My arrangement, for solo 4-string electric bass guitar, of Cat Stevens' 70s folk-pop hit, Wild World.

Wild World is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam. It first appeared on his fourth album, Tea for the Tillerman, recorded and released in 1970.

Stevens developed a relationship with actress Patti D'Arbanville and the two were a pair throughout a period of roughly two years. During that time, he wrote several songs about her, including Wild World.

The song is in the form of the singer's words to his departing lover, inspired by the end of their romance. Stevens later recalled to Mojo: "It was one of those chord sequences that's very common in Spanish music. I turned it around and came up with that theme—which is a recurring theme in my work—which is to do with leaving, the sadness of leaving, and the anticipation of what lies beyond."

Released as a single in late 1970, it peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Wild World has been credited as the song that gave Stevens' next album, Tea for the Tillerman, "enough kick" to get it played on FM radio; and Island Records' Chris Blackwell called it "the best album we've ever released".

In November 2008, the Tea for the Tillerman CD was re-issued in a deluxe version which included the original demo of Wild World.

The song has been covered by many artists, with many of the covers becoming hits of their own. Jimmy Cliff's version, released a few months after Stevens released the original version, reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart. Surprisingly, Stevens' version was not released as a single in the UK. Some of the subsequent covers have also been in the reggae style, such as Maxi Priest's version of the song. Recorded and released as a single in 1988, this version also did well on the charts, reaching No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

In 1987, Jonathan King accused Pet Shop Boys of plagiarising the melody of Wild World for their UK No. 1 single It's a Sin. He made the claims in The Sun, for which he wrote a regular column during the 1980s. King also released his own cover version of Wild World as a single, using a similar musical arrangement to It's a Sin, in an effort to demonstrate his claims. This single flopped, while Pet Shop Boys sued King, eventually winning out-of-court damages, which they donated to charity.

On 7 July 2007, the song was performed twice at the Live Earth concerts. James Blunt sang it at Wembley Stadium in London, England, while Stevens (by then known as Yusuf Islam) himself sang it in Hamburg, Germany.

In 2011, Taiwanese-American singer Joanna Wang released her own version on her album The Things We Do for Love. Wang's version was also featured in American web television series The Good Fight Season 1, 2017.

Performed on a 2020 Bogart Broadsword bass.
Recorded directly into Cakewalk Sonar Platinum, via a Presonus Audiobox. Video edited using Wondershare Filmora X and TrakAx PC.

Karl uses Bogart basses: [ Ссылка ]
Instrument cables by David Laboga: [ Ссылка ]
Custom leather guitar straps by River Straps: [ Ссылка ]
Gig bags by Harvest Fine Leather: [ Ссылка ]
Gear bags by Lugville: [ Ссылка ]
Karl's website: [ Ссылка ]
Karl's youtube channel: [ Ссылка ]
Karl's facebook page: [ Ссылка ]
Karl's Patreon page, for tabs, audio downloads and more: [ Ссылка ]

Karl Clews / bass / wild world / cat stevens / yusuf islam / tea for the tillerman / maxi priest / reggae / pop / rock / soft rock / folk / bass solo / solo bass arrangement / bassiste / basse / baixo / baixista / bajo / bajista / Galway / bassist / bass player / bass guitar / River Straps / David Laboga cables / Harvest gigbags / Lugville gear bags / rigotti cables / seventies / 70s music / jimmy cliff / james blunt / joanna wang / jonathan king / pet shop boys

свернуть