Song Meaning
Stevens developed a relationship with a young American woman, Patti D'Arbanville, and the two were a pair throughout a period of two years or so. During that time, he wrote several songs about her, including the hit song "Wild World."
The song is in the form of the singer's words to his departing lover, inspired by the end of their romance. Stevens later recalled to Mojo: "It was one of those chord sequences that's very common in Spanish music. I turned it around and came up with that theme- which is a recurring theme in my work- which is to do with leaving, the sadness of leaving, and the anticipation of what lies beyond." Released as a single in late 1970, it just missed becoming Stevens' first top ten hit in the U.S., peaking at #11 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. "Wild World" has been credited as the song that gave Stevens next album, Tea for the Tillerman "enough kick" to get it played on FM radio; and Island Records' Chris Blackwell has been quoted as calling it "the best album we’ve ever released" to that date.
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