"W·O·L·D"
Single by Harry Chapin
from the album Short Stories
B-side"Short Stories"
ReleasedDecember 1973
Recorded1973
GenreFolk rock
Length5:15
LabelElektra Records
Songwriter(s)Harry Chapin
Producer(s)Paul Leka
Harry Chapin singles chronology
"A Better Place to Be"
(1972)		 "W·O·L·D"
(1973)		 "Cats in the Cradle"
(1974)

"W.O.L.D." is a song written and performed by Harry Chapin. The song is about an aging disc jockey who travels the United States seeking happiness, which he believes he will find by following his passion for being a radio broadcaster, only to discover that his life, looks, and voice have all passed him by, as hinted in the OLD of the title.

The song is sung through the point of view of a phone call conversation from the DJ to his ex-wife, only hearing what he has to say to her.[1] The lyrics go on to reveal that perhaps we can never change who we really are, and that what he had really wanted was the love and companionship that had eluded him in a previous failed relationship.[2] The song is said to have helped to inspire Hugh Wilson to conceive the premise of the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati, including the lyrics of the theme song in which a DJ seems to speak to a former lover about his travels in his occupation—now he's "living on the air in Cincinnati...got kind of tired of packing and unpacking, town to town, up and down the dial."

Inspiration

The hit song was inspired by radio personality Jim Connors, who is credited for having discovered Chapin and promoted his hit, "Taxi", through Boston radio station WMEX, where he was the AM drive-time host. After the debut of "Taxi", Chapin sat in on a phone conversation Connors was having with his ex-wife while in a studio at WMEX. This conversation led to a deep and personal discussion during an interview both on and off the air between the men. They talked about life, the business, marriage, divorce, happiness, and all the troubles associated with being a DJ and the music business at the time.[3]

The song describes the often transitory and difficult lives of radio personalities, whose careers may require them to move from city to city. After losing his job due to age discrimination (as suggested by the call letters "W-OLD" and "they said that they like the young sound when they let me go"), the singer leaves his family to spend eight years in gigs in Tulsa and then Boise before having the opportunity to again work in his home city. However, upon returning, his overtures to reunite with his ex-wife are summarily rebuffed, as she has moved on with her life.

WOLD-FM is an actual radio station in Marion, Virginia, which went on the air in 1968, five years before Chapin recorded the song.[4]

When performing the song live, Chapin frequently replaced WOLD in the last verse with the call letters of a local station in the town where the performance was held. The live version of the song from the compilation The Gold Medal Collection has an example of this; WOLD was replaced with KHJ, a station in Los Angeles.

Commercial performance

The song, included on the album Short Stories, peaked on the US charts at number 36 in March 1974[5] and at number 34 in the UK.[1] However, when Chapin performed it on the Greatest Stories Live album, he jokingly said that the song actually charted for "15 minutes."[6] It was also very notable in Canada, reaching number 14 and number 9. The song charted in multiple other countries in the top 20. It went on to sell over a million units.

Chart performance

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lewis, Jesse (November 3, 1977). "DJ's Off Mike: Tuning In On The Radio Rodeo". Ocala Star-Banner. Ocala, FL. p. 10A. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  2. ↑ "A Friend Remembers Harry Chapin". ClassicBands.com. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  3. ↑ "W.O.L.D. by Harry Chapin Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  4. ↑ "The Facilities of AM-FM Radio". 1969 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1969. p. B-169.
  5. 1 2 "Hot 100 for Week Ending March 23, 1974" (PDF). Billboard. March 23, 1974. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Rock, Storytellers And Jazz Fill November Concert Calendar". St. Petersburg Independent. St Petersburg, FL. October 27, 1979. p. 12D. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  7. 1 2 "australian-charts.com - Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  8. ↑ "RPM Top Singles". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 16 March 1974. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  9. ↑ "RPM Pop Music Playlist". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 6 April 1974. Archived from the original on 25 September 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  10. ↑ "Dutch Top 40, WOLD". Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  11. ↑ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  12. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
  13. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 46.
  14. ↑ "Top 100 1974-03-30". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  15. ↑ "RPM 1974 Wrap Up". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 28 December 1974. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  16. ↑ "1974 Year End". Bullfrogspond.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
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