The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

No, I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you
With you
(This world is only gonna break your heart)

What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way
What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you
What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way
What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you

And I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

No, I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you (with you)
(This world is only gonna break your heart)

No, I (this world is only gonna break your heart)
(This world is only gonna break your heart)

Nobody loves no one


Lyrics submitted by Fistan, edited by chamacuti

Wicked Game Lyrics as written by Chris Isaak

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Broma 16, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Wicked Game song meanings
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118 Comments

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  • +16
    General Comment

    You people kill me! It's great that you think this is the sexiest song ever...blah blah blah! The whole point of all of this is to give your thoughts on what the meaning of the song is. This web site is called SONG MEANINGS....not howitmademefeel.com.

    The meaning of this song....in my opinion is....he was lured in by this beautiful woman who turned his whole world upside down and realized even though he couldn't help himself he never should have fallen for her and her " wicked game". She strung him along making him believe that he is what she wanted, then she did a complete 360 and told him she did not want him...hence the line, "What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way." So she lured him in, he fell for her, and she was just stringing him along. She made him believe that she would be his everything and after being hurt he claims his last line, "nobody loves no one" meaning everyone is only out for themselves. It's not about being a couple and building together anymore, it's about what can you do for me? And once they are done getting what they want, they leave to find bigger and better things leaving you with all of this love for that person and nothing but heartache in return. And when this song was released, it was way before it's time. That is a song that should have been released for the year 2000, people are more greedier and selfish now than when this song was released!!

    My life story....I would be Chris Isaac in this song! BLAH!!!!

    Christy32080on July 21, 2007   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    I've always found this song very haunting. There's something so searing about the opening moments-musically- and his voice is such a lovely combination of sensuality and vulnerability. Although there is definately a steamy quality to the song, I don't interpret it as describing an exclusively physical longing- I think it describes well the struggle to not make yourself vulnerable to a person or situation that logically you know, for whatever reason, will ultimately lead to hurt, no matter how alluring it seems at the time, while already having emotionally landed in a place where you can't really back out without accruing some sort of damage. It is a horrible, exhilarating place to be...you want to tell the person to go away, only to avoid the hurt, but you can't, and you already know-somehow- you will regret it in the end. Theres something interesting about the way the lyrics play with time frame- the chorus sounds very urgent, very "in the now"-in terms of his emotional state, although the rest of the lyrics seem to be reflecting back on something in the past, kind of adds to the overall theme of conflicting emotions, and the emotional tension they cause. The "nobody loves noone" or whatever to that effect he says at the end is just the saddest- in the end, even the most vivid, urgent love can end up feeling so hollow, so wrung dry of all it's mystery, compassion, and sexuality- and make you wonder if it's ultimately just about what feels gratifying at the moment, reguardless of long term damage. So raw and sad.

    csuzanneon March 31, 2009   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    I also think that he says "No, I wanna fall in love with you". The "don't" is never heard and thus there is a very different meaning. He might want to fall in love but he is incompatible to do so. He doesn't want to have sex or any casual relationship with no real feelings so he says "No" to the partner, "I want to fall in love with you" giving out his inner desire to develop feelings as he might be tired of this senseless sex desire.

    Pithikoson May 03, 2011   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    The wicked game is the struggle to maintain your composure while falling totally in love. The game is how you're supposed to be the strong one and she just levels you with her eyes and floors you with her kiss. My wicked game is finally starting to fall in love with the one who used to love me. Timing is everything. I never dreamed that I knew someone like you bon bon.

    beaton July 11, 2002   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    i think it seems like he is falling in love with someone, but he really doesn't want to. this girl seems to be the only one who is having an affect on him, shes the only one who could save him, but he knows that she doesn't love him - the love he has for her going to break his heart.

    _something_pretty_on October 25, 2007   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    This song is one of the saddest love songs ever written and has a uniquely personal aspect for me. It is a about a forbidden relationship. He knew he should not get involved from the outset. He knew that loving her has gotten people nothing but heartache. He knew he shouldn't fall for her, but he couldn't help himself. He loved her. He loved her all the way. The heart wants what the heart wants. She WANTED him but doesn't love anyone but herself. She used his love to get what she wanted while she wanted it - for fun, and left him with nothing but a broken heart when he was all used up. But still, he would rather have loved her briefly than not at all. Such is love.

