Wonderful Lyrics – Wicked

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Featured: Joel Grey (Wizard of Oz), Idina Menzel (Elphaba)
• Producer: Stephen Schwartz
• Composer / Lyricist: Stephen Schwartz
• Release Date: December 16 2003
• Genre: Show-tune, Broadway rag-waltz hybrid
• Length: 3 min 37 sec
• Label: Decca Broadway / Universal Music
• Mood: Slick, vaudevillian, morally slippery
• Instruments (principal): woodwind choir, banjo-tinged guitar, rag-piano, muted brass, tuba bass line, trap-kit, strings
• Language: English — German “Wundervoll” (2007) and Brazilian Portuguese “Mágico” (2019) versions available
• Poetic meter: Loose anapestic trimeter with internal rhymes
• Track #: 13 on Wicked (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Copyrights ©: 2003 Wonderland Music Company, Inc.

Song Meaning and Annotations

“Wonderful” is the Wizard’s carnival-barker manifesto. Over a jaunty rag-inflected waltz he rewrites autobiography into ad copy, bragging that history itself is just the loudest story everybody agrees to repeat. King Solomon and Socrates get name-checked, yet the Wizard proudly calls himself a “corn-fed hick,” a Midwest grifter who swapped seed corn for emerald polish. The music mirrors that swagger: stride-piano left hand, banjo guitar twang, and brass mute slides that wink at every punch-line.

The Wizard’s confession folds neatly into the show’s grand thesis — morality is branding. “A man’s called a traitor or liberator” he croons, shrugging off crusades, colonialism, and any messy nuance the way a magician palms a coin. Elphaba pushes back — “So you lied to them?” — but the tune keeps sauntering, sweet-talking both her and the listener. That tension between toe-tapping ease and ethical rot is where the real drama lives.

The annotations you shared sharpen that knife: human comfort breeds gullibility; citizens of Oz, like any crowd, crave a figurehead who explains away droughts and anxieties. When the Wizard boasts he “never had a family,” it lands as sly foreshadowing — audience members later discover Elphaba is his daughter, proof that his carnival mirrors reflect inward as well as out. Even his Midwest self-deprecation (“corn-fed hick”) is misdirection; it disarms the crowd before he cages Animals and rewrites textbooks.

Schwartz laces the song with darker undertones: a descending chromatic line under “moral ambiguities” hints at the Wizard’s private dread, while a sudden cymbal-swell on “whoop-de-doo” mocks Elphaba’s lifelong crusade for Animal rights. The tune’s closing shout (“One, two, and… haha!”) is parody of the 1939 film’s diploma scene — a flimsy certificate in place of actual wisdom.

The 2025 film sequel, Wicked: For Good, lets Jeff Goldblum sink his jazz phrasing into the number, trading Broadway razzle for smoky swing. Early press screenings reveal an extra verse in which he riffs on fake news and influencer culture — a savvy twenty-first-century polish on a song already obsessed with spin

Wizard’s Origin Verse

Syncopated banjo strums recall Midwest barrooms, contrasting the Emerald City’s pomp. He paints accidental ascension — a hot-air balloon gust pushing him toward destiny and delusion.

Moral Ambiguities Stanza

Sly rhymes — “philanthropist” / “the gist” — glide over clarinet trills. The Wizard reduces centuries of ethical debate to a coin flip, inviting Elphaba to do the same.

Recruitment Bridge

The music modulates up a whole step when he offers Elphaba “rehabilitation,” echoing her Act I wish for a celebration “all to do with me.” It is weaponised wish fulfillment.

Similar Songs

1. “Reviewing the Situation” — Oliver!
   Fagin and the Wizard both rationalise shady ethics over jaunty accompaniment, persuading themselves as much as the audience.
2. “No Way to Stop It” — The Sound of Music
   Max and Elsa urge moral compromise for comfort, echoing the Wizard’s pitch that ideals bend under pragmatic weight.
3. “You’ll Be Back” — Hamilton
   King George weaponises charm and catchy hooks to excuse tyranny, a twenty-first-century mirror to the Wizard’s soft-shoe.

Questions and Answers

Was “Wonderful” ever released as a stand-alone single?

No. Like most tracks on the 2003 cast album, it debuted only as part of the full recording.

Does Jeff Goldblum sing the piece in the film?

Yes — Part 2 of the movie features a refreshed arrangement with muted trumpet solos and an extra verse on modern misinformation.

Are there non-English versions?

German “Wundervoll” and Brazilian Portuguese “Mágico” keep the Wizard’s wordplay, tweaking local idioms while preserving internal rhymes.

What historical references shape the lyric?

Schwartz invokes Solomon, Socrates, and the Crusades to illustrate how labels shift with power — a pocket history lesson on propaganda.

Why is Elphaba tempted?

He dangles the exact dream she voiced in Act I — public adoration. Redemption sounds like freedom until she hears the price tag.

Awards and Chart Positions

Although “Wonderful” itself never charted, the parent album snagged the 2005 Grammy for Best Musical Show Album and roared back to #33 on the Billboard 200 during the 2024 film hype wave

Fan and Media Reactions

“Goldblum promises to lean into jazz phrasing — finally the Wizard gets the swagger he deserves.” Broadway World interview recap

“Someone please explain why the most political lyric in the show has the catchiest tune.” u/SnarkyScarecrow, Reddit

“The German ‘Wundervoll’ translation slaps — the rhyme on ‘Philanthropist / Revisionist’ is chef’s kiss.” @HexenVonOz fan account

“Hearing the Wizard joke about ‘fake news’ in the movie screening got a wickedly big laugh.” Variety test-audience report

“Still wild how a rag-time vamp can hide so much moral rot.” TikTok stitch by @emerald_geek