Stevland Hardaway Morris (né Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally a… Read Full Bio ↴Stevland Hardaway Morris (né Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder.

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.

Beyond the Sea
Stevie Wonder Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Somewhere beyond the sea, somewhere
Waiting for me
My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships that go sailing

Somewhere beyond the sea, she's there
Watching for me
If I could fly like birds on high

Then straight to her arms I'd go sailing

It's far beyond the star, it's still
Beyond the moon
I know beyond a doubt, my heart
Will lead me there soon

We'll meet beyond the shore, we'll kiss
Just as before

Happy we'll be beyond the sea
And never again I'll go sailing

Overall Meaning

These lyrics to Stevie Wonder's song Beyond The Sea describe a longing for love that is far away across the sea. The singer imagines their lover waiting for them on golden sands, watching ships pass by, and wishes they could fly straight to their arms. The love they seek is "beyond the star" and "beyond the moon," but the singer's heart is certain they will be reunited soon. The two will meet again beyond the shore, sharing a kiss and finding happiness beyond the sea.

The lyrics of the song evoke a sense of longing and romanticism, as the singer dreams of a love that is far away but feels certain of its inevitability. The song was originally written by Jack Lawrence in 1945 and has been performed by a variety of artists, but Stevie Wonder's soulful rendition gives it a fresh emotional depth.

Line by Line Meaning

Somewhere beyond the sea
There is a faraway place across the ocean

Somewhere waiting for me
Someone special is waiting for me there

My lover stands on golden sands
My significant other is standing on a beautiful beach

And watches the ships that go sailing
Observing the ships that pass by

She's there watching for me
My loved one is eagerly waiting for me

If I could fly like birds on high
If only I could fly like the birds in the sky

Then straight to her arms I'd go sailing
I would sail straight into her waiting arms

It's far beyond the star
The destination is farther than the stars in the sky

It's still beyond the moon
The place is even farther than the moon above

I know beyond a doubt
Without a shred of doubt, I know

My heart will lead me there soon
My heart will guide me towards that place, and it won't take long

We'll meet beyond the shore
The reunion with my lover will take place beyond the beach

We'll kiss just as before
We'll kiss again, as we've done before

Happy we'll be beyond the sea
We'll both be happy, far away across the ocean

And never again I'll go sailing
I won't ever leave my loved one again to sail across the sea

Lyrics © RAOUL BRETON EDITIONS, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Albert Lasry, Charles Trenet, Jack Lawrence

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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