"Wonderful" is a song by the band Everclear

Everclear (band)

Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear has consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...

, released as the first single from their 2000 album Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile

Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile

Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile is an album by Everclear, released on July 11, 2000. The album is a loose concept album based around lead singer Art Alexakis' second divorce...

, reaching #11 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

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Meaning

The song tells the story of a divorce as perceived by a child. Each verse of the song corresponds to a different stage of the divorce. The first verse describes the child hearing his parents fight as he tries to block it out, remembering what it was like before his parents began to fight. The second verse describes the child going to school and pretending to his friends that everything is all right at home, despite what is heard in the first verse. The bridge describes the child lashing out at his parents, not wanting to comprehend that his parents have begun to grow apart and date other people.

Music video

The music video follows two children's stories interlaced with the band singing. The children are shown happy initially but as time passes their parents fight and eventually break up. At school the kids act normal, mirroring the song. The video ends with kids jumping and happy while the band plays, sometimes in the middle of the kids. The two kids the video is about are split into two people, with each one going a different directions assumingly toward each divorced parent. The kids leave school with a smile.

Appearances in other media

The song has been featured in several TV series including the Scrubs

Scrubs (TV series)

Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...

episode "My Fifteen Minutes", the Cold Case episode Dog Day Afternoons, the Jericho

Jericho (TV series)

Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...

episode "Why We Fight

Why We Fight (Jericho episode)

"Why We Fight" is the twenty-second episode of season one of the CBS drama Jericho. It was broadcast as the season finale; after the broadcast, CBS announced that the series had been cancelled, a decision they reversed on June 6th when they picked it up for seven more episodes...

" and the episode "Wonderful" from Mysterious Ways. It has also been featured in the movies Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward is a 2000 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde. It was directed by Mimi Leder and written by Leslie Dixon...

, 40 Days and 40 Nights

40 Days and 40 Nights

This article refers to Michael Lehmann's 2002 film. For the 2007 Matthew Chapman book, see 40 Days and 40 Nights .40 Days and 40 Nights is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann, written by Rob Perez and starring Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon and Paulo Costanzo...

, and Saving Silverman

Saving Silverman

Saving Silverman is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan. It stars Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn, Jack Black and Amanda Peet. Neil Diamond has a cameo role playing himself...

. It is also a track on Now That's What I Call Music! 5

Now That's What I Call Music! 5 (U.S. series)

The song, "Shake It Fast", by Mystikal is the clean version of his song, "Shake Ya Ass".-Chart performance:...

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Peak positions

Chart (2000)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts 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 singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	38
Canadian RPM Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....	12
Canadian RPM Rock Report	1
New Zealand Singles Chart	21
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	36
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	11
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	28
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	3
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	13

Year-end charts

Chart (2000)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	54