Imagine Dragons’ “Wrecked” Lyrics Meaning

In the world of pop music, songs of romantic heartbreak and songs of bereavement tend to read one in the same. For instance already this year we have come a tune or two by other artists which also, as with “Wrecked”, utilize the allegory of the vocalist being unable to ‘escape the ghost’ of the addressee.

But in both of those cases, said metaphor was used within the context of said addressee being estranged, not actually dead. Moreover the person the singers were referring to were former lovers. Or what we’re trying to get at here is that if the reader doesn’t take time, he or she may hastily conclude that the person whom Dan Reynolds, the narrator of this song, is singing to is his ex.

Song’s Addressee is Deceased

In reality this song is representative of his emotional reaction to the premature passing of his sister-in-law, who unfortunately succumbed to cancer some time in the recent past. So it is actually she whom he is singing to and about. 

And honestly, there aren’t any lyrics actually pointing to this addressee being a romantic interest even if, once again, such would be the generally-hasty conclusion. Rather what is being put forth is the vocalist being “wrecked” by this individual not being around. 

But also to note, there aren’t any lyrics specifically stating that she’s deceased also, despite some parts of the song, such as the bridge, inferring as much.

Reynolds misses the Addressee greatly

It is also during said bridge where the vocalist recounts certain pieces of advice the addressee gave him. And the implication is that now that the person is in fact gone for good, those admonishments are sticking out in his mind even more. 

He is also looking forward to ‘seeing his loved one again’ in the future. And in that regard, with background knowledge of this piece in tow, we know that what he is actually referring to is something like meeting her again in the afterlife.

But that noted, at least for the time being he is still an emotional “wreck” as a result of her passing. 

So the conclusive sentiment is that it’s going to take the vocalist some time for him to get over her, if ever.

When did Imagine Dragons release “Wrecked”?

This track is from Imagine Dragons’ fifth studio album, “Mercury – Act 1”.  Actually it was released on 2 July 2021 in advance of the project itself and as the third single from it.

Credits

This track was produced by the Imagine Dragons as a singular entity. And the members of the crew are also credited as its official writers. They are:

• Ben McKee (bass player)
• Daniel Platzman (drummer)
• Dan Reynolds (primary vocalist)
• Wayne Sermon (guitarist)

Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons’ first album, “Night Visions”, came out in 2012. It still remains the most-successful full-length in their discography, helping to promptly establish the band as A list pop artists. For instance, this album earned the crew a Billboard Music Award in 2014. 

And the fourth single from the undertaking, “Demons”, has achieved RIAA quintuple-platinum status. And they’ve also had a couple of other tracks since then, “Believer” (2017) and “Thunder” (2017) accomplish the same. Additionally in 2018 they proved to be the group whose songs were streamed the most on Spotify.

But monumental success aside, the band’s heyday commercially appears to be more or less behind them, despite the fact that they remain extremely popular. For instance, the first single from “Mercury – Act 1” did proceed to chart in approximately 30 nations. This is certainly an outstanding feat for any single. However the only country it has been certified in thus far is Italy, where concurrently it only takes a relatively-humble 35,000 sales for a single gold status, as did “Wrecked”.

The single in question is entitled “Follow You“. It was released in March of 2021 -about 3 months before “Wrecked”.