Currently, Wilson is perhaps best known for his co-writing and collaborations with other artists. He contributed three songs to the 2011 album 21 by UK singer-songwriter Adele,which has had the longest Top 5 run in history on the Billboard Album Chart and which won the 2012 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Wilson was part of that Grammy-winning team, as he co-wrote and produced the hit single "Someone Like You" which held the No. 1 position for 5 weeks in the U.S. and has remained in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 for months.
Wilson co-wrote six songs with the Dixie Chicks for their 2006 album Taking the Long Way, which garnered the coveted Album of the Year at the 2007 Grammy Awards. Wilson himself received the 2007 Grammy Award for Song of the Year for "Not Ready to Make Nice," one of the songs he co-wrote with the Dixie Chicks. His accolades as a songwriter have grown from success with his own band Semisonic. In 1999, Wilson was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for Semisonic's "Closing Time," which hit No. 6 in the Top 40 Chart and was No. 1 on the Modern Rock Chart.
Cry
Dan Wilson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you wanna make me wanna cry?
I lost my baby in the fight, I don't know where you've gone
Do you wanna make we wanna cry?
So I lie alone and I wonder where you've gone
And I dream you're mine wide awake
Don't you wanna make me feel I'll never fail, I'll never die?
Don't you wanna set me free, we'll override the history
Turn to find our destiny and never turn away
The devil was an angel once beautiful like you
Do you wanna make me wanna cry?
I don't care how far you fall, I'll catch you when you do
Do you wanna make me wanna cry?
So I close my eyes try to hold my head up high
And I pray my soul not to break
Don't you wanna make me feel like I'm a thousand stories high?
Don't you wanna make me feel I'll never fail, I'll never die?
Don't you wanna set me free, we'll override the history
Turn to find our destiny and never turn away
Do you really want to say goodbye?
Do you wanna make me wanna cry?
Don't you wanna make me feel like I'm a thousand stories high?
Don't you wanna make me feel I'll never fail no matter why?
Don't you wanna set me free, we'll override the history
Turn to find our destiny and never turn away from me
Don't you wanna make me feel like I'm a thousand stories high?
Don't you wanna make me feel I'll never fail, I'll never die?
Don't you wanna set me free, we'll override the history
Turn to find our destiny and never turn away
Do you really want to say goodbye?
Do you wanna make me wanna cry?
Do you wanna make me wanna cry?
The song "Cry" by Dan Wilson seems to be about a person who is feeling lonely and lost after their partner left them. They are longing for their partner's return and wondering where they have gone. The opening lines of the song "One more long and lonely night, left here on my own" set the tone for the song's melancholic atmosphere. The chorus of the song expresses the singer's desire for their partner to make them feel reassured and confident again. They want to be made to feel like they are "a thousand stories high" or that they will "never fail" or "never die." The singer wants their partner to "set [them] free" and find their destiny together, with the implication that their partner is the key to their happiness.
The second verse of the song introduces the idea of the devil as an angel, and implies that the singer sees their partner as someone who was once beautiful and good, but has now fallen. The verse also suggests that the singer is willing to forgive their partner for any mistakes they have made and will catch them when they fall.
Overall, the song conveys a sense of longing, vulnerability and the yearning for an idealized love. Its message is a plea for the singer's partner to return and make everything alright again.
Line by Line Meaning
One more long and lonely night, left here on my own
The singer is spending yet another long and solitude-filled night, all by themselves.
Do you wanna make me wanna cry?
The singer is questioning whether the person they're addressing intends to make them upset to the point of tears.
I lost my baby in the fight, I don't know where you've gone
The singer experienced a loss during a conflict and is unsure of the whereabouts of the person they're addressing.
So I lie alone and I wonder where you've gone
The artist is still alone and ponders about the location of the person who is absent.
And I dream you're mine wide awake
The artist is daydreaming about the person they're addressing even though they're fully conscious.
Don't you wanna make me feel like I'm a thousand stories high?
The singer wants to feel euphoric and invincible, like they could accomplish anything.
Don't you wanna make me feel I'll never fail, I'll never die?
The singer wants to feel like they can never do wrong and that they're invulnerable to death.
Don't you wanna set me free, we'll override the history
The artist wants to be liberated and have a fresh start with the person they're addressing, forgetting about the past.
Turn to find our destiny and never turn away
The artist wants to find their fate with the person they're addressing and never part from them again.
The devil was an angel once beautiful like you
The artist is likening the person they're addressing to an angel that has lost their way, like how Satan was once an angel in heaven.
I don't care how far you fall, I'll catch you when you do
The singer claims that they will be there to support the person they're addressing no matter how low they may sink.
So I close my eyes try to hold my head up high
The artist tries to remain positive even though they have to close their eyes to do so.
And I pray my soul not to break
The singer is asking for strength to endure the tough situation and not fall apart emotionally.
Do you really want to say goodbye?
The singer is asking the person they're addressing if they truly intend to end their relationship.
Do you wanna make me wanna cry?
The singer repeats their earlier question, asking whether the person they're addressing wants to make them sad to the point of tears.
Don't you wanna make me feel like I'm a thousand stories high?
The artist repeats their earlier request, asking again if they can feel euphoric and invincible.
Don't you wanna make me feel I'll never fail no matter why?
The artist repeats their earlier request, asking again if they can feel like they can never make mistakes.
Don't you wanna set me free, we'll override the history
The singer repeats their earlier request, asking again if they can start anew with the person they're addressing.
Turn to find our destiny and never turn away from me
The singer repeats their earlier request, asking again if they can find their fate together and never part ways.
Don't you wanna make me feel like I'm a thousand stories high?
The artist repeats their earlier request, asking again to feel euphoric and invincible.
Don't you wanna make me feel I'll never fail, I'll never die?
The artist repeats their earlier request, asking again to feel invulnerable and immortal.
Don't you wanna set me free, we'll override the history
The artist repeats their earlier request, asking again to start fresh with the person they're addressing.
Turn to find our destiny and never turn away
The singer repeats their earlier request, asking again to find their fate with the person they're addressing and never part ways.
Do you really want to say goodbye?
The artist repeats their earlier question, asking again if the person they're addressing truly wants to end the relationship.
Do you wanna make me wanna cry?
The singer repeats their earlier question, asking one final time whether the person they're addressing wants to make them sad to the point of tears.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: RAY MONK, JODIE WILSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind