"Wonderwall" is a song by English rock band Oasis, released by Creation Records on 30 October 1995 as the fourth single from the band's second studio album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. Described by lead guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher, who wrote the song and co-produced it with Owen Morris, as being about "an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself", the song's title was inspired by George Harrison's solo album Wonderwall Music, and it was originally intended to be recorded on a wall outside Rockfield Studios, though this idea was shelved for a studio recording.
"Wonderwall" was a commercial success and is one of the band's most famous tracks. It reached the top 10 in 20 countries, topping the charts of Australia and New Zealand and peaking at 2 on both the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart. In North America, it entered the top 10 in Canada and the United States, reaching No. 5 and No. 8, respectively, thus becoming the band's sole top-40 entry on the latter country's main Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming their biggest US hit. The single was certified nine-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and 12-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Its music video, directed by Nigel Dick, won British Video of the Year at the 1996 Brit Awards.
"Wonderwall" remains one of the band's most popular songs. In Australia, it was voted No. 1 on the alternative music radio station Triple J's Hottest 100 of 1995 and "20 Years of the Hottest 100" in 2013. Many artists have also covered the song, such as Ryan Adams, Cat Power, and Brad Mehldau. In October 2020, it became the first song from the 1990s to reach one billion streams on Spotify. It became the anthem for the England national football team during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Inspiration and writing The song was originally titled "Wishing Stone". Gallagher told NME in 1996 that "Wonderwall" was written for Meg Mathews, his then-girlfriend and later wife. However, after Gallagher and Mathews divorced in 2001, he said the song was not about her: "The meaning of that song was taken away from me by the media who jumped on it, and how do you tell your Mrs it's not about her once she's read it is? It's a song about an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself." Liam Gallagher also said he feels the song is a callback to the time when he and his brother would write notes and thoughts on the wallpaper in their bedrooms as kids: "But obviously that wasn't meaningful enough for Noel ... so he decided to say it was about some girl." The song's final title was inspired by George Harrison's solo album Wonderwall Music.Kindon, Frances. "Liam Gallagher's foul-mouthed reaction to Oasis' Wonderwall – and why he still hates it: Oasis rocker Liam Gallagher had nothing nice to say when his brother Noel Gallagher first played him Wonderwall – and he still doesn't now," Daily Mirror (30 Oct 2019).
Recording and production The song was originally planned to be recorded on a "ten foot" wall outside Rockfield Studios. A snippet of the original recording can be heard at the start of (What's the Story) Morning Glory?s opening track "Hello" with birdsong in the background. In a documentary, Noel recalled: "I remember saying... I've got this song called Wonderwall – and I want to record it on a wall." This sparked an arrangement of ladders and microphones worth thousands of pounds built around the wall: "I remember a lot of sheep were watching me do Wonderwall, I don't know who was more freaked out, me or them".
In the end, the outdoor version was shelved for Liam to record his vocal in the studio instead. Recording took place during a two-week stint with the rest of the Morning Glory album in May 1995. Owen Morris produced the song in a half-day along with Gallagher, using a technique known as "brickwalling" to intensify the sound of the song. Liam Gallagher served as lead singer on the song after Noel had given him a choice between "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger", another single from the album, with Noel singing lead vocals on the latter. All of the band's members except bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan contributed to the recording, with Noel playing bass instead of McGuigan. This decision displeased Liam, who told Morris, "That's not Oasis."
On the track, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs plays a mellotron, a primitive analogue sampling keyboard invented in the 1960s. As Oasis looked back to the 1960s and 70s for inspiration, they drew from the Beatles which had popularised the instrument with their use of it on the song "Strawberry Fields Forever". The cello preset was used for the track. The root notes of the minor chord progression are played on repeat from around a minute into the song, and gives a mournful hum to bridge the dark overtones of the verse and brighter chorus.
Instead of normal drum sticks, Alan White used Pro-Mark Hot Rods which are made of multiple thin wooden rods strapped together, which provide a softer and more diffuse sound. As part of his What Makes This Song Great? series, Youtuber, musician and producer Rick Beato notes in his video about "Wonderwall" (around 5:00): "This is kind of what you do when you're in a rock band, and playing with sticks is too heavy for a section, but playing with brushes sounds too much like jazz and doesn't really carry the track enough."
"Wonderwall" is written in the key of F minor and is set in common time with a moderate dance groove. Liam Gallagher's voice ranges from an E3 to an F4 in the song. With a capo on the second fret of the guitar, the song's main riff is Em7–G–Dsus4–A7sus4 as the third and fourth fingers are kept on the third frets of the top two strings.
Live performances Noel Gallagher debuted the song on UK television backstage at Glastonbury, and it was broadcast on Channel 4 on 24 June 1995. The song was not performed by the band during their headline performance the night before. The song went on to be regularly played on the (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Tour where it was typically played and sung solo by Noel acoustically. On occasions however (including the Maine Road and Knebworth gigs) it was played by the full band acoustically with Liam on vocals. This song was also performed during the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony by Liam Gallagher and his post-Oasis band Beady Eye.
