What happens to our childlike wonder when we grow up? Where does it go?
Those questions inspired Highland Park native Erin Duvall’s latest single, “Wide Eyed Wonder,” a song about rediscovering the sense of awe that can fade with age.
For Duvall, a single mother of four, life gets crazy. There’s carpool, homework, heartbreak, and everything in between. But in those in between moments, Duvall has been privileged to witness life through her children’s eyes and reclaim the wonder that was misplaced.
The song didn’t come to her all at once. Instead, it grew from years of watching her children experience the world.
“Seeing the world through my children’s eyes with that glimmer and hope was what gave me inspiration,” Duvall said. “A firefly becomes magic to them, or cardboard becomes castles, or just the way that the sunlight hits the sidewalk, and then they want to paint it. That is such a beautiful perspective.”
From the start, Duvall knew she wanted to write a song about holding on to hope and a sense of wonder. She watched her children and looked back on her own memories of growing up. One lyric came directly from a memory of when she and her brother built a castle out of a cardboard box for a turtle they discovered in the creek near Armstrong Elementary School.
Duvall emphasized that she was surrounded by love as a child. Growing up in a house with five siblings, her home was always full of life. She knew she wanted to create that same environment for her children.
“There’s a lot of continuation between my story and their story,” she said.
Her mother turned Christmas from a holiday into a monthlong celebration, she remembered. The house was decorated to the nines, with beautifully trimmed trees, stockings hanging from the mantel, and the spirit of Christmas filling every room.
Duvall has worked to recreate that magic for her own children.
“You want to take the good parts from your own childhood and continue those,” she said.
Duvall’s favorite lyric from the track is “We were just kids wishing.” It reminds her of dreaming big as a child, and especially of her ambition to become a Broadway star. Everything feels boundless as a child; that’s what makes everything seem possible.
Duvall hopes that listeners will slow down, choose joy, and remember that beauty and wonder still exist in the everyday moments around them.
Looking ahead, Duvall will release a cover of Linda Ronstadt’s “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” before her full album drops in October. A Texas native raised in musical theater, Duvall has long admired Ronstadt’s ability to blend soul with gritty rock and country, a sound that continues to influence her own music.
Outside of her music career, Duvall is also focused on giving back. Her nonprofit, Twice the Love Foundation, supports single parents. It will host a benefit at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in November featuring a Grammy and Oscar nominated artist. Proceeds from the event will benefit Genesis Women’s Shelter and Support. Visit twicethelovefoundation.org to learn more.
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