Wonderful

In an interview with Songfacts, lead singer Art Alexakis said that he wrote Wonderful from a child's perspective. He was dealing with a recent divorce and the effect it had on his daughter, Anna.

[Intro: Children] "Hey, ain't life wonderful? Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful... Isn't it wonderful now?" [Verse 1: Art] I close my eyes when I get too sad I think thoughts that I know are bad Close my eyes and I count to ten Hope it's over when I open them I want the things that I had before Like a Star Wars poster on my bedroom door I wish I could count to ten Make everything be wonderful again [Verse 2: Art] Hope my mom and I hope my dad Will figure out why they get so mad Hear them scream, I hear them fight They say bad words that make me wanna cry Close my eyes when I go to bed And I dream of angels who make me smile I feel better when I hear them say Everything will be wonderful someday [Pre-Chorus: Art] Promises mean everything when you're little And the world's so big I just don't understand how You can smile with all those tears in your eyes Tell me everything is wonderful now [Chorus: Band and Art] Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now [Verse 3: Art] I go to school and I run and play I tell the kids that it's all okay I laugh aloud so my friends won't know When the bell rings I just don't wanna go home Go to my room and I close my eyes I make believe that I have a new life I don't believe you when you say Everything will be wonderful someday [Pre-Chorus: Art] Promises mean everything when you're little And the world is so big (so big) I just don't understand how You can smile with all those tears in your eyes When you tell me everything is wonderful now [Chorus: Band and Art] Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na No Na-na-na-na-na-na No, I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na No Na-na-na-na-na-na No, I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now [Bridge: Art] I don't wanna hear you say That I will understand someday No, no, no, no I don't wanna hear you say You both have grown in a different way No, no, no, no I don't wanna meet your friends And I don't wanna start over again I just want my life to be the same Just like it used to be Some days I hate everything I hate everything Everyone and everything Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now... [Chorus: Band, Children, and Art] Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na No! Na-na-na-na-na-na Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na No! Na-na-na-na-na-na Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na No, I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na No! Na-na-na-na-na-na Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now [Outro until fade] Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Ooh yeah, everything is wonderful now Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Ooh yeah, everything is wonderful now