Home » Albums » 1989 » Songs on 1989 » Wonderland

Wonderland

Promotional Single | Bonus Track | 1989 (2014) | 1989 (Taylor's Version) [2023]

“Wonderland” is track fourteen on the deluxe edition of Taylor’s fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). The song uses the story of Alice In Wonderland as inspiration to describe the highs and lows of a past relationship. The re-recording of the song, “Wonderland (Taylor’s Version)”, was released on October 27, 2023.

Background and Release

Inspired by pop music of the 1980s and its experimentation with synthesizers, drum pads, and overlapped vocals, Taylor decided to move away from the signature country styles of her previous releases and incorporate a straightforward pop production for 1989. The recording process began in mid-2013 concurrently with the start of Taylor’s “The RED Tour” in support of her fourth studio album, RED (2012). Taylor announced in February 2014 that she was again working with Max Martin and Shellback, with whom she had collaborated on three songs for RED. Martin also served as executive producer with Taylor on 1989.

“Wonderland” was released as the third promotional single on February 17, 2015, from the deluxe version of 1989.

Lyrical Theme

The song tells the story of a relationship that was too good to be true. Taylor and her boyfriend were in their own little dream world. She knew it would end badly, she was warned, but she jumped right in anyways. Eventually, everything started to go wrong. Everytime she tried to leave he reasured her that everything was fine because they were in Wonderland. Slowly though, they fell out of love, and she realizied that she had to go back to reality, that it was never going to work. And after that, she was never the same.

Live Performances

Even though it is a bonus track, Taylor performed “Wonderland” a few times acoustically on “The 1989 World Tour” (2015). She also sang it on the “repuation Stadium Tour” (2018), and again on “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024) in Houston, on April 21, 2023. When introducing the song, Taylor said:

«I really wanna play this one tonight. I haven't played it in a very long time. I kinda based it off of a twisted Alice in Wonderland. I’m insane. Truly.»

Taylor Swift

On July 13, 2024, she played a mashup of “Wonderland” with “the 1” (2020) in Milan. During the tour’s final weekend on December 6, 2024, Taylor paired the song with “Haunted” (2010) in Vancouver.

Taylor's Version

“Wonderland (Taylor’s Version)” is included as the fourteenth track on Taylor’s fourth re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version). It was released on October 27, 2023, exactly nine years after the original.