Since Oasis split up, both Noel and Liam have continued to play the song as part of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and Liam's solo career, respectively. Both have often varied the presentation of the song, sometimes being performed in stripped down acoustic versions, whilst other times more full band arrangements have been performed. It was also played during their reunion tour in 2025.
Critical reception The song was received generally well by critics. In 1995, Steve Baltin from Cash Box named "Wonderwall" Pick of the Week, describing the song as "a perfect example of melodic pop." He added, "Following the more uptempo riff of 'Morning Glory', this single will remind listeners of the anthemic single 'Live Forever', a track that generated massive airplay on multiple formats last year. Look for the same results for this lovely near ballad. A simple, sweet song, it shows why Oasis is rapidly becoming one of music's great singles bands." Kevin Courtney from Irish Times declared it as a "genuine Oasis gem", "with its aching string arrangements and evocative vocals".Courtney, Kevin (29 September 1995). "Rock". Irish Times.
Michael Bonner from Melody Maker named it Single of the Week, praising it as "a mesmeric declaration of love — haunting, beautiful and effortlessly simple — and, unless you've been locked in a coal cellar for the last two months, you should know it forwards, backwards and sideways by now", while another Melody Maker editor, David Stubbs, took a negative view of the song – "'Wonderwall', with its explicit George Harrison reference, doesn't bother to conceal another nod at The Beatles, but the real problem here is that Liam doesn't seem capable of modulating his voice to suit the pensively orchestrated backdrop — a bit of a subtlety deficiency."
Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "A swirling rock song that slowly builds to epic proportions. Nicely chiming acoustic guitars and psyched-up strings support Liam Gallagher's trademark declamatory and plaintive vocals. Not the easiest song for EHR, but a sure grower." John Robinson from NME commented, "'Wonderwall' instead turns out to be the best example of Liam's indispensability to Noel as we are plunged into the depths of a doomed urban romance. Fires have gone out, wills to live have departed, yet we still witness Liam questioning whether Maybe you could be the one to save me. And yet the entirely twisted delivery turns it from a slightly sappy idea into a fantastically bleak song, adding an all-consuming anger to the sense of desperation." In a separate review, Robinson felt it "is one of Oasis' best records because it manages to be immensely robust while still being one of Noel's most lyrically personal songs". Andrew Harrison from Select wrote, "'Wonderwall' is a near acoustic song that wears many signs of its maturity, but heavily. There is a (good) attempt to resonate personal failure with the redemptive power of The Beatles ("Backbeat, the word is on the street/That the fire in your eyes is out"). Liam goes flat once too often on the chorus." Leesa Daniels from Smash Hits gave it a top score of five out of five and named it "Oasis' version of a love song." She added, "Absolutely beautiful." Another Smash Hits editor, Mark Frith, praised it as a highlight of the album, "mid-paced, brilliantly sung by Liam and, if it wasn't for Queen ['Heaven for Everyone'], a No. 1 hit!"
Cover art and release The sleeve artwork was inspired by the paintings of the Belgian surrealist René Magritte, and was shot on Primrose Hill in London by Michael Spencer Jones. The hand holding the frame is that of art director Brian Cannon. The original idea was to have Liam in the frame before Noel vetoed that idea whilst the shoot was taking place.Q Special Edition – Oasis: Ten Years Of Rock 'n' Roll Mayhem (EMAP Metro) Noel stumbled across the photo shoot while on his way to Creation Records in a cab. He started shouting and eventually got out of the cab to confront Jones, who explained they were shooting the cover to "Wonderwall". Noel replied: "What, with our fucking kid [Liam] on the cover? I don't think so. It's a fucking love song. There's no way our kid's going on the fucking cover. You're all wasting your time," before getting back in the cab.
The shoot was rescheduled for the next day, and it was decided a female figure was necessary. A Creation Records employee, Anita Heryet was asked to stand inside the frame. Jones shot the photo on infrared black and white film: "So you create another layer. Suddenly she becomes part of the environment. It goes to a situation where you're not looking at her, as the viewer – she’s looking at you, which is the way I wanted it to be. It worked. The cover to 'Wonderwall' is one of my favourites."
The single was released on 30 October 1995, with B-sides of "Round Are Way", "The Swamp Song" and "The Masterplan". It was also featured on Oasis' second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? released earlier in the same month. It was the fourth single of the album.
Music video
The original music video to the song conceived by Johanna Bautista was filmed by British music video and film director Nigel Dick at Unit 217B in Woolwich, London, on 30 September 1995. The filming of the promotional video took place during the brief period when bassist Guigsy quit the band due to nervous exhaustion, and was replaced by Scott McLeod, who appears in the video along with the four other members of the band. The song won British Video of the Year at the 1996 Brit Awards. In popular culture