Wonderwall (song)
| Wonderwall | |
|---|---|
| Oasis | |
| publication | October 30, 1995 |
| length | 4:18 (Album Version) 3:45 (Radio Edit) |
| Genre (s) | Britpop , alternative rock |
| Author (s) | Noel Gallagher |
| Label | Creation Records |
| Award (s) | Platinum ( BPI ) Gold ( RIAA ) |
| album | (What's the Story) Morning Glory? |
Wonderwall is a song by the British Britpop rock band Oasis and written by Noel Gallagher . It was the fourth single from their music album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? and was released after its publication on October 30, 1995. It reached number two on the UK singles chart and stayed in the charts for 84 weeks.
background
The song was originally written by Noel Gallagher for his girlfriend at the time, Meg Mathews. After their split, Noel denied any connection, citing the media who misinterpreted the piece. The title Wonderwall comes from the 1968 album of the same name by George Harrisons , which in turn is the soundtrack to the rather unknown film Wonderwall .
Fans of the band and music critics keep talking about Wonderwall as the perfect rock song or the best British song of all time. The video for Wonderwall by Nigel Dick received the BRIT Award for Best British Video in 1996 .
content
Noel Gallagher later stated that the song was a song about an imaginary friend who comes and saves you from yourself ("It's a song about an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself."). The word 'wonderwall' has no fixed meaning in English either. As his brother Liam Gallagher put it: “Wonderwall can be anything. It's just a beautiful word. It's like looking for your bus ticket, which is stubbornly hiding, and you finally find it, pull it out and say to you: Fucking mega, this is my Wonderwall - my salvation. "(" A wonderwall can be anything. It's just a beautiful word. It's like looking for that bus ticket, and you're trying to fucking find it, that bastard, and you finally find it and you pull it out, 'Fucking mega, that is me wonderwall.' ")
In German translations, the word 'wonderwall' is translated as 'magic being', 'my beloved', 'my protective wall that gives me support', 'my bulwark'. There is probably no adequate translation into German or even paraphrase in English, as the meaning changes freely depending on the interpretation and is not clearly evident from the song. However, it can be concluded that the word 'wonderwall' is a description or metaphor for the person addressed in the song. This person is previously described as a possible protector - despite everything that happened (Cause maybe / You're gonna be the one that saves me? / And after all you're my wonderwall)
The lyrics of the song surprisingly start with an almost reproachful description from an opposite perspective. "Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you / By now, you should. Now you should somehow have realized what you should be doing 've somehow realized what you gotta do) "So it's first about the life of the other person and not about' saving 'the narrator himself. Now follows the first change of perspective into the narrator's introspective:" I don't think anyone like that how I feel - for you, in this moment. (I don 'believe that anybody feels the way I do, about you now) "
In the second stanza it is reported that on the street it is said that the fire in the heart of the person addressed has gone out and that this has probably already come to his ears. In the second part of the verse the change of perspective takes place analogous to the first stanza. ("Backbeat, the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out / I'm sure you've heard it all before but you never really had a doubt")
In the pre-chorus the (dear?) Relationship of the narrator to the person addressed is thematized: "all the roads we have to walk are winding - all the paths WE have to go are full of twists and turns / (twists and turns)", " and all the lights that lead us there are blinding - and all the lights that show us the way there blind us ". And again the perspective changes: "There are so many things that I would like to say to you, but I don't know how ... (There are so many things that I would like to say to you / But i don't know how ) "A phrase that usually means that you want to express your love for someone, but cannot find words for it. Such a sentence is seldom uttered after describing a complicated, unclear path that one has walked together.
As already discussed, the chorus speaks about the fact that the person addressed could perhaps be the savior of the narrator. So there is a change of perspective from the events surrounding the person addressed to the need for help of the narrator.
In the third verse, just changing two words shifts the meaning: "Today is gonna be the day, but they'll never give it back / By now you should have somehow realized what you shouldn't be doing." the day but they'll never throw it back to you / By now, you should've somehow realized what you're not to do "). The rest of the text remains the same.
Trivia
- At the 1997 Grammy Awards , Wonderwall was nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal , but lost to the song So Much to Say by the Dave Matthews Band .
- An easy-listening cover version of Mike Flowers Pops landed at number 2 on the UK charts seven weeks after it was released.
- In 2002 Wonderwall was covered by Ryan Adams , who was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance . The version by Ryan Adams became widely known through the American series OC, California , as it was used for a key part of the 1st season. Noel Gallagher liked this cover version so much that he played it at several live concerts.
- Further interpretations of the song can be found on Paul Anka's album Rock Swings from 2005 as well as on Radiohead , Cat Power and the Beastie Boys .
Web links
- Wonderwall at Allmusic (English)
- Music video on Last.fm
Individual evidence
- ↑ Official Charts - Oasis. The Official UK Charts Company, accessed November 15, 2017 .
- ↑ John Harris: Britpop !: Cool Britannia And The Spectacular Demise Of English Rock. Da Capo Press, Cambridge 2004, ISBN 0-306-81367-X , p. 226.
- ↑ Noel: Wonderwall 'not about Meg'
- ↑ Wonderwall
- ↑ MTV News: The best song of all time ... ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Brit Awards 1996
- ↑ http://www.nme.com/photos/oasis-20-things-you-may-not-know-about-wonderwall/363075#o9t8m1kOQcI8DZil.99
- ↑ http://www.nme.com/photos/oasis-20-things-you-may-not-know-about-wonderwall/363075#o9t8m1kOQcI8DZil.99
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The Mike Flowers Pops in the UK charts
- ^ Grammy Awards 2005
- ↑ Ryan Adams
- ↑ Rebecca Schiller: From Ryan Adams To Radiohead, The 10 Best Oasis Cover Versions
- ↑ Rock Swings
- ↑ Information on Wonderwall
- ^ The Tourists, L'Augmentation and Cat Power
- ↑ Eliot Van Buskirk: Opentape: 17 Covers of Oasis' 'Wonderwall'
