This month, all my A to Z Challenge posts will feature a song that is on my personal list of “deep cuts.” These are songs that my husband often razzes me about, that there’s no one else who has ever heard of them or is listening to them, or they’re songs that possibly are just not that mainstream. If we are of the same era or run in the same musical taste circles, none of these may seem that off the beaten path, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t fun songs! Enjoy!

The song I chose today is likely not much of a deep cut as I do hear it on the radio sometimes, but when I first heard it, many people were not familiar with it, so I decided to include it.

The first time I heard Everclear’s song, “Wonderful,” I was standing in line for a roller coaster at King’s Island. While in the queue, there were TV monitors playing music videos and this video came on and while I couldn’t hear all of the song because it was loud in the queue, I heard enough to be intrigued. So when I got the chance to finally listen to it on my own fully, it was love at first sight (sound? hearing? listen?) and I’ve been obsessed ever since.

The lyrics are what really got me. I remember thinking how perfectly the song encapsulates what kids must be feeling when their parents split up. This verse in particular hit me hard because I’m a teacher and it made me realize that it’s likely there are kids in my classroom who feel this way:

“I go to school and I run and play
I tell the kids that it’s all ok
I laugh a lot so my friends won’t know
When the bell rings I just don’t wanna go home”

Some years later, the song became even more impactful to me when my parents got divorced. I was an adult when it happened (in my 30s) but it still was very hard to deal with. I found myself identifying with the song in a whole new way because now I was the kid whose parents were splitting up, but I was fortunate that I didn’t have to go through things like choosing a parent to live with or having to divide my time between two homes.

I also really like the way the song builds in intensity and frustration until the lead singer almost explodes with emotion, and then the song ends quietly, after the emotional release. It’s just such a great song. Give it a listen!