"Is It Any Wonder?" is a song written and performed by English

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band Keane, released as the second single from their second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

Under the Iron Sea ''Under the Iron Sea'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Keane, released on 12 June 2006. During its first week on sale in the UK, the album opened at number one, selling 222,297 copies according to figures from the Official ...

''. The single was released to the iTunes Store on 16 May and to shops on 29 May 2006. "Is It Any Wonder?" debuted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart on 28 May 2006 based on download sales alone and reached number three with physical sales added on 4 June. The song was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group at the

2007 Grammy Awards The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005, and ending September 30, 2006, in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007, at the Stapl ...

, losing to "

My Humps "My Humps" is a song by American hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas, released on September 20, 2005 by A&M Records and Interscope Records. It was originally written by will.i.am for the American girl group the Pussycat Dolls, but was ultimately ...

" by the

Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

Composition and recording

"Is It Any Wonder?" was composed by

Tim Rice-Oxley Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, backing vocalist and songwriter of the alternative rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane b ...

in 2005, being first demoed the same year. The guitar effects originate from Tim's distorted Yamaha CP70 piano. An early demo appeared on the ''

Under the Iron Sea DVD Under may refer to: Music *''Under'', an album by Savoy, 2024 * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *"Under", a song by Sampha from ''Process'', 2017 People *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz � ...

''. It was mainly recorded at The Magic Shop studios,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and programmed and engineered by Andy Green.

Musical structure

"Is It Any Wonder?" was composed under an 8-beat

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

and a 130-bpm

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

. The main key of the

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

, alternating to

G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...

when the bass starts playing. The song starts with bashing piano notes, leading to Tim-Rice Oxley's deep distortion piano sound that is used to emulate abrasive electric guitar riffs. Bass guitar lines, synthesizers, and drums begin to finally introduce

Tom Chaplin Thomas Oliver Chaplin (born 8 March 1979) is an English musician, best known as the co-founder and lead singer of the British alternative rock band Keane. Early life Thomas Oliver Chaplin was born in Hastings, East Sussex, to Sally and David C ...

with the vocals of the first verse. Rice-Oxley continues to play regular and distortion piano notes throughout the verses of the song. As with almost all Keane songs, it includes a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

after the second chorus, preceding the outro. Live performances show several differences from the studio version. Firstly, the deep sound is changed for the same synthesizer used for the whole song, which is also quite different from the track on the studio album. During the first verse of the original version, a synthesizer is used as a background for Chaplin's singing. However, on the live performance, Rice-Oxley keeps playing his distorted Yamaha CP70 piano throughout the song, instead of the synthesizer. Finally, drumming on the main riffs is modified, with Hughes beating the crash cymbal again and again.

Meaning

The song is about the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

Music video

Directed by

Kevin Godley Kevin Michael Godley (born 7 October 1945) is an English singer-songwriter, drummer and music video director. He was a singer and drummer of the art rock band 10cc and later was part of collaboration duo Godley & Creme with Lol Creme. Early ...

, the video is almost the same throughout the song. A camera moves along a metal track like a

roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...

. The camera runs through rails until the end of it, stopping again. Keane are in the middle of it, with Tom appearing sometimes on the scene. The CD+DVD edition of ''

'' includes a trailer for the making of the video, as well as the videoclip.

Cover art and packaging

The cover artwork for the single was designed by Sanna Annukka Smith, a Finnish artist in March 2006. Sanna originally wanted a red bird crying and Keane wanted a lonely soldier. During the first two weeks of April, the cover showed a soldier but the definite version shows the red bird crying on the soldier's shoulder, with the soldier referring to war. Some versions didn't include the bird, like the first cover. The crying bird later appeared on the cover for " Try Again". Similar to the book-shaped box of the DVD for ''Under the Iron Sea'', this biodegradable single's container is made of carbon neutral and recycled materials, without any plastics.

B-sides

"Let It Slide"

The ''

'' includes bass recording sessions of this song. It was planned to be a track on the album, but became a B-side instead. It did appear on the Japanese version of ''

'' as the closing track.

"He Used to Be a Lovely Boy"

Following a melancholic ballad style, the song suggests a reference to Chaplin by Rice-Oxley. This acoustic song has been compared by fans to Keane's Christmas song " A Heart to Hold You", and B-side "The Way You Want It".

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Official site

Keane.fr - Information about record in French
{{Authority control 2006 songs 2006 singles Interscope Records singles Island Records singles Keane (band) songs Music videos directed by Kevin Godley Protest songs Songs of the Iraq War Songs written by Tim Rice-Oxley Songs written by Tom Chaplin Songs written by Richard Hughes (musician)