Fountains of Wayne: Fire Island

 Fountains of Wayne

Here's a great song for understanding the genius of Fountains of Wayne, the supreme indie power pop band from NYC. "Fire Island" is a song from their album "Welcome Interstate Managers" about upper middle class teens throwing a rager while the parents are out vacationing at Fire Island. Lyrically, you get their trademark specificity and humor. Fire Island is a signifier of hip bourgeois taste, as is the later reference to Steamboat Springs. These parents know how to live the good life. As for the kids' activities, my favorite is "feeding chocolate to the dog," a perfect encapsulation of adolescent heedlessness.

What really elevates the song, though, is the transcendent melody. The verse, or 'A' section, is built on ascending, then descending, lines that don't repeat, sort of like an arching Brian Wilson melody. The bridge, or 'B' section, builds to a perfect peak, followed by four bars that lead right back into a restatement of the melody of the first verse. The key to everything is that the song's tone is one of aching, melancholy resignation, thus making the line "We don't need no father or mother" poignant rather than defiant. Films always play the summer teen party as a thing of transgressive, outrageous independence. Here, it's just a bit sad, suggesting that the parents, for all their taste and discernment, are maybe a little too into themselves.

I love this live version of the song.

Here's the studio version.

Here are the lyrics.

Driving on the lawn
Sleeping on the roof
Drinking all the alcohol
All the kids from school
Will be naked in the pool
While our parents are on Fire Island

Cranking up the tunes
'Til the windows break
Feeding chocolate to the dog
Jumping on the couch
'Til all the feathers come out
While our parents are on Fire Island

We're old enough by now
To take care of each other
We don't need no babysitter
We don't need no father or mother
We're old enough by now
Don't worry 'bout a thing
Don't you remember
Last December
When you went to Steamboat Springs

Driving on the lawn
Sleeping on the roof
Drinking all the alcohol
All the kids from school
Will be naked in the pool
While our parents are on Fire Island