Counting all different ideas drifting away
Past and present, they don't matter
Now the future's sorted out
Watch her moving in elliptical pattern
Think it's not what you say
What you say is way too complicated
For a minute, thought I couldn't tell how to fall out

It's twenty seconds 'til the last call, going, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey"
Lie down, you know it's easy like we did it all summer long
And I'll be anything you ask and more, going "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey"
It's not a miracle we needed, and no I wouldn't let you think so
Fold it, fold it, fold it, fold it
Fold it, fold it, fold it, fold it

Girlfriend, oh, your girlfriend's drifting away
Past and present, 1855-1901
Watch them build up a material tower
Think it's not gonna stay anyway
Think it's overrated
For a minute, thought I couldn't tell how to fall out

It's twenty seconds 'til the last call, going, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey"
Lie down, you know it's easy like we did it all summer long
And I'll be anything you ask and more, going "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey"
It's not a miracle we needed, and no I wouldn't let you think so
Fold it, fold it, fold it, fold it
Fold it, fold it, fold it, fold it
Fold it, fold it, fold it, fold it
Fold it, fold it, fold it, fold it


Lyrics submitted by benk0202, edited by salazar21angel

1901 Lyrics as written by Frederic Moulin Christian Mazzalai

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

1901 song meanings
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  • +18
    Song Meaning

    Phoenix says its a fantasy of Paris at end of the 19th century, but the lyrics don't lend themselves to a strictly historical interpretation. At the same time, it's hard to justify that this song is simply about a relationship a girl. I take Phoenix's comment as a hint. The intended meaning somehow merges the two themes, so here's my attempt at a synthesis.


    Take an image of a couple in confrontation about their relationship. The song is portrayed from the man's perspective, and he his thoughts are detached from the moment and drifting away as she's speaking. She's talking about things that have happened between them in the past and what they have to do now to fix it. He doesn't care and is not even following her logic, because to him it all doesn't matter -- the future's been sorted out. He knows the relationship is not going to work out and has no illusions over it.

    She grabs his attention, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey." This is urgent for her -- she's on the verge of breaking up. He's still not taking it seriously. To him her troubles are trivial. He's thinking that they should just fall back to bed, have sex, and enjoy themselves like they have before. He knows the relationship won't last and won't even bother give her the impression that it will. He's going to fold this one and move on.

    In between her protests, his thoughts drift away again. He's relating his situation to that of Paris in the late 19th century. Paris was bustling and great then when they built the Eiffel Tower, which they thought was an eyesore that would eventually go away -- but it didn't. Now Paris is stuck in the past while the world is moving on. In the same way, his relationship with his girlfriend was great in the past, but he knows better now. Rather than investing to build an Eiffel tower of their relationship and glorify their past, he's going avoid the fate of Paris and move on.


    This is a historical metaphor for a decision about not investing in a present relationship! Wow Phoenix! Cool.

    Frznfyeron December 31, 2010   Link

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