Wild World

Album: Tea For The Tillerman (1970)
Charted: 11
Play Video
  • Now that I've lost everything to you
    You say you wanna start something new
    And it's breaking my heart you're leaving
    Baby, I'm grieving

    But if you want to leave, take good care
    Hope you have a lot of nice things to wear
    But then a lot of nice things turn bad out there

    Ooh baby baby, it's a wild world
    It's hard to get by just upon a smile
    Ooh baby baby, it's a wild world
    I'll always remember you like a child, girl

    You know I've seen a lot of what the world can do
    And it's breaking my heart in two
    Because I never want to see you sad girl
    Don't be a bad girl

    But if you want to leave, take good care
    Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
    But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware
    Beware

    Ooh baby baby, it's a wild world
    It's hard to get by just upon a smile
    Ooh baby baby, it's a wild world
    And I'll always remember you like a child, girl

    Baby, I love you
    But if you want to leave, take good care
    Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
    But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware
    Beware

    Ooh baby baby, it's a wild world
    It's hard to get by just upon a smile
    Ooh baby baby, it's a wild world
    And I'll always remember you like a child, girl

    Ooh baby baby, it's a wild world
    And it's hard to get by just upon a smile
    Ooh baby baby, it's a wild world
    And I'll always remember you like a child, girl Writer/s: Yusuf Islam
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management, Royalty Network
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 41

  • Fan And Apparently The Devil's Advocate from Lansing MiUhhhh, so we're gonna just accept and endorse a historically contradictory self-report, and take him at his word that it wasn't about the person it was about because it's half a century later? It obviously exhibits the blatant misogyny of the times and being able to focus on the metaphorical interpretation is obviously more palatable to both reality and modernity. It seems financial interests could obviously bias his 2000s self-report endorsed as, "clearing the air". Sounds like a preferred marketing approach & legacy which is synonymous with optics and private interest. Also, history. I love his work but your idols can be wrong, harmful, and human.
  • Terryberry from MoThis song hit me hard right after I moved away from home for the first time. They felt like my dad's words to me, about my own innocence and naivete about the world.... hard to get by just upon a smile.... I know as long as he lived, he never saw me as anything but his child, so yeah, this song has always been from my dad.
  • Eoghan from ÉireThe lyrics "bad girl" really make any possible misogyny harder to ignore, the rest could be in ref to him being Patti's elder and her possibly (or just from his chauvinistic perspective "/) being especially innocent or naïve even for her age. "I'll... remember you as a child", because you certainly won't be by the time we possibly meet again. Ironically he naïvely and wishfully thinks that she will definitely be happier if he can protect her and solve or alleviate her problems. Seems reasonable to dismiss claims of misogyny.

    However it's unlikely that conscious and subconscious unexamined, hegemonic notions of sex and gender wouldn't at least slightly permeate through his work considering just how misogynistic people still are today, let alone in the 20th century. "Bad girl" condescension and claimance over her

    Also like some academic said 1. Cat said that he himself is the narrator of the song and 2. The roles of each partner probably would never be switched
  • AnonymousThis song has a good message, especially now. It doesn't matter if you are a girl or a boy.
  • Jeff from NcWhile Cat claims in an interview this is about himself, this is a little hard to swallow considering how many times he says "girl" in the song.
  • Chris from Germany This song is awesome

    I cannot say how many times this song had been covered ! Yussuf Islam or Cat stevens is and was a great singer. His voice touches me every time I listen to his song.

