Wonderland

Album: 1989 (2014)
Charted: 39
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Filled with allusions to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, this 1989 bonus track finds Taylor comparing a relationship to the twists and turns in the Lewis Carroll story.
  • Is this about Taylor's ex Harry Styles? Two possible clues:

    When Taylor performed "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together Again" at the 2013 Grammys, she was dressed as the Mad Hatter in white top hat, tails, shorts and tall boots. Her back-up dancers also resembled Alice in Wonderland characters. She used an English accent during part of her performance in an apparent dig at her former British beau.

    The lyric "Didn't you flash your green eyes at me." Harry has green eyes.
  • Here are some fun facts about Alice in Wonderland from The Encyclopedia of Trivia:

    Alice in Wonderland grew out of a story recounted by Lewis Carroll in July 1862. It was told to amuse three little girls, Alice Liddell the daughter of the Dean of Christchurch and her two sisters during a rowing trip. Afterwards he wrote down the story for the nine-year-old Alice.

    The original manuscript can now be found in Philadelphia Free Library. Only 21 copies survive of the original manuscript. It was withdrawn because of printing errors.

    The Mad Hatter was probably inspired by Theophilius Carter, an Oxford furniture dealer who was somewhat potty and was well known for the top hat he wore. He was known as the "mad hatter."

    Queen Victoria was so charmed with Alice in Wonderland that she requested something else by the same author be brought for her perusal. She was not amused when she received a copy of Lewis Carroll's Syllabus of Plane Algebraical Geometry.

    Alice Hargreaves (Liddell) died in 1934 and is buried at St Michael's Church, Lyndhurst, Hampshire, England.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The Kingdom

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. SchmitSongwriter Interviews

The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.