    For me, the woman (a coworker) seduced me over the course of a year until I could think of nothing else (hands on my thigh under the table at happy hours, whispering sexual comments in my ear, touching me inappropriately in the office, coming in on weekends when no one else was there to flirt with me). This song would play in my car and all I could see was her naked with me in passion. I was a fool and she kindled a desire that I have never felt in my life. We went out one Saturday when my wife was away, we made love and I was hooked. I tried not to fall in love, but she became my soul-mate (I found out later it was an act). We traveled the world, I fell head over heals for her and I left my family. With two failed marriages and a host of short-term relationships under her belt before age 32, I knew she was trouble. Loving her has gotten men nothing but heartache, but I thought I was special. I could sense danger from the moment I met her, but I was up to the challenge (so I thought). I tried not to so hard, but I couldn't help myself. I loved her more than anything else in the world.

    When things finally got serious (no more world travel, I was working on a divorce, I had to watch my son 3-4 days per week) and things weren't as much fun anymore, she took the first chance she got to leave me high and dry. Just a couple little mistakes and we were done. We didn't even have a conversation after 3.5 years. She broke up over text and started dating other people before I even had the chance to get ahold of her.

    I knew what I was dealing with going in (she was flirting with me while she was in a relationship with someone else, after all). She is in to fun and excitement, but she doesn't love people, just how they make her feel. I ruined a perfectly good marriage for "love" as I thought it. She was happy to let me believe we were the ones for each other, but when the moment of truth came, she split. When we met again, it was as if we had never known each other and she never felt anything at all for me.

    I knew this girl was only gonna break my heart - but I loved her and I lost a more than a relationship. I lost a wife and son. She played a wicked game. She let me feel this way. She let me dream of her. She drove me wild, used my heart against me and broke it into a million little pieces when she was done. I never loved someone so much in my life - but truth be told, I knew it was probably a mistake. Strange what desire will make foolish people do indeed. But for the love I felt - I would take the risk. I blamed myself for a while, but shame on her for letting me fall for her only to crush my soul when I needed her the most. It is a crime beyond denunciation.

    eternituson February 10, 2014   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    the 'wicked game' is to make someone want/desire someone so badly, yet they can't have that person.

    wanda_dewitton April 10, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    To me this song is about wanting someone physically and how the desire for someone can bring about strange and unfamiliar emotions. It's about being afraid to let yourself fall in love with that person because you don't want to get you're heart broken..."No, I don't wanna fall in love, this world is always gonna brake your heart..with you"...he says that he doesn't wanna fall in love then later says with you, showing the underlying message that he is scared to fall in love for fear of being hurt. This person also frustrates you because you find the way they act confusing and unfair..."What a wicked game to play, to make me feel this way, what a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you, what a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way"...it's "wicked" for them to play mind games with you, making you think that they have feelings for you when perhaps they don't, saying things they don't really mean and giving you false hope about being together. They make you dream of them [as they say that dreams show you're repressed desires] and it's unfair for them to make you dream of being with them when it may never happen. He says "I'll never dream that I lose somebody like you, no"...that now he has fallen for the person, he never wants to imagine what it would be like losing them. However, instead of falling in love with them, he wants to 'fall in lust' thus coming back to when he previously says "It's strange what desire will make foolish people do"...that perhaps he doesn't feel or want love...but he instead feels lust or desire for this person. He ends the song with, "nobody loves no one", showing that perhaps noone ever really loves anyone...our bodies just feel a desire or a lust for that person. Just a theory...=]

    [{eVeRyThInG}]on October 10, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This is great song in my opinion, but it's almost tragic. To me it's about falling in love with someone, that you know would lead to a broken heart. As the line goes (this girl is only gonna break your heart), but in the song he states that he doesn't want to fall in love but "It's strange what desire will make foolish people do".

    DarkSinon July 11, 2013   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    If you think this song is about romance and love you have obviously never read the lyrics. It’s probably the most heart wrenchingly accurate song about people who use someone else’s unconditional love as a weapon. I’ve been this song. It’s amazingly accurate as to my situation. I was fragile when we met. She lured me in, told me everything to alleviate all my fears, accepted my proposal, then once she got what she wanted she dropped me without an explanation. Just shredded my heart and tossed it aside like it meant nothing. She broke me and I’ve never been the same.... This song isn’t about the hesitation of new love. This song is about using love as a weapon and crushing people.

    jamesonkerseyon February 19, 2018   Link

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