    Jonathan King in 1987 claimed that ITS A SIN by the Pet shop boys sounded like WILD WORLD. He was sued by the Pet Shop boys. But after all the years I can understand why he claimed this because both songs have a vibe that is nearly the same.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 7th 1971, "Wild World" by Cat Stevens entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #83; and eight weeks later on April 4th, 1971 it peaked at #11 {for 1 week} and spent 13 weeks on the Top 100...
    It reached #14 on the Canadian RPM Singles chart...
    Between 1971 and 1979 he had fourteen Top 100 records; four made the Top 10, "Peace Train" {#7 in 1971}, "Morning Has Broken" {#6 in 1972}, "Oh Very young" {#10 in 1974}, and "Another Saturday Night" {#6 in 1974}...
    Mr. Steven, born Steven Demetre Georgiou, will celebrate his 67th birthday in five months on July 21st {2015}.
  • Lisa from Daytona, Fl"Wild World" song was about Patti Darbonville, she was 16 years old... Cat was 20. After a brief encounter he wrote a few songs about her, because he could not forget her after she left him. The girl was actually a wild girl as well.
  • Kat from Adelaide, AustraliaJust like Janice from Folsom, CA, I sing this to my little girl too, on the Piano, and she loves it. Instead of "... if you're gonna leave, take good care ...", we sing "Olivia, take good care ..." instead, which is her name!!
  • Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationTaken from Original Rolling Stone 'Teaser and The Firecat' LP Review [December 9, 1971]: "Most of Cat's songs about women have a weird edge to them, a fact not lost on Women's Liberation. Ellen Willis, the rock critic of the New Yorker, thinks that " 'Wild World' betrays a condescending, sexist viewpoint." Reverse the roles, she says, and "It's hard to imagine a woman sadly warning her ex-lover that he's too innocent for the big bad world out there."
  • Kimberly from Landing, NjHow we lose everything to starting over again in life as we just begin.

    Only the brave and knowing have the harness of knowledge.

    If only we all could c it everywhere.

    Smiles are faxsimiles of fax of our lives.
    Beauty is knowing the difference.

    Ty
  • Majid`` from Karachi, PakistanWhen it was written the wild was sex, drugs and rock n roll.......today it has a totally different angle.......
  • Richard from Pittsburgh, Pai have insisted that my 2 beautiful good girls listen to this song --- i was blessed rich pgh
  • Denise from Lakeland, Flthis song by cat stevens is one of my favorites. i love the lyrics to this song, and the music as well. makes you think. denise esposito
  • Paul from Clio, MiI like Mr. Big's version better if you've never heard before, it's worth checking out.
  • Lolo Brown from Gertrude, Bahamasgahhh i love this song.
    i first heard it in the movie "how to deal" which is also amazing but yeah...ahh. good song! evokes way too much catharsis. or im just wayyy too emotional haha. i love it!
  • Craig Murphy from Arlington, TxAs strange as it seems, there might be something to the Melanie Griffith connection -- Griffith dated Don Johnson at age 14 when this song was written. Don Johnson later had a child with D'Arbanville who was said to be the inspiration for the song.

