[Verse 1]
Is it any wonder
That she would feel less than real
When she reveals what is clearer
In her mirror
Take a look around her
Magazines, glamour queens
Waist-line dreams in her diary
So inspiring
[Chorus]
Nobody told her that little girls
Don't have to have the softest curls for love
So whatever's left inside her
Is gonna smile wider, shine brighter
Until she gets pulled under
Is it any wonder?
[Verse 2]
Is it any wonder
That he's obsessed with what is best
And nothing less... he's a hero
With six zeros
Take a look around him
His wallet size and what he drives
Will symbolise how he's made it
How they'll grade it
[Chorus 2]
Nobody told him that little boys
Don't have to have the fastest toys to win
So whatever's left inside him
Is gonna keep on tryin' to keep on buyin'
Until he gets pulled under
Is it any wonder?
[Bridge]
Will somebody tell her there's a love that can't be glamourized
Tell him there's a hope that won't be downsized
Someone tell them that the billboards lie
All the time
Cos whatever's left inside her
Is gonna smile wider
And whatever's left inside him
Is gonna keep on tryin'
Until they get pulled under
Is it any wonder?
Is It Any Wonder
Song Meaning
Nichole Nordeman pairs a girl and a boy in "Is It Any Wonder" to show the same wound taking two different shapes. Hers is appearance — "magazines, glamour queens, waist-line dreams in her diary" — his is achievement — "his wallet size and what he drives will symbolize how he's made it." Neither is treated as more foolish than the other; both are shown as predictable responses to a culture that never told them a simpler truth: "little girls don't have to have the softest curls for love," "little boys don't have to have the fastest toys to win."
"Whatever's left inside her is gonna smile wider, shine brighter, until she gets pulled under" makes clear the performance has a cost, not just a shallow motive — it's exhausting to maintain, and eventually unsustainable. The bridge finally supplies the alternative the verses withheld: "there's a love that can't be glamourized... a hope that won't be downsized," directly contradicting the billboards' promises named in the same line.
The title question, repeated rather than answered outright, treats the outcome as predictable rather than mysterious — of course this is where chasing an image leads.