Wise Up

This song struck a deep chord with me the first time I heard it.

For me, it was a simple yet chilling reminder, that your conscience will keep gnawing at you, if you refuse to "wise up".

That you must learn and grow from the choices you make in life.

That no self-indulgence will help you escape the consequences of your actions or lack thereof.

That before it's too late, you have got to figure out what you need in your life (in order to be at peace), otherwise, your list of regrets is "not going to stop" growing longer and longer.

That you must "give up" the delusion that the disquiet you feel is "going to stop".

Because the only solution is to "wise up".

Therein lies the Solace your Soul ultimately seeks.

feel free to comment on my interpretation, thanks.

This song is beautiful out of context, and even more meaningful embedded in the text of the film "Magnolia." In the film, it plays a part much like the chorus in a great Greek tragic play.

When watching the film, pay attention to what character is singing what lyric: it shows the characters purpose and motive. It is very telling, for example, that they pan on the young quiz kid during the final lyric: "So just... give up." The youngest character with the most innocence and naivete is actually the one that knows the answers.

In this song, it's one of the cases where giving up is the optimistic, not pessimistic, thing to do. All the characters in the film need to give up one way or another--give up their pride, give up their walls, give up their lies, give up misplaced love. Then again, isn't that sound advice for anyone?

A beautiful song to listen to on it's own, extremely relatable to anyone. But put it in the context of the film, and it's pure music & movie magic. Two art forms coming together and making a masterpiece.

How about this for how the meaning of the song applies to the movie Magnolia: All the main characters in Magnolia have been subject to some form of child abuse by their parents -either sexual or emotional (abuse of trust/abandonment etc). Their lives are now significantly impacted by the consequences of this (mainly low self-esteem, self-hatred, feeling of worthlessness). They have been seeking various ways or achievements to make themselves feel better which turn out to not repair the problem.
But its actually not going to stop until until they wise up and accept that there is nothing wrong with them, but the problem is their parents previous treatment of them. So "just give up" trying to protect them or deny the harm they did, and learn to like yourself again. Hence the last line of the song is actually ending on a postive and optimistic note.

One of the most perfect songs I've ever heard, and still gives me goosebumps after years of listening. To me it's about how we as humans like to deny our addictions and bad habits and try to justify them to ourselves, regardless of the consequences ("it's not going to stop 'til you wise up"). I agree with above comments that when she says to just "give up", that it's the obvious antidote to our addictions but easier said than done. This song is featured on the Jerry Mcguire soundtrack from 1996 so it wasn't written specifically for Magnolia, but it fits perfectly.

bertrande said it so well--thank you from a fellow "Magnolia" fan.

I see this song as the plea to learn from your mistakes...so easily said, but not so easily done.

i thought it was pretty clear that this song was about alcoholism. i think that because just about everyone sort of "discovered" this song through magnolia, that it seems to apply more to that context, but if you think about it more closely -- "It's not What you thought When you first began it"

and the obvious "You're sure There's a cure And you have finally found it You think One drink Will shrink you 'til you're underground"

i always thought this song was clearly about alcoholism. does anyone else think so?

Um, I think alcoholism is a big part of the song. But I think it's more general than that, also considering Aimee wrote it specifically for the film.

Stunning, and it works really well in Magnolia, which is such an amazing film.

Also I think it's about being self-pitying and wallowing in sorrow and saying it's not going to stop till you face up to it and do something about it. it's sung at a point in the movie where they all have to do something they perhaps don't want to, or make a big decision.

Man this song is a lot like save me i think. this is also about not liking who you are. Those poeple in the movie Magnolia really were unhappy with themselves and what was around them. They just had to accept who they were and "wise up". I think that this is an incredibly hard thing to do and i think that that is why those people i the movie had so much trouble doing it. Sorry if I talked aobut the movie too much but i aimee mann is telling them all exactly what they need to do. thats why its the last and most important song in the movie.