The world was on fire and no one could save me but you/
It’s strange what desire will make foolish people do.
Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Games” is a song about desire, longing and unrequited love. But what exactly is this “Wicked Game” Isaac speaks about? Well, a beautiful woman makes him fall in love with her- though “lust” is probably a better word for it. She toys with his emotions because she “played” him, told him sweet nothings and “made him” dream of her. She is clearly toying with him! You can hear the aching in his voice. That’s the game.
What makes this a great song? One is the instrumentation and production. Listen to the lead guitar in the intro: The first slide-note is iconic and sets the tone for the rest of the song; it feels mopey and longing. It leads into the great finger-picking.
The second is Isaac’s voice is unique and-on brand and expresses his longing. As with Only The Lonely by The Motels we see a great example of a singer using his/her voice to express the emotion conveyed by the words in the lyrics. With the Motels it was loneliness, with Isaac it is longing.
And the video! So sexy.
Wicked Games Lyrics
The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
It’s strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I’d meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I’d lose somebody like you
No, I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you
With you (this world is only gonna break your heart)
What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way
What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you
What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way
What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you
And I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you
The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
It’s strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I’d love somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I’d lose somebody like you
No, I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you (this world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I (this world is only gonna break your heart)
(This world is only gonna break your heart)
Nobody loves no one
Songwriters: Chris Isaak