"Wonderland" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from the deluxe version of her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). Swift wrote "Wonderland" alongside Swedish record producers Max Martin and Shellback, who both produced the song as well. Big Machine Records released "Wonderland" on October 27, 2014, for digital download on iTunes on February 17, 2015, and for streaming on June 30, 2015.
"Wonderland" takes inspiration from children's novel Alice in Wonderland to describe an intense relationship, referencing characters from the book. "Wonderland" was performed several times during the 1989 World Tour (2015), Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) and the Eras Tour (2023-4). Critics praised the song's witty songwriting, even though one deemed the instrumentals to be incoherent. "Wonderland" charted in the US, Canada and Australia.
Following a 2019 dispute over the masters of her first six albums, Swift re-recorded the song as "Wonderland (Taylor's Version)", and released it as part of her fourth re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor's Version) on October 27, 2023, under Republic Records. "Wonderland (Taylor's Version)" charted in the US, New Zealand and Canada.
Background and production
Taylor Swift had identified as a country musician until her fourth studio album, Red, which was released on October 22, 2012.[1]Red incorporates eclectic pop and rock styles beyond the country stylings of Swift's past albums, which led to critics questioning her country-music identity.[2] Swift began writing songs for her fifth studio album in mid-2013 while touring on the Red Tour.[3] Inspired by 1980s synth-pop, she named the album 1989 after her birth year to signify an artistic reinvention: she described it as her first "official pop album".[4][5]
On 1989, Swift worked with Max Martin as executive producers. Martin and Shellback produced seven out of 13 tracks for 1989's standard edition, and two out of the three bonus tracks in the deluxe edition, including "Wonderland".[6]
Music and lyrics
"Wonderland" is four minutes and five seconds long.[6] It's re-recording, "Wonderland (Taylor's Version)" is also four minutes and five seconds.[7] Lyrically, "Wonderland" takes inspiration from Alice in Wonderland. Swift uses "falling down the rabbit hole" as a metaphor for falling in love and going insane in the process, while the line, "Haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds?" references Alice's observation that "curiosity often leads to trouble".[8] The line, "flash your green eyes", is also a reference to a character in the book, the Chesire Cat.[9] The song is about a woman, mad in love, who follows a lover into what is supposedly a safe place, referred to in-song as "Wonderland". Both lovers rush into the relationship without thinking twice, consumed by erotic desire.[10] The first draft for the song contained more references to Alice in Wonderland, with the male lover proclaiming them king and queen.[11]
Release and live performances
Swift occasionally performed "Wonderland" on acoustic guitar during the 1989 World Tour
"Wonderland" was officially released on October 27, 2014 under Big Machine Records on the deluxe version of the album 1989; Wonderland" being the fourteenth track on the deluxe edition of 1989 and the first of three deluxe tracks on the 1989 track listing.[12][13] However, it was originally only available on CD, which was available exclusively at Target.[12][14] On February 17, 2015, Swift announced on Twitter that "Wonderland" would be available for digital download on the iTunes Store immediately, and that the other two tracks exclusive to the deluxe edition of 1989—"You Are in Love" and "New Romantics"—would be available on iTunes soon.[15][16] "Wonderland" became available for streaming on Apple Music and Spotify on June 30, 2015, and June 9, 2017; respectively.[17][18]
After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[19] The decision came after a 2019 public dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of Swift's albums the label had released.[20][21] By re-recording them, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, including the copyright licensing of her songs, devaluing the Big Machine-owned masters.[22] The re-recording of "Wonderland", subtitled "Taylor's Version", was released as part of Swift's fourth re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor's Version), on October 27, 2023.[23] Swift produced "Wonderland (Taylor's Version)" with Christopher Rowe, who engineered her vocals.[7]
Rose Androwich of Observer commended Swift's ability to "make connections to popular culture while crafting a distinct narrative of her life", applauding its lyrics as "witty".[28] Rob Sheffield, writing for Rolling Stone, in a retrospective ranking of Swift's discography, ranked it at 128 out of 274.[29] Saloni Gajjar and Mary Kate Carr, writing for the AV Club, as well as Callie Ahlgrim and Kim Renfro, writing for Business Insider, listed "Wonderland" as one of the 22 most underrated Taylor Swift songs, the former saying that it "doesn't get the adulation it demands", but also criticising it for being "sonically jarring". The latter also says that it had potential to be a single.[30][31] IRachel Martin of Notion commended the "cleaner" vocals of "Wonderland (Taylor's Version)".[32]
Commercial performance
"Wonderland" debuted and peaked at 51 on the US BillboardHot 100.[33] It also charted in Australia (22),[34] Canada (59),[35] and on the Billboard Global 200 (171).[36] "Wonderland (Taylor's Version)" charted in the US (33),[33], Canada (37),[37] New Zealand (36),[38] and the Billboard Global 200 (32).[36]
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