I Wanna Be Yours

"I Wanna Be Yours" is a song by British poet John Cooper Clarke, on his 1982 album Zip Style Method. The song was brought to wider audience via an adaptation by Arctic Monkeys on their 2013 album AM.

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
Released	September 9, 2013 (2013-09-09)
Genre	Indie rock pop R&B
Length	3:04
Label	Domino
Composer(s)	Jamie Cook Matt Helders Nick O'Malley Alex Turner[5]
Lyricist(s)	John Cooper Clarke
Producer(s)	James Ford
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] that serves 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. By 3 April 2024, the recitation had received over two billion streams on Spotify.[7]

Weekly charts

2013 weekly chart performance for "I Wanna Be Yours"

Chart (2013)	Peak position
UK Streaming (OCC)[8]	39
UK Indie (OCC)[9]	42

2021–2024 weekly chart performance for "I Wanna Be Yours"

Chart (2021–2024)	Peak position
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[10]	39
Global 200 (Billboard)[11]	55
Greece International (IFPI)[12]	9
India International Singles (IMI)[13]	2
Ireland (IRMA)[14]	78
Lithuania (AGATA)[15]	20
Malaysia (Billboard)[16]	21
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17]	99
Norway (VG-lista)[18]	37
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[19]	51
Portugal (AFP)[20]	26
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[21]	44
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22]	66
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23]	93
UK Singles (OCC)[24]	99
UK Indie (OCC)[25]	4

Year-end charts

2022 year-end chart performance for "I Wanna Be Yours" by Arctic Monkeys

Chart (2022)	Position
Lithuania (AGATA)[26]	43

2023 year-end chart performance for "I Wanna Be Yours" by Arctic Monkeys

Chart (2023)	Position
Brazil Streaming (Pro-Música Brasil)[27]	199
Global 200 (Billboard)[28]	56
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[29]	47
UK Singles (OCC)[30]	86

2024 year-end chart performance for "I Wanna Be Yours"

Chart (2024)	Position
Global 200 (Billboard)[31]	49

Certifications

Certifications for "I Wanna Be Yours" by Arctic Monkeys

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[32]	5× Platinum	400,000^‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[33]	Gold	45,000^‡
Italy (FIMI)[34]	2× Platinum	200,000^‡
Portugal (AFP)[35]	5× Platinum	50,000^‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[36]	Platinum	60,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[37]	2× Platinum	1,200,000^‡
United States (RIAA)[38]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^‡
Streaming
Greece (IFPI Greece)[39]	Diamond	10,000,000^†
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. ^† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

See also

• Evidently Chickentown
• Sleeper hit

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.
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.
6. Fink, Matt. "Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner on "AM," Working with Josh Homme, and Adapting John Cooper Clarke". www.undertheradarmag.com. 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. "Canadian single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". Music Canada. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
33. "Danish single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
34. "Italian single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
35. "Portuguese single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
36. "Spanish single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
37. "British single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
38. "American single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Wanna Be Yours". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
39. "IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International)" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Retrieved 13 November 2024.