Thomas Mars explained the track is about the French capital city: "It’s a song about Paris," he said. "Paris in 1901 was better than what it is now. It’s still nice, but 1901 was better. This is a fantasy about Paris."
The song has the following lines: Girlfriend, oh your girlfriend is drifting away / past and present, 1855-1901 / watch them build up a meteor tower / think it's not gonna stay anyway / think it's overrated - referencing to a time period in French history that included the famous Exposition Universelle of 1900 and the Art Nouveau movement.
The “tower” most likely refers to the Eiffel Tower, completed as an entrance to 1889's Exposition Universelle and loathed at the time by many Parisians. See link to SongMeanings.com.
1901 is the second track on Phoenix's fourth studio album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. It was released as a free download on February 23, 2024 when Phoenix's redesigned official website was launched.
Learn more trivia about this track on SongFacts.com.