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.

Every Time I See You I Go Wild
Stevie Wonder Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

See you I go wild, see you I go wild, see you I go wild

Oh, my darling, every time I see you baby I go wild
I go wild (go wild), I go wild
Every time I see your face, I feel an earthquake coming on
You shake me up and break me down
'Til all my self-control is gone
You're all the things I've ever wanted, girl

Underneath the rising sun

But the hands of fate says no
There's someone else and you love him so
But just one look at you
My heart cries out for you
And I love you, love you, love you, love you

Every time I see you baby, I go wild, I just go wild
Every time I see you baby, I go wild, go wild

You've got sweet magic in your eyes
And it makes you the master of my soul
Just one look and all, all my strength, darlin'
Fades away under your control

You and your love I see each day
You're too in love to look my way
And when you passed me by
My heart starts to cry
'Cause I love you, love you, love you, love you, baby

Every time I see you, baby, I go wild, go wild
(I go wild, I go wild, I go wild, I go wild)

You know I love you
And I place no one above you darling
One look, some kind of power
Reaches every inch of me
Melting all my resistance slowly
And oh, my darling, so tenderly, oh

Every time I see your face, darlin'
I go wild, go wild, darlin'

Every time I hear your name, baby
I go wild, my darlin', I go wild

Overall Meaning

In Stevie Wonder's Every Time I See You I Go Wild, the artist describes the overwhelming excitement, attraction, and love he feels towards a woman every time he sees her. He uses the phrase "I go wild" to emphasize just how much he is affected by her presence. In the verses, he sings about how she makes him lose all self-control and how she is everything he has ever wanted. However, he acknowledges that fate has brought them apart since the woman is already in love with someone else. Nevertheless, with just a look from her, his heart cries out for her love.

Wonder portrays the woman as some kind of sorceress that has control over his soul and every inch of his being. He sings about how her presence has the power to melt away his resistance and how he loves her regardless of the fact that she is not available. He admires her magic and acknowledges his helplessness in front of her.

Through this song, Stevie Wonder paints a picture of the uncontrollable and dizzying feeling of falling in love. He captures the feeling so vividly that the listener can relate to the sensation of being swept away by strong emotions when they encounter someone they are captivated by.

Line by Line Meaning

See you I go wild, see you I go wild, see you I go wild
The sight of you causes me to lose control and act recklessly, and I cannot help but react this way every time I see you.

Oh, my darling, every time I see you baby I go wild
Sweetheart, every time I catch a glimpse of you, I lose myself in passion and desire and cannot control my emotions.

Every time I see your face, I feel an earthquake coming on
Just laying eyes on you causes my heart to pound so hard that it feels like an earthquake is imminent.

You shake me up and break me down
Your mere presence is so overwhelming that it completely discombobulates me and leaves me feeling vulnerable.

'Til all my self-control is gone
Your charm and beauty are so powerful that they disable my ability to regulate my own behavior and thinking.

You're all the things I've ever wanted, girl
You embody all of the characteristics and traits that I admire and desire in a partner.

Underneath the rising sun
This feeling of admiration and desire is constantly present, even as the world around us changes.

But the hands of fate says no
Despite my desire and attraction to you, circumstances beyond my control prevent us from being together.

There's someone else and you love him so
You are in a relationship with someone else whom you deeply care for and hold affection towards.

But just one look at you
Despite the fact that I know we cannot be together, seeing you still has a powerful impact on me emotionally.

My heart cries out for you
My emotions overwhelm me to the point where I feel like I need to express them with great intensity.

And I love you, love you, love you, love you
I am deeply and profoundly in love with you, despite knowing that we cannot be together.

You've got sweet magic in your eyes
The look you give is almost supernatural in its ability to mesmerize and hypnotize me.

And it makes you the master of my soul
Your power over me is so complete that it extends even to my innermost being and sense of self.

Just one look and all, all my strength, darlin'
Merely catching a glimpse of you has the power to rob me of my resolve and willpower.

Fades away under your control
You exercise such a hold over me that I cannot resist or reclaim my strength, and am left completely in your thrall.

You and your love I see each day
I must bear witness to your devoted love for someone else every day, despite my own love for you.

You're too in love to look my way
Your deep love and affection for someone else consumes you to the point where you may not even notice my own feelings for you.

And when you passed me by
Even the slightest interaction with you has the power to set my emotions spinning and render me helpless.

My heart starts to cry
The intensity of my emotions becomes so great that it feels like my heart is breaking.

'Cause I love you, love you, love you, love you, baby
I cannot help but express the depth of my feelings and devotion to you, despite it being fruitless and impossible.

You know I love you
You are fully aware of my deep love and admiration for you.

And I place no one above you darling
There is no one else in my heart and mind that even comes close to my level of admiration and affection for you.

One look, some kind of power
The mere act of looking at you seems to possess a certain cosmic or otherworldly force.

Reaches every inch of me
This power of attraction and desire is all-encompassing, affecting every facet of my being.

Melting all my resistance slowly
Ultimately, this attraction is so intense and forceful that it melts away all of my own defenses and reservations, leaving me helpless against it.

And oh, my darling, so tenderly, oh
Despite everything, I continue to feel tenderness and affection towards you, and cannot help but express those feelings with great passion.

Every time I see your face, darlin'
Even though I know that my emotions are beyond my control, I cannot help but feel them with greater intensity every time I lay eyes on you.

I go wild, go wild, darlin'
My emotions become so uncontrollable that they overtake all of my senses and leave me feeling like I am going a bit crazy.

Every time I hear your name, baby
Even hearing your name mentioned causes my heart to skip a beat and my emotions to spin out of control.

I go wild, my darlin', I go wild
There is no escape from the overwhelming power of my emotions for you, no matter how often or infrequently I am reminded of you.

Writer(s): S. Moy, H. Cosby, Stevland Morris (a/k/a: Stevie Wonder)

Contributed by Jack N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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