The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Ka… Read Full Bio ↴The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and press materials is simply Carpenters without the definite article. During a period in the 1970s when louder and wilder rock was in great demand, Richard and Karen produced a distinctively soft musical style that made them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

The Carpenters' melodic pop charted a record-breaking score of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, becoming leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening and adult contemporary genres. The Carpenters had three #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifteen #1 hits on the Adult Contemporary Chart (see The Carpenters discography). In addition, they had twelve top 10 singles (including their #1 hits). To date, The Carpenters' album and single sales total more than 100 million units.

During their fourteen-year career, The Carpenters recorded eleven albums, five of which contained top 10 singles (Close to You, Carpenters, A Song for You, Now & Then and Horizon), thirty-one singles, five television specials, and one short-lived television series. They toured in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium. Their recording career ended with Karen's death on February 4, 1983. Karen passed away after cardiac arrest due to complications of anorexia nervosa. Extensive news coverage of the circumstances surrounding her death increased public awareness of the consequences of eating disorders.

Their first recordings were not successful, and the recording studio that was recording them, dropped them. That's when their 'savior' came in. Herb Alpert of A&M records heard a couple of their songs and said that he felt that they had good potential. Thanks to him, and his ability to see/hear quality when it appears, we had the GREAT performers of The Carpenters.

Fun Fun Fun
The Carpenters Lyrics

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Well she got her daddy's car
And she cruised through the hamburger stand now
Seems she forgot all about the library
Like she told her old man now
And with the radio blasting
Goes cruising just as fast as she can now

And she'll have fun fun fun

'Til her daddy takes the T-bird away
(Fun fun fun 'til her daddy takes the T-bird away)

Well the girls can't stand her
'Cause she walks looks and drives like an ace now
(You walk like an ace now you walk like an ace)
She makes the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race now
(You look like an ace now you look like an ace)
A lotta guys try to catch her
But she leads them on a wild goose chase now
(You drive like an ace now you drive like an ace)

And she'll have fun fun fun
'Til her daddy takes the T-bird away
(Fun fun fun 'til her daddy takes the T-bird away)

Well you knew all along
That your dad was gettin' wise to you now
(You shouldn't have lied now you shouldn't have lied)
And since he took your set of keys
You've been thinking that your fun is all through now
(You shouldn't have lied now you shouldn't have lied)

But you can come along with me
'Cause we gotta a lot of things to do now
(You shouldn't have lied now you shouldn't have lied)

And we'll have fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-bird away
(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-bird away)
And we'll have fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-bird away
(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-bird away)
(Wo wo wo wo woo woo woo)
(Fun fun now that daddy took the T-bird away)
(Fun fun now that daddy took the T-bird away)
(Fun fun now that daddy took the T-bird away)
(Fun fun now that daddy took the T-bird away)

(Fun fun now that daddy took the T-bird away)
(Fun fun now that daddy took the T-bird away)

Overall Meaning

The Carpenters' song "Fun Fun Fun" tells the story of a girl who takes her father's car and lives life to the fullest, cruising around with the radio blasting and having a blast. She goes so fast that she makes the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race. However, her fun is cut short when her father takes the T-bird away. Despite this setback, the singer of the song tells the girl that they can still have fun together, suggesting that they have a lot of things to do now.

The lyrics of "Fun Fun Fun" portray a sense of rebellion and youthful independence, as the girl defies her father's wishes and lives life according to her own desires. The singer's invitation to continue having fun without the T-bird suggests that the loss of the car is not the end of the world and that the ultimate goal is to enjoy life to the fullest, regardless of circumstances.

Line by Line Meaning

Well she got her daddy's car
She has her dad's car

And she cruised through the hamburger stand now
She drove through a fast-food place

Seems she forgot all about the library
She didn't go to the library like she said she would

Like she told her old man now
Just like she promised her dad

And with the radio blasting
The music was really loud

Goes cruising just as fast as she can now
She drove as quickly as she could

And she'll have fun fun fun
She will have a great time

Til her daddy takes the T-bird away
Until her dad takes away the car

Well the girls can't stand her
Other girls don't like her

Cause she walks looks and drives like an ace now
She walks, looks, and drives really well

She makes the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race now
She drives really fast, like a race car driver