Wonder's single "Fingertips" was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, at the age of 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. Wonder's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s. His "classic period" began in 1972 with the releases of Music of My Mind and Talking Book, the latter featuring "Superstition", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. His works Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976) all won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, making him the tied-record holder for the most Album of the Year wins, with three. He is also the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases. Wonder began his "commercial period" in the 1980s; he achieved his biggest hits and highest level of fame, had increased album sales, charity participation, high-profile collaborations (including Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson), political impact, and television appearances. Wonder has continued to remain active in music and political causes.
Wonder is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 100 million records worldwide. He has won 25 Grammy Awards (the most by a solo artist) and one Academy Award (Best Original Song, for the 1984 film The Woman in Red). Wonder has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday in the U.S. In 2009, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, on May 13, 1950, the third of five children born to Lula Mae Hardaway, and the second of Hardaway's two children with Calvin Judkins. He was born six weeks premature which, along with the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, resulted in retinopathy of prematurity, a condition in which the growth of the eyes is aborted and causes the retinas to detach, so he became blind.
All I Do )
Stevie Wonder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're getting to be my one desire
You're getting to be all that matters to me
And let me tell you girl
I hope and pray each day I live
A little more love I'll have to give
A little more love that's devoted and true
Cause all I do is think about you
Oh baby
Is think about you
Think about you baby
All I do
M-m-m-m
Is think about you
Baby just suppose I should happen to cross your mind
And by some chance a boy like me you're really been trying to find
Well let me tell you girl
Think of how exciting it would be
If you should discover you feel like me
If you should discover this dream is for two
We'll I'm gonna tell you girl
I'd light a candle every day
And pray that you'll always feel this way
And pray that our love will forever be new
Cause all I do is think about you
All I do
Oh baby
Is think about you
I think about you
All I do yeah, baby
Is think about you
Gonna tell you girl
I'd light a candle every day
And pray that you'll always feel this way
And pray that our love will forever be new
I'm gonna tell you girl
If I cannot have you for my own
I'd rather be lonely and all alone
I'd rather keep thinking the way that I do
Cause all I do is think about you
All I do
Oh baby
Is think about you
Think about you baby
All I do
Oh oh baby
Is think about you
I think about you baby
All I do
Yeah baby
Is think about you
Think about you baby,
All I do
Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby
Is think about you
All I do is think about you baby
All I do
Is think about you
I think about cha baby
All I do
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Is think about you
Oh baby, baby, baby
I'm thinking baby
'Bout you baby
I'm thinking baby
'Bout you baby
I'm thinking baby
Give it to me baby
I'm thinking baby
I'm thinking, thinking, yeah, yeah,
'Bout you baby
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah get on down
All I do
Gotta get on down
Is think about you
Whoa whoa whoa get on down
All I do
All I do is think about you baby
Is think about you
I think about you baby
All I do
Oh baby
Is think about you
Can you feel can you feel can feel
All I do
The fire burning can't you feel the birds humming
Is think about you
Think about you baby, oh oh
All I do
Can't you feel my love flowing
Can't you see my love growing
Is think about you
Oh, all I do is think about you
The lyrics to Stevie Wonder's "All I Do" express the powerful emotions of an individual completely consumed by love. The opening lines "You made my soul a burning fire" and "You're getting to be my one desire" demonstrate the intensity of the feelings the singer holds for the subject of his affection. He declares that she has become all that matters to him and that he hopes to love her more as each day passes. The theme of devotion runs throughout the song, with the singer declaring his willingness to light a candle every day to show his affection.
The song also taps into feelings of uncertainty that can come with love, with the singer yearning for the subject of his affection to feel the same way he does. He imagines how exciting it would be if she felt the same, and that their love will be forever new. However, he also acknowledges in the final lines that he wants her so much that he would rather be lonely and alone, the implication being that even unrequited love is better than not having her at all.
Overall, the lyrics express both the joy and the agony of a consuming, all-encompassing love that dominates the singer's every thought, waking or sleeping.
Line by Line Meaning
You made my soul a burning fire
Your love has ignited a flame within me that cannot be contained
You're getting to be my one desire
I desire you more with each passing day
You're getting to be all that matters to me
You have become the most important thing in my life
And let me tell you girl
I need to express my feelings to you
I hope and pray each day I live
I pray for another day to love you even more
A little more love I'll have to give
My love for you will never cease to grow
A little more love that's devoted and true
The love I have for you is pure and unwavering
Cause all I do is think about you
You are constantly on my mind
Oh baby
My affectionate term for you
M-m-m-m
An expression of my romantic excitement
Baby just suppose I should happen to cross your mind
I wonder if you ever think about me
And by some chance a boy like me you're really been trying to find
If you're searching for someone like me, I hope you'll notice me
Well let me tell you girl
I need to express my hopes and dreams to you
Think of how exciting it would be
Our love could bring us boundless happiness
If you should discover you feel like me
If you reciprocate my feelings for you
If you should discover this dream is for two
If we both share the same desires
We'll I'm gonna tell you girl
I can't keep my feelings inside any longer
I'd light a candle every day
I would make a vow to love and cherish you daily
And pray that you'll always feel this way
I hope your love for me will never falter
And pray that our love will forever be new
May our relationship always feel fresh and exciting
I'm gonna tell you girl
I need to emphasize the importance of my feelings for you
If I cannot have you for my own
If you cannot be mine
I'd rather be lonely and all alone
I would prefer to be alone than to be without you
I'd rather keep thinking the way that I do
I'll continue to love you from afar
Can you feel can you feel can feel
Asking if you can sense the intensity of my love
The fire burning can't you feel the birds humming
My passion for you burns bright like a fire, and the world sings with love
Can't you feel my love flowing
My love for you is overflowing and abundant
Can't you see my love growing
My love for you is constantly growing and evolving
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CLARENCE PAUL, MORRIS BROADNAX, STEVIE WONDER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cheryl Rowland Hall
on Isn't She Lovely
Dedicated to my lovely daughter, Amy Kathleen Rawson, the lovely child who helped mom to grow up!