"Whole Wide World" is a song written by English rock singer-songwriter

Wreckless Eric Eric Goulden (born 18 May 1954), known as Wreckless Eric, is an English rock/ new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in ''Mo ...

, who wrote the song in May 1974, and recorded it in 1977, whilst an original member of the

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...

label. Additional musicians on the record were

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Steve Goulding Steve Goulding (born 1954) is an English drummer, who has played as a member of Graham Parker and The Rumour, The Associates, Poi Dog Pondering, The Waco Brothers, Sally Timms and the Drifting Cowgirls and The Mekons. He also played the drums ...

on drums. The song was never a

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

for Eric, though it subsequently became his best-known recording. The only charted versions of "Whole Wide World" are a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by the Australian band

Mental As Anything Mental As Anything are an Australian New wave music, new wave and pop rock musical ensemble, band that formed in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up (which lasted from 1977 to 1999, and recorded all of their charting singles and albums) w ...

, who took it to No. 53 on the

Australian singles chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

in 1995, and another by American alternative rock band

Cage the Elephant Cage the Elephant is an American rock band formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They moved to England, U.K. and settled in London in 2008, shortly before their self-titled first album was released. The band currently consists of Matt Shul ...

, who took it to No. 11 on the ''Billboard''

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart in 2017.

Sung by Wreckless Eric

*1977 on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

A Bunch of Stiff Records ''A Bunch of Stiff Records'', also known as ''A Bunch of Stiffs'', is a various artists album to promote some of the first acts to be signed by Stiff Records. It is subtitled ''Undertakers to the Industry – If They're Dead - We'll Sign 'Em''. ...

'' *1978 on the self-titled ''

'' album, track 6 *1979 on '' That Summer'' film soundtrack *1979 on the compilation album ''

The Whole Wide World ''The Whole Wide World'' is a 1996 American independent biographical film produced and directed by Dan Ireland in his directorial debut. It depicts the relationship between pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard (Vincent D'Onofrio) and schoolteach ...

'', track 1 *1980 on ''

Big Smash! ''Big Smash!'' was British musician Wreckless Eric's third studio album. It was released as a double LP (SEEZ 21) and as a cassette (ZSEES 21) on 29 February 1980. While the first LP comprised new material, the extra LP was the U.S.-only com ...

'' album, side 3, track 1 (double LP) or CD 2, track 1 (2-CD set) *2001 on ''Greatest Stiffs'' album, track 1 *2002 on the '' Me Without You'' soundtrack, track 14 Whole Wide World – Wreckless Eric''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'', accessed 13 August 2008 *2006 on '' Stranger than Fiction'' soundtrack, track 3 *2006 on "Whole Wide World 4 England" single, track 1

Covers by other artists

*1977:

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

and

the Attractions The Attractions were an English backing band for the English new wave musician Elvis Costello between 1977 and 1986, and again from 1994 to 1996. They consisted of Steve Nieve (keyboards and ukulele), Bruce Thomas (bass guitar), and Pete Tho ...

on the Stiffs Live Tour. Wreckless Eric later said, "I wasn't a fan of Elvis Costello, particularly." *1978: Italian female pop singer

Anna Oxa Anna Hoxha (; born 28 April 1961), known professionally as Anna Oxa (), is an Italian singer, actress, and television presenter. Oxa has received mainstream popularity and recognition within Italy due to her numerous participations in the Sanremo ...

, on her album ''Oxanna''. Italian translation, titled "Un cielo a metà" *1978: Finnish rock band

Eppu Normaali Eppu Normaali is one of the most popular rock bands in Finland. The band formed in 1976 in Ylöjärvi, a small town near Tampere. The band is the best-selling music artist in Finland, with certified sales of nearly two million records, and it h ...

had the song translated to

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

("Nuori Poika", meaning Young Boy) as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of their single "Jee Jee" *1987:

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

on their ''

Pool It! ''Pool It!'' is the tenth studio album by the Monkees, issued by Rhino Records in 1987. It was the first Monkees studio album of new material since ''Changes'' in 1970 and the first Monkees album to feature Peter Tork since the 1968 ''Head'' soun ...

'' reunion album *1988:

Dogs The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

on their ''A Million Ways of Killing Time'' album, and on their live album ''Fast & Tight'' (2001) *1991:

Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen (literally "The Dead Trousers", figuratively "The Deadbeats") is a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. History The current members of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephe ...

on ''

Learning English, Lesson One ''Learning English, Lesson One'' or ''Learning English, Lesson 1'' (other punctuation variations possible) is a cover album by the German punk band Die Toten Hosen. The album includes covers of mostly British bands, which were big influences on ...

''; vocals by Eric Goulden *1995:

on their album ''Liar Liar Pants on Fire'' and as a single *1996:

The Lightning Seeds The Lightning Seeds (also known as Lightning Seeds) are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based so ...

as the b-side of their single "Ready or Not". *1998:

Laptop A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...

on a single *2007:

The Proclaimers ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

on the ''

Life with You ''Life with You'', released in 2007, is the seventh studio album by the Proclaimers. It appeared on W14, a joint venture label between Universal Records and John Williams, the man who gave the Proclaimers their first recording contract on Chrys ...

'' album *2009:

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

on his album ''

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{{Authority control 2009 debut albums Bahamas ...

'' *2012:

The Crookes The Crookes were a British indie rock band who formed in Sheffield in 2007. They released their first single "A Collier's Wife" in 2009 as part of the Too Pure singles club, followed by single "Bloodshot Days" that was released on Heist or H ...

covered the song as a b side on their single "Maybe in the Dark" *2014:

Meursault Meursault () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department and region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Etymology The oldest attested form of the toponym Meursault dates from 1094, as ''Murassalt'' and ''Mussalt'', in a charter by the ...

on their album ''The Organ Grinder's Monkey'' *2015:

Pangs "Pangs" is the eighth episode of season 4 of the television show ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. It was written by Jane Espenson, directed by Michael Lange, and first broadcast on November 23, 1999. On Thanksgiving, Buffy encounters the restless a ...

on debut single b/w "Already Dead" *2015:

Torres Torres may refer to: People *Torres (surname), a Spanish and Portuguese surname *Torres (musician), singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott **Torres (album), ''Torres'' (album), 2013 self-titled album by Torres Places Americas *Torres, Colorado, an un ...

for ''Session Acoustique OÜI FM'' *2017:

covered the song for their album '' Unpeeled'' *2018:

Berhana Amain Berhane better known as Berhana is an American singer-songwriter. History Amain Berhane was born near Atlanta, Georgia in an Ethiopian family. Growing up, he wrote songs and sang in church. He studied screenwriting at The New School in N ...

as a single. *2020:

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

frontman

Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for t ...

covered the song for

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights man ...

's Amazon Original series, then later re-posted the cover to Green Day's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel as part of his "No Fun Mondays" cover series. Wreckless Eric himself gave his approval of the cover in a statement, referring to Armstrong's rendition as "the most punk rock version ever."

References

Specific references: General references: *

External links

Whole Wide World
YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Whole Wide World 1977 debut singles 1974 songs 1970s ballads Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns Rock ballads British punk rock songs Die Toten Hosen songs Elvis Costello songs The Monkees songs The Proclaimers songs Wreckless Eric songs Mental As Anything songs Stiff Records singles