The band was originally formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1990 by friends Merritt and (percussionist/pianist/vocalist) Claudia Gonson. While 1991's Distant Plastic Trees and 1992's The Wayward Bus (now most easily available together as a compilation, The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees) are sung by Susan Anway (b. 1951 - d. 2021), all subsequent albums are principally sung by Merritt himself.
Longtime members include: Gonson, (cellist) Sam Davol, and (banjo player/guitarist) John Woo. Contributors include (but are not limited to) the singers Susan Anway, Dudley Klute, Shirley Simms, and LD Beghtol, and the accordionist/writer Daniel Handler (famous for writing the childrens' books A Series of Unfortunate Events under the alias Lemony Snicket).
Their most popular and best-selling album to date is 69 Love Songs issued on Merge Records as a triple album filled with many fairly short songs that are reminiscent of early Beatles productions.
The album is notable for its employment of many unorthodox musical arrangements and downright impressive quantity of material presented. Instruments used on this album include the ukulele, banjo, accordion, cello, mandolin, piano, flute, xylophone guitars, various percussion instruments, and a standard setup of synths and effects. It features several guest vocalists on several different tracks. The album is a three CD set, released in the US as three separate albums (also available as a boxed set) and in the UK as a triple album.
The album i (2004, Nonesuch Records) continues Merritt's fixation on the concept album, with each of the 14 songs beginning with the letter (and often the pronoun) "I".
The album Distortion, was released through Nonesuch on the 15th January 2008 and introduced noise pop to the array of styles utilized in their music. The album's release was followed by a sold-out U.S. tour starting in February. Additional albums followed in 2010, 2012, 2017, and 2020.
Stephin Merritt is involved in several other musical projects: The 6ths (featuring different guest performers on every track), The Gothic Archies (songs dealing humorously with dark themes) and Future Bible Heroes (with music written by Chris Ewen)
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Drive on Driver
The Magnetic Fields Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's no one home
You've waited hours
She didn't come
It's such a pretty little end
But it doesn't mean anything
Drive on
Don't you cry
I gave her everything money could buy
You always said that girl
Deserved the whole wide world
Drive on
And take me to the airport
I need to be extremely far away
So I can forget about her
I might forget about her someday
Drive on, Randy
It's all gone wrong
Have some brandy, sing me a song
Something soft and low
Can we please just go?
Drive on
The Magnetic Fields's song "Drive on Driver" is a melancholic and ironic tune about unrequited love and the pain of being left alone. The song starts with the singer addressing the driver, conveying his loneliness as he waits for his lover who never showed up. He suggests that the ending was beautiful, but it didn't mean anything, a reference to the fleeting nature of love and how easily it can disappear.
In the second verse, the singer suggests that he gave his lover everything that money could buy, and that he always thought she deserved the whole wide world. This highlights the themes of materialism and the idea that love can be bought with money. However, despite his efforts, she still left him alone with his pain, and he is left to ask the driver to take him away to the airport to forget about his love. The final plea to "drive on" is a command to the driver to keep moving forward, despite the pain and confusion that the singer is experiencing.
Overall, "Drive on Driver" is a poignant song about the complexities of love, heartbreak, and the desire to move on. The music and lyrics work in harmony to create an atmosphere of longing and regret, highlighting the the human capacity to endure loss and pain.
Line by Line Meaning
Drive on, driver
Keep driving, don't stop
There's no one home
No one is waiting for us
You've waited hours
We've been waiting for someone but they didn't show up
She didn't come
The person we're waiting for didn't arrive
It's such a pretty little end
We're headed to a nice destination
But it doesn't mean anything
Our destination is meaningless without the person we're waiting for
Drive on
Keep driving
Drive on driver
Keep driving, don't stop
Don't you cry
No need to be upset
I gave her everything money could buy
I gave everything I had to try and make her happy
You always said that girl
You believed she was deserving of everything
Deserved the whole wide world
Deserved all of the best things in the world
Drive on
Keep driving
And take me to the airport
Drive me to the airport
I need to be extremely far away
I need to be very far away from here
So I can forget about her
So I can forget about the person who didn't show up
I might forget about her someday
I may eventually forget about her
Drive on, Randy
Keep driving, Randy
It's all gone wrong
Things didn't go as planned
Have some brandy, sing me a song
Drink some brandy and sing a calming song to deal with the situation
Something soft and low
A gentle and soothing song would be best
Can we please just go?
Can we hurry up and leave?
Drive on
Keep driving
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
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