"I Wanna Hold You" is a song by English pop rock band McFly. It was released on 17 October 2005 as the third single from their second studio album, Wonderland (2005). It was written by band members Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, and Dougie Poynter. The song peaked at number three in the UK Singles Chart and number 13 in Ireland.
The original version of the song was different from the single, this version was written by Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones. Its lyrics were "less mature" and resembled a song more suited to the Room on the 3rd Floor album than the new and "grown-up" Wonderland album. The track was therefore edited. It was re-written by Tom and Dougie and re-recorded to be added onto McFly's second studio album, but not before it was featured on the album demo which has subsequently been spread across the internet. The new album version however was still criticised. Its lyrics "I'd destroy the world for you" and "Every city's burning to the ground under your feet" were deemed inappropriate for a pop song. So McFly edited and re-recorded the song a further time for the single changing the lyrics to "I'll change the world for you" and "Cities still surrender and they're falling at your feet" instead. More recent live performances of the song feature a compromise in which the lines "I'll destroy the world for you" and "Cities still surrender and they're falling at your feet" are used.
Music video
McFly's video for "I Wanna Hold You" is more mature, removing McFly's signature comedic sketches for a serious performance-based video. The band, suited up, perform the whole video in front of an orchestra of beautiful women in blonde wigs. During the guitar solo, a woman appears to rise through the ground before McFly, dripping with a metallic looking paint.
^I Wanna Hold You (UK CD2 liner notes). McFly. Island Records, Universal Records. 2005. MCSXD40436, 9874557.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^I Wanna Hold You (UK DVD single liner notes). McFly. Island Records, Universal Records. 2005. MCSVD 40436, 9874558.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)