“Do I Wanna Know?” by Arctic Monkeys

Relatively speaking, the lyrics of Arctic Monkeys’ “Do I Wanna Know?” are quite-elaborate for a pop song. But what it all boils down to is, from an emotional and mental perspective, the singer being in a less-than-ideal romantic relationship. Or more to the point, the situation reads as if he has fallen in love with someone who in contrast is not overly-serious about their relationship. In fact said romance in and of itself comes off as if it is more akin to a fling, as in the singer knowing better than to fall for this lady under such circumstances.

So basically, Alex Turner sounds as if he is a bit obsessed with his lover, i.e. the addressee of the song. That is to say that he isn’t sure if this lady really wants him or not. And the underlying impression is that to some degree, she doesn’t. But he still finds himself “crawling back”, persisting to be the recipient of her love.

So considering that he has already more or less deduced that she is not faithful to him, the title of this song is based on the narrator asking himself if he truly wants to know how she feels about him. Indeed such is currently the burning question in his mind.

Facts about “Do I Wanna Know?”

Domino Records put this song out on the 18th of June 2013 as the second single from the Arctic Monkeys’ album entitled “AM”. And the band debuted it the month prior during a live performance in California.

It proved to be a significant hit, as it charted in 13 countries. This includes scoring a number one on Billboard’s Alternative Hits charts. Moreover it reached number 11 in Britain (i.e. the UK Singles Chart) and second place on the UK Indie Chart. And whereas it scored a humble 70th place on the Hot 100, “Do I Wanna Know?” marked the first time the band ever made it onto that all-important chart.

The track has also been certified double-platinum in Italy and the United Kingdom.

The music video to this song contributed it its success. With David Wilson as its director, it is an animated affair which was created by a studio called Blinkink. And as of mid-2020 it has nearly 1,000,000,000 views on YouTube.

In 2015, “Do I Wanna Know?” was honored with a Grammy nomination. A couple of years prior, it was named Best Track during the Q Awards of 2013.

It has also been featured on a couple of television shows in addition to the hit 2014 video “The Crew”. Additionally it has been covered by popular artists such as Hozier, Dua Lipa and Sam Smith.

“Do I Wanna Know?” was written by Arctic Monkeys’ own Alex Turner. And the track was produced by the pair of James Ford alongside Ross Orton.

Haim were originally slated to perform background vocals on this song. However, due to being preoccupied with their own project, they were not able to do so.