“Wonderwall” Lyrics & Meaning (Oasis)

Noel Gallagher lied to us.

He originally said he wrote Wonderwall about his girlfriend at the time.

Or people guessed that was the meaning, and he let them belive it.

He didn’t feel he could tell his girlfriend that it wasn’t actually about her.

But the true Wonderwall lyrics meaning had nothing to do with her.

Poor girl.

Keep reading to learn what Noel Gallagher actually had in mind when he wrote the song. I hope his ex-girlfriend didn’t take to news too hard!

 

Wonderwall Lyrics And Meaning

Wonderwall is a popular song recorded by the rock band Oasis. It was first released in 1995 and its popularity hasn’t died since.

The song is featured on their album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory and was the third single released from this record. Wonderwall was written by the band’s guitarist, Noel Gallagher.

Not only was the song one of the band’s most popular singles, I’d even go as far as to say it’s one of the most popular songs from the 1990s, period. It topped the charts in many different countries and received popular reviews from critics.

The song has also been featured on numerous TV shows and films, which just further adds to its popularity. And the video for Wonderwall is just as iconic as the song.

The music video was shot in black and white and had a 1960s theme. It features simple shots of members of the band sitting on a wooden chair, playing their instruments and then of the band performing in what looks like a factory.

It was the simplicity of the music video that made it so iconic and unforgettable. Also, the band didn’t enjoy making music videos where they had to act or do anything other than play their instruments. A simple music video like this was perfect for them.

There was also a huge argument between the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel, that took place during the shooting of the music video. Many of the crew have said they had never seen anything like it before.

It was always known that the twin brothers faced many disagreements during their musical career and the shooting of the Wonderwall video seems to have been one of the larger ones!

 

Wonderwall Lyrics

Verse 1

Today is gonna be the day that they’re gonna throw it back to you
And by now, you shoulda somehow realised what you gotta do
I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now

Verse 2

And 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
I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now

Pre-Chorus

And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don’t know how

Chorus

Because maybe
You’re gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You’re my wonderwall

Verse 3

Today was gonna be the day, but they’ll never throw it back to you
And by now, you shoulda somehow realised what you’re not to do
I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now

Pre-Chorus

And all the roads that lead you there were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don’t know how

Chorus

I said maybe
You’re gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You’re my wonderwall
I said maybe (I said maybe)
You’re gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You’re my wonderwall

I said maybe (I said maybe)
You’re gonna be the one that saves me (That saves me)
You’re gonna be the one that saves me (That saves me)
You’re gonna be the one that saves me (That saves me)

 

Wonderwall Meaning

Oasis’s hit song is primarily about relationships. It is about obstacles that a couple may face in their day-to-day life, while knowing that they will always have each other and work through anything life throws at them.

You can determine this through the opening lyrics “Today is gonna be the day that they’re gonna throw it back to you, by now you should’ve somehow realized what you gotta do” and “I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now.”

It is interesting to note that initially, Noel Gallagher said he wrote Wonderwall about his girlfriend at the time. Naturally, she was most pleased to hear this. But it wasn’t actually true.

Gallagher later told the press that this wasn’t the case. He admitted the song just came to him through his imagination. But he didn’t feel like he could tell his girlfriend at the time that the song wasn’t about her!

Noel said that he actually wrote the song about an imaginary friend who was coming to save him from himself. This is apparent from the line “because maybe, you’re gonna be the one that saves me.”

Others have also interpreted the song as being about a new love interest.

This is primarily due to the lyric “there are many things that I would like to say to you but I don’t know how.” It can reflect the butterflies that you feel when you are first getting to know someone new. But you do not feel like you can tell them exactly how you feel about them yet, because it’s too soon and you could put them off.

 

Wonderwall Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts

So Noel Gallagher lied and let his girlfriend at the time believe the Wonderwall lyrics meaning was about her. I can see why he did that. He’s probably right that she would have been disappointed to find out the truth.

But it came out eventually. I suppose after that relationship was over. Gallagher admitted that he actually wrote the song about an imaginary friend who serves as a source of salvation from personal struggles.

Of course, it could be the complete opposite of everything written above, too. It could be that Wonderwall actually was about that first girlfriend, but after Noel broke up with her and started seeing someone else, the new girlfriend didn’t like that the song was about her predecessor.

So Noel made up a new story. Would you put it past him? It sounds plausible to me, but I guess we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and take him at his word. The current word, not the original one.

For a love song about the end of a relationship (along with a second meaning) from another British artist, check out our analysis of the Someone You Loved lyrics by Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi.