically and emotionally, but also highlights the power of human connection and the importance of enduring love.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey Sweet Annie
The singer is addressing a person named Sweet Annie.
Don't take it so bad
The singer is asking Sweet Annie not to feel bad or upset about something.
You know the summer's coming soon
The singer is reminding Sweet Annie that summer is on its way and things will get better.
Though the interstate is choking under salt and dirty sand
The artist acknowledges the harsh winter conditions that are affecting the environment, including the roads filled with salt and sand.
And it seems the sun is hiding from the moon
The artist is using a poetic metaphor to express the sadness and darkness of the current winter season.
Your daddy told you
The singer is referencing Sweet Annie's father.
When you were a girl
The singer is implying that Sweet Annie was given advice from her father when she was younger.
The kind of things that come to those who wait
The father's advice may have been about patience and waiting for good things to come.
So give it a rest girl
The artist is telling Sweet Annie to take a break from worrying or being upset.
Take a deep breath girl
The artist is encouraging Sweet Annie to relax and take a deep breath.
And meet me at the Bay State tonight
The singer is asking Sweet Annie to meet them at a particular location tonight.
And the snow is coming down
The artist is describing the current weather conditions - snow is falling.
On our New England town
The singer is specifying the location where the snow is falling - a town in New England.
And it's been falling all day long
The singer is noting that the snow has been falling consistently all day.
What else is new
The singer is expressing a sense of exhaustion or resignation with the old trope of snowy New England winters.
What could I do
The artist is acknowledging their own inability to change the weather or the situation.
I wrote a valley winter song
The artist references a song they have written about winter in the valley (presumably in New England).
To play for you
The singer is suggesting that they wrote the song specifically to play for Sweet Annie.
And late December
The singer identifies the current month as December.
Can drag a man down
The artist acknowledges the emotional toll that December can take on a person.
You feel it deep in your gut
The artist is using a metaphor to describe the intense, visceral feeling of sadness or despair that comes with December.
Short days and afternoons spent pottering around
The artist is describing the dreary and uneventful nature of afternoons in December, highlighting the lack of light and energy.
In a dark house with the windows painted shut
The singer is painting a picture of a lonely and isolated home during the dark winter season.
Remember New York
The artist is bringing up the city of New York.
Staring outside
The singer is visually observing something outside their window.
As reckless winter made its way
The singer is using a personification to describe the winter season.
From State Island to the Upper West Side
The singer is outlining the path of winter as it makes its way through the city.
Whiting out our streets along the way
The artist is describing how the snow covered everything in a thick white blanket, making it hard to see or move around.
But sing this valley winter song
The artist is stating that they will sing the song they previously mentioned about winter in the valley.
I wrote for you
The singer is reiterating that the song was intended for Sweet Annie, specifically.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Adam Schlesinger, Christopher Brendan Collingwood
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jv Boy Smith
Hey Sweet Annie
Don't take it so bad
You know the summer's coming soon
Though the interstate is choking under salt and dirty sand
And it seems the sun is hiding from the moon
Your daddy told you
When you were a girl
The kind of things that come to those who wait
So give it a rest girl
Take a deep breath girl
And meet me at the Bay State tonight
And the snow is coming down
On our New England town
And it's been falling all day long
What else is new
What could I do
I wrote a valley winter song
To play for you
And late December
Can drag a man down
You feel it deep in your gut
Short days and afternoons spent pottering around
In a dark house with the windows painted shut
Remember New York
Staring outside
As reckless winter made its way
From State Island to the Upper West Side
Whiting out our streets along the way
And the snow is coming down
On our New England town
And it's been falling all day long
What else is new
What can I do
But sing this valley winter song
I wrote for you
John Mavroudis
Rest In Peace, Adam. You were brilliant.
John Anderson
Amen
gpirnia
This is Fountains of Wayne's best and most underrated song.
countrypaul
Yet another wonderful song from a band that should have been superstars.
Philip Hart
RIP, Adam Schlesinger. Thanks for this perfect song.
bill nutt
Actually, Chris Collingswood wrote this one. (He and Adam basically wrote the FoW songs separately, even though they were credited to both - sorta like Lennon and McCartney.) But I think the vibe of the band wouldn't have been possible with the two of them.
RIP Adam, indeed.
Syd Barrett
RIP great man and musician...i'd like it was only a nightmare...
Josh Grossheider
😥
CPod _
This band is so underrated
Mark Barsamian
Songs that sound effortless and light but reveal an exacting craft and an enormous heart. Sad to hear of the death of Adam Schlesinger.