    I don't know what the connection is -- but the person who saw the Griffith interview was probably not crazy.
  • Alexandre from MontrÃ?al, CanadaEven if Jimmy Cliff released the song before,I have to say that this cover was'nt the best version of Wild world. Cat is the best!
  • Addison from Alberta, CanadaI love Cat, even though he was already Yusaf when I was born! I love this song, but I can't find the sheet music anywhere!
  • Pamela from El Cajon, CaAS for Cat Stevens as an artist singer/songwriter....Terrific forever. Still think he's cool even though he has changed. Always liked this song and miss the old "Cat"
  • Pamela from El Cajon, CaAt the time this song came out I fell in love with a guy and he said the Wild World song was me all over. I was kinda shy and country simple as he saw me.(originally from country area in Jersey) He was more sophisticated than I. Very hip and smoked a lot of weed. I never indulged I was "straight" all the time. So he had fun protecting me from the wild world for a while. It was sexy and fun to have this guy like me for just who I was at the time.
    Pam,El Cajon,Ca
  • Jorge from Codoba, South Americaan awesome song, but..the lyrics sound like something you would tell your lover, but more so, a daughter.
  • Janice from Folsom, CaI was raised on Cat Stevens, and find comfort and inspiration in his music. When my 16 year old was little I use to sing Wild World to her every night going to bed, and now she loves Cat, too. I sing Moon Shadow to my two year old every night, so I assume she'll be a Cat fan as well.
  • Dave from Cardiff, WalesAlthough I now prefer Cat's version to Maxi Priests 1988 cover, if it hadn't been for Maxi's cover I'd never have discovered Cat Stevens...
  • Peter from Mistelbach, AustriaI heard this song a long time ago in the radio and i liked it. For a long time I didn't know who sang the song. Then I bought a album of Cat Stevens, named "Remember". And there it was the 4 track. A masterpiece.
  • Nessie from Sapporo, JapanI like the Cat version, not Mr. Big.
  • Jenny from Oc, CaJesse, David and Ivy...True, Melanie Griffith did turn 14 in 1971, however she married Don Johnson in 1972, before she turned 15 (In October of '72), so I guess she could very well have had a fling with an older guy. (Don was 8 years her senior.)
  • Chetan from Bangalore, IndiaI like the Mr. big version. But Cat Steven's voice is awesome as usual. he's so laid back in his singing. seems like he's just singing in the room alone! I wish i can sing this to someone...
  • David from Lansing, MiJesse is right. Melanie Griffith turned 14 in 1971, so I doubt she was dating Cat Stevens.
  • Jesse from Chicago, IlIvy, we here at the songfacts community appreciate your interest in this song, but it is mathematically impossible for this song to be written about melanie griffith. I love her as much as the next person, but the song was written in 1971. Ms Griffith could not have been much more than a child in 1971
  • Natasha from Chico, CaIt's kinda ironic how this song was one of stevens' biggest hits in the u.s., and now the "wild world" is working against him, keeping him out of the u.s. it's quite curious.
  • Natasha from Chico, CaI always thought that he wrote this for maybe his daughter or sumthin, warning her about the world and stuff, and least that's what i told my dad to get him to write a song for me..lol
  • Alex from New Orleans, LaWe caught the man who wrote "Peace Train",yet we can't find aliens from other planets.
  • Billy from Pittsburgh, PaCat Stevens, or "Yusuf Islam", rather, recently got taken off of a plane from London to Washington (only a few days ago, actually). Apparently he is on the United States' list of people who aren't allowed to ride U.S. planes because of his connections to Middle Eastern terrorists. Go figure.
  • Sam from Cleveland, OhMan, I miss the guy...
  • Ivy from Los Angeles, CaI saw an interview with Melanie Griffith and she told the host that Cat wrote this song about her. She said she had a brief fling w/him and he felt very protective towards her, warning her of the dangers of the world.
  • Annabelle from Eugene, OrCat Stevens was sweet and compassionate when he wrote this song. I still believe that he's the coolest Cat in the world! It seems like he was right when he said, It's a Wild World! When he said, a lot of nice things turn bad out there, he was right. There's murder, death, fights, wars, suicide attempts, and a lot of other wild and crazy stuff going on. I believe Cat Stevens wrote this song to promote peace and harmony! Same thing with when he wrote his song, "Peace Train"!
  • Glenn from Dunedin, New ZealandI liked your reference to the crazy world. This song always reminds me of that passage in 'Alice in Wonderland' where the Chesire Cat is giving Alice directions to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party (& hence the title to the album). All that remains of the Cat when he disappears is his smile. Most people intrepret the message of the song very negatively "it's hard to get by just on a smile" but I think Stevens intented the message to be the opposite - its ONLY possible to get by on a smile.
  • Lynn from Chicago, IlWhat a trip to hit random and find one of my first albums...this album was a big favorite with the "hippie" set in the early seventies...oh why oh why, Greek boy?
  • Peter from Sydney, AustraliaMr. Big had a semi-hit with this song in 1993
  • Dc from Hilo, HiCat Stevens wrote this song while breaking up with Patti D'Arbanville. She was also the inspiration for LADY D'ARBANVILLE. She later had a child with actor Don Johnson and appearred on the late 80's TV Show "Wiseguy".
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