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.

I Don't Know Why
Stevie Wonder Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I don't know why I love you
I don't know why, I love you
I don't know why I love you
But I love you

Always treat me like a fool
Kick me when I'm down, that's your rule
I don't know why I love you

But I love you

Oh, you never stop your cheatin' ways
With another guy you laugh in my face
Lord how long must I be disgraced

'Cause I love you
Oh baby, baby, baby
I don't know why I love you
I don't know

You and me baby, oh
I don't know why I love you baby
But I love you baby
Oh darlin', darlin', darlin'

You throw my heart down in the dirt
Oh, you made me crawl
On this cold black earth, baby
No, I never, I never knew
How much love could hurt
Until I loved you baby
'Til I loved you baby, baby
Oh, baby

I can't stop
I can't stop crying can't you see?
Oh, here I'm pleadin' on my knees, I'm on my knees
Won't you help me, help me please

'Cause I love you, I love you baby
Woo, sure enough, baby, yeah
I don't know, you don't know
We don't know none of us

Can't do nothing about it
I don't know, baby, I don't know
Oh, hey-hey, oh baby, let me show how I love you
I don't know, I don't know
You don't know nothin' about it

Nobody can do nothin' about it
Oh, I don't know baby, I don't know

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Stevie Wonder's "I Don't Know Why" expresses the confusion that arises when love is involved. Even though the subject of the song treats the singer cruelly, cheating on him and laughing in his face, he is unable to shake the feeling of love. He admits that he doesn't understand why he loves her, despite her poor treatment. The repetition of the line "I don't know why I love you" emphasizes the singer's confusion and frustration.

The lyrics also touch on themes of pain and humiliation. The subject of the song has hurt the singer deeply, throwing his heart down and making him crawl in the dirt. The line "How much love could hurt" suggests that the singer was not prepared for the emotional pain that comes with loving someone. However, despite the pain, the singer cannot help loving this person.

It is a song that speaks to the common human experience of feeling love for someone who maybe isn't deserving or treating you well. There is a sense of desperation in the lyrics, and a feeling of being trapped by emotions that one doesn't fully understand.

Line by Line Meaning

I don't know why I love you
I cannot explain the reason for loving you

But I love you
Despite the lack of explanation, I still love you

Always treat me like a fool
You continuously make me feel foolish

Kick me when I'm down that's your rule
You take advantage of my vulnerabilities

Oh you never stop your
Your actions are unceasing

Cheatin' ways with another guy
You are unfaithful with other men

You laugh in my face
You find amusement in my pain

Lord how long must I be disgraced
How much longer must I experience humiliation

You and me baby, oh
Together, you and I

You throw my heart down in the dirt
You disregard my emotions

You made me crawl on
You reduce me to a subservient state

This cold black earth, baby
An unpleasant and unforgiving situation

No I never, I never knew
I did not previously understand

How much love could hurt
The extent to which love can cause pain

Until I loved you baby
I did not realize this until I loved you

Oh baby, I can't stop
My emotions are uncontrollable

I can't stop crying can't you see
I am overwhelmed with sadness

Here I'm pleadin' on my knees
I am begging for mercy

Won't you help me, help me please
I am requesting assistance

Sure enough, baby, yeah
Absolutely, yes

We don't know none of us
None of us possess the answer

Can't do nothing about it
We are powerless to change it

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lula Mae Hardaway, Don Hunter, Stevie Wonder, Paul Riser

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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