Is Vanessa Carlton's 'A Thousand Miles' about Adam Driver?


It's been 20 years since Vanessa Carlton made her way downtown, walking fast, in her hit song, "A Thousand Miles."
But who exactly was she willing to walk a thousand miles for? "The song is about a crush I had on a Juilliard student," Carlton told Entertainment Tonight. "I can't say the person's name because they are a famous actor." This revelation obviously piqued the public's interest, but her gender-neutral language and lyrics make for a broad pool: famous actors who graduated from Julliard include Adam Driver, Jessica Chastain, Oscar Isaac, the list goes on. But whomever it is doesn't even know the song is about them, Carlton said.
The singer grew to hate performing the Grammy-nominated song, but has since made peace with it. She figured out "how to honor people's connection with that song and realize that song does not belong to me anymore," she said.
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While we may never find out what would happen if Carlton could fall into the sky, at least we have an iconic hit and a Terry Crews scene to remember it by.
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Taylor Watson is audience engagement editor for TheWeek.com and a former editorial assistant. She graduated from Syracuse University, with a major in magazine journalism and minors in food studies and nutrition. Taylor has previously written for Runner's World, Vice, and more.
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