I Wanna Be Yours

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"I Wanna Be Yours" is a spoken word poem by British poet 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 .

Contents

Original lyrics

The poetic spoken lyrics recount 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]

Arctic Monkeys adaptation

"I Wanna Be Yours"
Song by Arctic Monkeys
from the album AM
ReleasedSeptember 9, 2013 (2013-09-09)
Genre
Length3:04
Label Domino
Composers
Lyricist John Cooper Clarke
Producer
Official audio
"I Wanna Be Yours" on YouTube

The English rock band Arctic Monkeys brought the poem to a wider audience via an adaptation [6] which appears as the closing track on their 2013 album, AM . The adaptation, produced by James Ford and Ross Orton, contains novel lyrics written by lead singer Alex Turner. It was not released as a single, but the song still gained popularity organically as part of AM, in May 2025, the recitation reached 3 billion streams on Spotify. [7]

Certifications

Certifications for "I Wanna Be Yours" by Arctic Monkeys
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [33] 5× Platinum400,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [34] Gold45,000‡
Italy (FIMI) [35] 2× Platinum200,000‡
Portugal (AFP) [36] 5× Platinum50,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [37] Platinum60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [38] 3× Platinum1,800,000‡
United States (RIAA) [39] 4× Platinum4,000,000‡
Streaming
Greece (IFPI Greece) [40] Diamond10,000,000†

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ↑ I Wanna Be Yours on YouTube
  2. ↑ "GCSE Poetry: 'I Wanna be Yours' by John Cooper-Clarke". TES . Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  3. ↑ Clarke, John Cooper (2020). I wanna be yours. London. ISBN   978-1-5098-9610-3. OCLC   1148197088.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (20 March 2023). "'A billion listens? Is that a lot?' John Cooper Clarke on penning possibly the world's favourite poem". The Guardian . London. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  5. ↑ AM (liner notes). Arctic Monkeys. 2013.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ↑ Fink, Matt (8 November 2013). "Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner on "AM," Working with Josh Homme, and Adapting John Cooper Clarke". Under the Radar. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  7. ↑ "I Wanna Be Yours". Spotify . Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  8. ↑ "Official Audio Streaming Chart Top 100 - 15 September 2013 - 21 September 2013". Official Charts Company. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  10. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 44. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  11. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  12. ↑ "IFPI Charts Digital Singles Chart (International) Week 40 2022". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  13. ↑ "IMI International Top 20 Singles for week ending 26th December 2023 | Week 51 of 52". IMIcharts. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023.
  14. ↑ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association . Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  15. ↑ "2022 42-os savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys Chart History (Malaysia Songs)". Billboard . Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  17. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  18. ↑ "Singel 2023 uke 40". VG-lista . Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  19. ↑ "OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie" (Select week 06.01.2023–12.01.2023.) (in Polish). OLiS . Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  20. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  21. ↑ "ČNS IFPI". IFPI ČR. Note: Select SK SINGLES DIGITAL TOP 100 and insert 202244 into search. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 41". Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  23. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  24. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  25. ↑ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  26. ↑ "2022 metų klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA . Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  27. ↑ "Top 200 Músicas Mais Acessadas em Plataformas de Streaming em 2023" [Top 200 Most Accessed Songs on Streaming Platforms in 2023](PDF) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  28. ↑ "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2023". Billboard . Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  29. ↑ "Top 100 | OLiS – single w streamie | 2023" (PDF) (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  30. ↑ "End of Year Singles Chart – 2023". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  31. ↑ "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2024". Billboard. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  32. ↑ "Top 200 Singles YTD – Semanas 01 a 52 de 2024" (PDF) (in European Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. p. 10. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  33. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". Music Canada . Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  34. ↑ "Danish single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". IFPI Danmark . Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  35. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  36. ↑ "Portuguese single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa . Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  37. ↑ "Spanish single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España . Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  38. ↑ "British single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  39. ↑ "American single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  40. ↑ "IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International)" (in Greek). IFPI Greece . Retrieved 13 November 2024.
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