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.
Yester-Me Yester-You Yesterday
Stevie Wonder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yester-you
Yesterday
Ooh, ooh
What happened to
The world we knew
When we would dream and scheme
Yester-me
Yester-you
Yesterday
Ooh, ooh
Mm, yeah
Where did it go? (Where did it go?)
That yester-glow
When we could feel
The wheel of life turn our way
Yester-me
Yester-you
Yesterday
Ooh, ooh
I had a dream so did you
Life was warm and love was true
Two kids who followed all the rules
Yester-fools and now
Now it seems (now it seems)
Those yester-dreams
Were just a cruel
And foolish game we used to play
Yester-me
Yester-you
Yesterday
Ooh, ooh
When I recall what we had
I feel lost
I feel sad
With nothing but
The memory of yester-love
And now, now it seems (now it seems)
Those yester-dreams
Were just a cruel
And foolish game we had to play
Yester-me
Yester-you
Yesterday
Mm, mm, yeah (ooh, ooh)
Yester-me
Yester-you
Yesterday
Ooh, ooh
Sing it with me
Yester-me
Yester-you
Yesterday
Ooh, ooh
One more time
Yester-me
Yester-you
Yesterday
The lyrics to Stevie Wonder's song Yester-Me Yester-You Yesterday express the nostalgic feeling of reminiscing on past memories of love and happiness. The song acknowledges the passage of time and the changes that come with it. It is a heartwarming tale of two people who embraced their dreams and aspirations with love and hope, but eventually outgrew them.
The song's lyrics convey a deep sense of longing for a simpler time when life was less complicated and love was genuine. The lines "What happened to the world we knew / When we would dream and scheme / And while the time away" show the desire to go back to a time when their dreams and aspirations held more weight than the worries and fears that come with adulthood.
The lyrics also highlight the painful realization that those past memories of love and happiness may have been illusions. The lines "Those yester-dreams / Were just a cruel / And foolish game we used to play" express the feeling of betrayal, regret, and disappointment that come with romantic relationships that no longer exist.
Overall, the song reminds listeners to cherish the present moments while still holding the memories of the past close to their hearts.
Line by Line Meaning
Yester-me
Referring to the past version of oneself
Yester-you
Referring to the past version of the person or people addressed in the song
Yesterday
Referring to the past, a time before the present
Ooh, ooh
Non-lyrical vocals
What happened to
Question about what occurred to change things
The world we knew
The past that is remembered
When we would dream and scheme
When hopes and plans were made
And while the time away
Passing time without great purpose or activity
Mm, yeah
An affirmative vocalization
Where did it go? (Where did it go?)
A rhetorical question asking where the past has vanished to
That yester-glow
The uplifting feelings of the past
When we could feel
When emotions were more potent
The wheel of life turn our way
When everything seemed to be going well
I had a dream so did you
Both parties had hopes for the future
Life was warm and love was true
The past was a time of happiness and affection
Two kids who followed all the rules
The people involved were young and naive
Yester-fools and now
They were foolish in the past
Now it seems (now it seems)
Present contemplation of the past
Those yester-dreams
The hopes and aspirations of the past
Were just a cruel
The dream was unrealistic
And foolish game we used to play
The dreams and plans were pointless
When I recall what we had
Remembering what was lost
I feel lost
The sense of being adrift in life
I feel sad
Feeling emotions of sadness and regret
With nothing but
Without anything else except for
The memory of yester-love
The recollection of past affection
Mm, mm, yeah (ooh, ooh)
Non-lyrical vocals
Sing it with me
Encouragement to join in singing
One more time
A request to perform the song one final time
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bryan Wells, Ronald N. Miller
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!