"I Wanna Be Yours" is a poem by John Cooper Clarke, on his 1982 album Zip Style Method. The poem was brought to wider audience via an adaptation by Arctic Monkeys on their 2013 album AM.
The poem recounts the love of one person for another, using metaphors around various domestic equipment:
I wanna be your vacuum cleaner
Breathing in your dust
I wanna be your Ford Cortina
I will never rust[1]
The poem was included in a GCSE English anthology.[2] Clarke re-used the title of the poem for his autobiography published in 2020.[3]
In March 2023 The Guardian noted that "if it was previously Britain's favourite wedding poem, it's now quantifiably the world's favourite British poem, full stop."[4]
"I Wanna Be Yours" | |
---|---|
Song by Arctic Monkeys | |
from the album AM | |
Released | September 6, 2013 |
Genre | Indie rock, pop rock |
Length | 3:04 |
Label | Domino |
Composer(s) |
|
Lyricist(s) | John Cooper Clarke |
Producer(s) | |
Official audio | |
"I Wanna Be Yours" on YouTube |
English rock band Arctic Monkeys brought the poem to a wider audience via an adaptation[6] on their 2013 album AM. The adaptation, produced by James Ford and Ross Orton, contains novel lyrics written by lead singer Alex Turner. By 3 April 2024 the recitation had received over 2 billion streams on Spotify.[7]
Chart (2013) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Streaming (OCC)[8] | 39 |
UK Indie (OCC)[9] | 42 |
Chart (2021–2024) | Peak position |
---|---|
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[10] | 39 |
Global 200 (Billboard)[11] | 55 |
Greece International (IFPI)[12] | 9 |
India International Singles (IMI)[13] | 2 |
Ireland (IRMA)[14] | 78 |
Lithuania (AGATA)[15] | 20 |
Malaysia (Billboard)[16] | 21 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] | 99 |
Norway (VG-lista)[18] | 37 |
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[19] | 51 |
Portugal (AFP)[20] | 26 |
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[21] | 44 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22] | 66 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] | 93 |
UK Singles (OCC)[24] | 99 |
UK Indie (OCC)[25] | 4 |
Chart (2022) | Position |
---|---|
Lithuania (AGATA)[26] | 43 |
Chart (2023) | Position |
---|---|
Brazil Streaming (Pro-Música Brasil)[27] | 199 |
Global 200 (Billboard)[28] | 56 |
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[29] | 47 |
UK Singles (OCC)[30] | 86 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[31] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI)[32] | Platinum | 100,000‡ |
Portugal (AFP)[33] | 5× Platinum | 100,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[34] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
Streaming | ||
Greece (IFPI Greece)[36] | 4× Platinum | 8,000,000† |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
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