Took a long time to get here/
But if it would have been easy, I would not have cared.
My Morning Jacket’s “Wonderful (The Way I Feel) is about a change of mindset that leads to an improvement of feeling. While most songs emphasize an external event that accompanies new happy feelings, this song focuses on the internal changes of the narrator. Kind of like an agnostic’s version of being born-again. There are not necessarily any new external events, though he notes it “took a long time to get here” and it wasn’t easy.
The song matches his new mood. The rhythm of the song sways casually. The song is not overly produced: in the beginning there is a simple acoustic guitar part that is lightly finger-picked, and strings are added halfway through.
The song also seems to indicate a change of lifestyle that has come with this new revelation. He seems to want to travel to a simpler place where there is no disease and lawlessness. A place that would help support his new-found peace of mind.
Wonderful (The Way I Feel) Lyrics
It matters to me.
Took a long time to get here.
But if it would have been easy,
I would not have cared.
Like a tropical forest;
Like a cop on the beat,
When all is in order,
You get lost in the heat.
I feel so wonderful
Wonderful, wonderful the way I feel.
I feel so wonderful
Wonderful, wonderful the way I feel.
Doesn’t matter to me,
I can take it or leave it.
I can learn from way back when
And still live right now.
With the sun on my shoulders
And the wind at my back.
I will never grow older,
At least not in my mind.
I feel so wonderful
Wonderful, wonderful the way I feel.
I feel so wonderful
Wonderful, wonderful the way I feel.
I’m going where there ain’t no fear.
I’m going where the spirit is near.
I’m going where the livin’ is easy
And the people are kind- a new state of mind.
I’m going where there ain’t no police,
I’m going where there ain’t no disease.
I’m going where there ain’t no need
To escape from what is-Only spirits at ease.
Songwriters: Jim Edward Olliges Jr.
I think it’s autobiographical. First verse is about being young in the music industry and chasing his dream and getting lost in that and now he’s living his dream, “took a long time to get here, and if it would have been easy, I would not have cared.”
Second verse is about his realization that fame, money and glory havent filled the void and he can now “take it or leave it” because he has found spirit within and that’s what makes him feel whole. Overtones of Eastern spirituality, “i can learn from way back when and still live right now.” Though he says “not in my mind” in the studio version when he does it live he often replaces it with “not in my soul” which would be more apt.
In the end, he is referencing the omega, returning to source (God, Heaven). And the Utopian ideal that may lie therein, “No police, no disease. No need to escape from what is, only spirits at ease.”
Beautiful, beautiful song.
Gotta love Jim James and MMJ 💗