(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World
"(I'd Go The) 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,[3] and recorded it in 1977, whilst 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 single for Goulden, though it subsequently became his most well-known recording. The only charted version of "Whole Wide World" was a cover by the Australian band Mental As Anything, who took it #53 on the Australian singles chart in 1995.
Structure
The song is a simple one for beginning guitar players to learn. Instead of the three chords of most pop songs, it contains only guitar chords E and A. The verses are in a steady 4/4 time with the only difference being a more spirited strum during the chorus,[4] and a catchy single bar of 2/4 during its last line.
Sung by Wreckless Eric
- 1977 on the compilation album, A Bunch of Stiff Records
- 1978 on the self-titled Wreckless Eric album, track 6
- 1979 on That Summer film soundtrack
- 1979 on the compilation album The Whole Wide World, track 1
- 1980 on Big Smash! album, side 3, track 1 (double LP) or CD 2, track 1 (2CD set)
- 2001 on Greatest Stiffs album, track 1[5]
- 2002 on the Me Without You soundtrack, track 14[2]
- 2006 on Stranger than Fiction soundtrack, track 3[6]
- 2006 on Whole Wide World 4 England single, track 1[7]
- Wreckless Eric singing Whole Wide World live[8]
Covers by other artists
- 1977 Elvis Costello live
- 1978 The Italian female pop singer Anna Oxa, on her album Oxanna. Italian translation, title "Un cielo a metà "
- 1978 The Finnish rock band Eppu Normaali had the song translated to Finnish ("Nuori Poika", meaning Young Boy) as a B-side of their single, "Jee Jee"
- 1987 The Monkees on their Pool It! reunion album[9]
- 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 Hosen on Learning English, Lesson One, track 16
- 1993 Paul Westerberg during a tour promoting his first solo album, 14 Songs
- 1995 Mental As Anything on their album Liar Liar Pants On Fire and as a single
- 1998 Jesse Hartman's Laptop on a single[10]
- 2006 Will Ferrell in the movie Stranger than Fiction[11][12]
- 2006 Gemma Hayes live Vicar St, Dublin[13]
- 2007 Amy Rigby live in UK concerts[11]
- 2007 The Proclaimers on the Life with You album, track 11[14]
- 2009 The Bad Shepherds on the Yan, Tyan, Tethera, Methera! album, track 4
References
Specific references:
- ^ Discography - singles, wrecklesseric.com, accessed 2008-08-13
- ^ a b Whole Wide World - Wreckless Eric Allmusic, accessed 2008-08-13
- ^ (I'd Go The) Whole Wide World lyrics and info, wrecklesseric.com, accessed 2007-12-02
- ^ Play guitar with Will Ferrell Rich Copley (critic for the Lexington Herald-Leader), Copious Notes, 2006-11-08
- ^ Wreckless Eric - Greatest Stiffs (import) track listing, Amazon.com, accessed 2007-12-03
- ^ Stranger than Fiction (soundtrack) track listing, Amazon.com, accessed 2007-12-03
- ^ Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World 4 England track listing, Amazon.com, accessed 2007-12-03
- ^ Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World haroldturkeypants, YouTube, 2006-07-13
- ^ Whole Wide World - The Monkees marrrthew, YouTube, posted 2007-11-11
- ^ Whole Wide World, Split Single (CD/Vinyl 7"), August 1998-UK Discography, Laptop official website, accessed 2007-12-02
- ^ a b Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby Prep Album, Tour Roxana Hadadi, Harp Magazine, 2007-11-19
- ^ Stranger than Fiction - Whole Wide World, Felipebarriga, YouTube, 2007-02-20
- ^ Gemma Hayes - Whole Wide World video dublin1996, YouTube, posted 2006-08-12
- ^ The Proclaimers - Life With You track listing, Amazon.com, accessed 2007-12-03
General references:
- Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 611. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
External links