“Wonder” is the lead single off of the album by the same name by Shawn Mendes. The song dives into a deep trance of self-reflection by the singer into different avenues of his life, mainly about love.
Shawn Mendes released “Wonder” on October 2, 2020, along with the announcement of his fourth studio album, also titled ‘Wonder.’ The album is expected to release in December 2020.
In an interview with Radio.com, Shawn Mendes spoke about the song; “I feel like “Wonder” is in a lot of ways me just reflecting on my life, and life in general… I’ve never really done that before… probably because I didn’t have the mental capacity and clarity to even be able to reflect, and also probably because I was really scared of what people would think if I started to reflect in my music. Here’s a real sense of freedom that this song oozes out to me, that makes me love it even more.”
Watch “Wonder” Video by Shawn Mendes
“Wonder” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Verse 1
From the very first verse of the song, we find Shawn Mendes contemplating several subtle things in life. He is unsure if he should filter himself for this song or not. We don’t know the answer to this question. So we don’t know if the rest of the song is 100% of what Shawn Mendes wanted to let us know.
The singer also wonders how nice it would be to live in a world of black and white. A ‘black and white’ world refers to a world where everything is perfectly defined and all the boundaries are clearly visible. However, the actual world is not. There are many shades of grey in the world. There are many blurred lines of what is good and bad, or what is acceptable and not, or what is pure and impure, and so on.
Shawn Mendes also worries about his friends. He hopes that they know that Shawn has not forgotten them. It is understandable to be quite busy when you reach a level of stardom as Shawn Mendes has. So it is understandable that he has less time for his friends now. He hopes that his friends understand.
Chorus
In the chorus of the song, Shawn Mendes turns his attention towards his love life. He expresses that she is the only person on her mind right now and urges for her love.
Shawn Mendes is in a relationship with singer Camila Cabello as of this song’s release, and they are still dating, despite the song’s meaning.
Verse 2
In the second verse, Shawn Mendes admits that he is not perfect. He has his flaws and the most important thing is that he is aware of this fact. So, he did filter out this song from what he actually did want to say.
He also brings up the cultural stereotype where men crying is perceived to be a weakness. This stems from the idea that ‘real men don’t cry’ in society. However, the truth is that men are also allowed to have emotions, be vulnerable, and to shed tears. There is nothing weak about being vulnerable. It is merely being human!
At the end of the verse, Shawn Mendes wonders if he will ever have her by his side. And then, he will know that everything in the world (at least his world) will be alright.
With so many questions and no answers in sight, the song leaves the singer and the listener baffled of many things.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics and further meaning breakdown on Genius.