Ward was previously with the band Rodriguez, which included bassist Kyle Field (of Little Wings fame) and drummer Mike Funk. They recorded and released on cassette Box Plots and Cash Crops and then the album Swing Like a Metronome in 2000. Duet for Guitars #2 was released on Howe Gelb's Ow Om record label. Ward's 2001 album, End of Amnesia, was released by Future Farmer Records, and his subsequent albums have been released on Merge Records. A collection of live recordings, Live Music & the Voices of Strangers, was a self-released disc that was sold at his shows. His next album, Transfiguration of Vincent, was released in 2003, followed by Transistor Radio in 2005. A year later, Post War was released.
In 2006, he contributed a song to, and helped produce, the John Fahey tribute album, I Am the Resurrection. He also contributed the song "Transfiguration #1" from Transfiguration of Vincent to the Brushfire Records soundtrack for A Brokedown Melody, a Jack Johnson surfing film.
His album, Hold Time, was released in 2009. The album A Wasteland Companion followed in 2012. The album title alludes to T.S. Eliot's 1922 modernist poem, The Waste Land. In 2016, he released More Rain. On June 8, 2018, M. Ward released What a Wonderful Industry.
Side Projects
In 2008 M. Ward combined forces with Zooey Deschanel and became She & Him. They have released two albums so far, Volume One in 2008 and Volume Two in 2010. He is also one fourth of the folk supergroup, Monsters of Folk, alongside Jim James from My Morning Jacket, and Conor Oberst & Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes. Their self-titled release, Monsters of Folk, was released in 2009.
* Official website
I Wonder
M. Ward Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cuz you only get one life to hit the target
And I won't fall under
All the pressures that might make me miss the mark
I am a one hit wonder
Cuz I've only had one life to hit the target
And I didn't fall under
All the pressures that might make me miss the mark.
Started this quest of life alone
My mother didn't want me
So, I'm happy there's no place like home
Cuz where I laid my head
Was different every night
Growing up without true love
Made success in life a losing fight
Couldn't look at a lady with respect
Cuz my only association was neglect
Filled with hate, anger, and despair
Thought there wasn't a woman who could make me care
Wandering the world on a lonely trek
Nothing of value in the mirror I saw to protect
A night full of lust is all I had to share
Until I opened my eyes and I saw you there!
I'm a one hit wonder
Cuz you only get one life to hit the target
And I won't fall under
All the pressures that might make me miss the mark
I am a one hit wonder
Cuz I've only had one life to hit the target
And I didn't fall under
All the pressures that might make me miss the mark, yeah
I'm living a dream come true
With an angel who was sent from high above
Baby, if it wasn't for you
I'd never know and feel the power of love
Creating this family
Is the true definition of fortune and fame
And it doesn't hurt that I found
A money maker bearing our family name
You're the queen I'm committed to protect
Blessed that you made my life's course correct
And with a princess and our princes here
The location of happiness is everywhere
Anyone who knew me would never suspect
Every chance I took, a win I'd collect
From the top of the mountain, at the world I stare
You are the answer to every prayer!
I'm a one hit wonder
Cuz you only get one life to hit the target
And I won't fall under
All the pressures that might make me miss the mark
I am a one hit wonder
Cuz I've only had one life to hit the target
And I didn't fall under
All the pressures that might make me miss the mark, yeah
In “I Wonder,” M. Ward poignantly tells the story of a lost love. The opening lines express the singer’s longing for the whereabouts of his love, wondering where she might be and if she’s thinking about him. He is consumed by the thought of her being with someone else, questioning if sleep comes easily to her, and if she will wake up next to another man.
The second verse reveals the singer’s regret for putting his love on a pedestal, “I built for you a tower of love and admiration, but I set you so high I could not reach myself.” Here, M. Ward touches on the idea of unattainable perfection and the pressure it can put on a relationship.
The song continues with the singer comparing the world around him to a sea of strangers, and how after losing his love, the only one he truly knows is the reflection staring back at him in the mirror. He acknowledges that his heart is damaged, but also recognizes the possibility of love and healing in the future. He concludes the song repeating the phrase "Ah, but in the meantime, I'd still like to know,” leaving the listener with a sense of longing and uncertainty about the future.
Line by Line Meaning
Where are you tonight I wonder
I am curious to know your whereabouts tonight
And where will you be tonight when I cry?
I wonder if you will be there for me when I'm crying
Will sleep for you come easy,
I wonder if you can sleep peacefully at night
Though I alone can't slumber
I am having trouble sleeping without you beside me
Will you welcome in the morning
I wonder if you'll be with someone else by the time morning comes
At another man's side?
Will you be with another man when I wake up?
How easy for you the years slipped under
It has been easy for you to move on
And left me a shadow the sun can't dispel
I feel like a mere shadow of myself that can never be whole again
I built for you a tower of love and admiration
I created a pedestal of love and respect for you in my life
But I set you so high I could not reach myself.
I set you above everything else in my life and lost touch with myself
I look through my window at a world filled with strangers
I feel disconnected from the world around me and surrounded by strangers
The face in my mirror is the one face I know
I only recognize my own face in the mirror
You have taken all that's in me, so my heart is in no danger
You have taken everything I have, so I have nothing left to lose
My heart is in no danger, but I'd still like to know
I'm not afraid to love again, but I still want answers
If there is a silence then it can be broken
Even if there is a gap between us, we can still communicate
If there beats a pure heart to her I will go
If I find someone with a kind heart, I will move on
And time will work its healing and the spirit will grow stronger
With time, my wounds will heal and my spirit will get stronger
Ah, but in the meantime I'd still like to know.
But for now, I still want to know the truth
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Dan Faraldo, John Meloche
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind