(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World
Encyclopedia
" Whole Wide World" is a song written by English
rock and roll
singer-songwriter
Eric Goulden, better known as Wreckless Eric
. Goulden wrote the song in May 1974, and recorded it in 1977 while an original member of the Stiff Records
label. Additional musicians on the record were Nick Lowe
on guitar and bass and Ian Dury
on drums.
The song was never a chart hit for Goulden, though it subsequently became his most well-known recording. Curiously, the only charted version of "Whole Wide World" was a cover by Australian band Mental As Anything
, who took their version of the song to #53 on the Australian singles charts in 1995.
of most pop songs, it contains only guitar chord
s E and A. The verses are in a steady 4/4 time with the only difference being a more spirited strum during the chorus and a catchy single bar of 2/4 during its last line.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Eric Goulden, better known as Wreckless Eric
Wreckless Eric
Wreckless Eric is an English rock and roll/new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time...
. Goulden wrote the song in May 1974, and recorded it in 1977 while an original member of the Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
label. Additional musicians on the record were Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
on guitar and bass and Ian Dury
Ian Dury
Ian Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
on drums.
The song was never a chart hit for Goulden, though it subsequently became his most well-known recording. Curiously, the only charted version of "Whole Wide World" was a cover by Australian band Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything are an Australian New Wave–rock music band formed at an art school in Sydney in 1976. Their most popular line-up was Martin Plaza on vocals and guitar; Reg Mombassa on lead guitar and vocals; his brother Peter "Yoga Dog" O'Doherty on bass guitar and vocals; Wayne "Bird"...
, who took their version of the song to #53 on the Australian singles charts in 1995.
Structure
The song is a simple one for beginning guitar players to learn. Instead of the three chordsChord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
of most pop songs, it contains only guitar chord
Guitar chord
In music, a guitar chord is a chord, or collection of tones usually sounded together at once, played on a guitar. It can be composed of notes played on adjacent or separate strings or all the strings together...
s E and A. The verses are in a steady 4/4 time with the only difference being a more spirited strum during the chorus and a catchy single bar of 2/4 during its last line.
Sung by Wreckless Eric
- 1977 on the compilation album A Bunch Of Stiffs
- 1978 on the self-titled Wreckless EricWreckless Eric (album)#Wreckless Eric's debut album was released on June 1, 1978. It reached #46 on the UK Albums Chart.A 10" version of the LP was issued on both brown and purple vinyl in the UK...
album, track 6 - 1979 on "That Summer" movie soundtrack
- 1979 on the compilation album The Whole Wide WorldThe Whole Wide World (album)The Whole Wide World is a 1979 compilation album by British new wave musician Wreckless Eric, intended to break him in the American market. It consists of his singles up to that point, some b-sides and selected tracks from the albums Wreckless Eric and The Wonderful World of Wreckless Eric.In...
, track 1 - 1980 on Big Smash!Big Smash!Wreckless Eric's third album was released as a double LP and as cassette on February 29, 1980. While the first LP comprised new material, the extra LP in fact was the compilation album The Whole Wide World....
album, side 3, track 1 (double LP) or CD 2, track 1 (2CD set) - 2001 on Greatest Stiffs album, track 1
- 2002 on Me Without You soundtrack, track 14
- 2006 on Stranger than Fiction soundtrack, track 3
- 2006 on Whole Wide World 4 England single, track 1
- Wreckless Eric singing Whole Wide World live
Covers by other artists
- 1977 Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
Live - 1978 Italian female pop singer Anna OxaAnna OxaAnna Oxa is an Italian singer of Albanian descent, well-known through her numerous appearances in the televised Italian song contest, the Sanremo Music Festival. In 1978, at the age of sixteen, she took second place with the song "Un'emozione da poco" at the Sanremo Festival...
, on her album "Oxanna". Italian translation, title "Un cielo a metà" - 1978 Finnish rock band Eppu NormaaliEppu NormaaliEppu Normaali is one of the most popular rock bands in Finland. The band formed in 1976 in Ylöjärvi, a small town near Tampere. The band is the best-selling music artist in Finland, with certified sales surpassing 1.5 million records...
had the song translated to Finnish (Nuori Poika, meaning Young Boy) as a B-side of their single Jee Jee - 1987 The MonkeesThe MonkeesThe Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
on their Pool It!Pool It!Pool It!, issued 1987 by Rhino Records, is a pop/rock album by The Monkees. It was the first "reunion album" by the band after their 1986 rebirth, and it marked the return of Peter Tork along with Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones...
reunion album - 1988 Dogs :fr:Dogs (groupe de musique) on their A Million Ways Of Killing Time album. And on their live album Short, Fast & Tight in 2001.
- 1991 Die Toten HosenDie Toten HosenDie Toten Hosen is a German punk band from Düsseldorf. They have enjoyed decades-long mass appeal in Germany.The band's name literally means "The Dead Pants" in English, although the phrase "tote Hose" is a German expression meaning "nothing going on" or "boring"...
on Learning English, Lesson OneLearning English, Lesson OneLearning English, Lesson One or Learning English, Lesson 1 is the second cover album by the German punk band Die Toten Hosen. The album includes covers of mostly British bands, which were big influences for DTH.This is also the first all-English album for DTH, although the first English language...
, track 16 - 1993 Paul WesterbergPaul WesterbergPaul Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter of The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band...
during a tour promoting his first solo album, 14 Songs14 Songs14 Songs is the first official solo album from Paul Westerberg, former leader of The Replacements. In many ways, it's his second solo album, given that the final Replacements album, All Shook Down, was heavily packed with session musicians and marginalized the other three band members.The album... - 1995 Mental As AnythingMental As AnythingMental As Anything are an Australian New Wave–rock music band formed at an art school in Sydney in 1976. Their most popular line-up was Martin Plaza on vocals and guitar; Reg Mombassa on lead guitar and vocals; his brother Peter "Yoga Dog" O'Doherty on bass guitar and vocals; Wayne "Bird"...
on their album Liar Liar Pants On Fire and as a single - 1998 The Prissteens on Scandal, Controversy, and Romance album
- 1998 Jesse Hartman'sJesse HartmanJesse Hartman is an American musician, film maker and actor, living in New York's East Village.As a teenager, Hartman played both guitar and keyboards on a tour of Japan with Richard Hell & the Voidoids...
Laptop on a single - 1999 LaptopLaptopA laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
an electronica version on their lp User's Guide - 2006 Will FerrellWill FerrellJohn William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
in the movie Stranger than Fiction - 2006 Gemma HayesGemma HayesGemma Claire Hayes is an Irish singer-songwriter and member of The Cake Sale.-Early life:...
live Vicar St, Dublin - 2007 Amy RigbyAmy RigbyAmy Rigby is an American singer-songwriter. After playing with several New York bands she began a solo career, recording several albums which had only modest sales despite enthusiastic reviews. She settled into a career of touring small venues and private parties while raising a daughter, then...
live in UK concerts - 2007 The ProclaimersThe ProclaimersThe Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid . They are probably best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way" and "I'm Gonna Be ". The band tours extensively throughout Europe and other continents...
on the Life with YouLife with YouLife With You, released in 2007, is the seventh studio album by The Proclaimers. It appeared on W14, a joint venture label between Universal Records and John Williams , the man who gave The Proclaimers their first recording contract on Chrysalis Records...
album, track 11 - 2009 The Bad ShepherdsThe Bad ShepherdsThe Bad Shepherds are a British folk band formed by the comedian Adrian Edmondson in 2008. They play punk songs with traditional folk instruments...
on the Yan, Tan, Tethera, Methera ! album, track 4 - 2009 Bahamas on Pink Strat album, track 12
External links
- Whole Wide World YouTube