Ironic
Alanis Morissette Lyrics
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Yeah, ah, ah
Yeah, I
An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?
It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought? It figures
Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down, he thought
"Well, isn't this nice"
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?
It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought? It figures
Well, life has a funny way
Of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay
And everything's going right
And life has a funny way
Of helping you out
When you think everything's gone wrong
And everything blows up in your face
A traffic jam when you're already late
A "no smoking" sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?
A little too ironic, and yeah I really do think
It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought? It figures
And yeah, well, life has a funny way
Of sneaking up on you
And life has a funny, funny way
Of helping you out
Helping you out
Alanis Morissette's song "Ironic" is a commentary on the absurdities of life. It presents a list of events that are supposedly ironic in nature, but are, in fact, just unfortunate coincidences. The song starts off with the story of an old man who won the lottery and died the next day. This is followed by other examples such as a death row pardon that comes two minutes too late and a fly in a glass of expensive Chardonnay. Morissette questions whether these events are really ironic or simply a cruel twist of fate.
The chorus of the song features more examples of supposed irony, including rain on a wedding day, a free ride when you've already paid, and good advice that you didn't take. The second verse tells the story of a man who was afraid to fly but finally takes a flight, only to have the plane crash. The song ends with a series of seemingly ironic events, including a traffic jam when you're already late and meeting the man of your dreams, only to find out he is married.
Overall, "Ironic" is a satirical take on the idea of irony and how it is often misused. The song suggests that what we think of as irony is often just a coincidence or a twist of fate, and that life has a funny way of sneaking up on us.
Line by Line Meaning
An old man turned ninety-eight
It's ironic that a person lived a long life and then died right after winning the lottery.
He won the lottery and died the next day
A person was fortunate enough to win the lottery, but it didn't matter as they died right after.
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a situation where you find something unpleasant mixed with something you expected to be pleasant.
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
It's when a person gets a second chance too late, and there's no time left for it to make a difference.
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?
The song's theme is about irony, and the chorus poses the question to the listener whether they think it's ironic too.
Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
It's ironic that a person who plays it safe in life is afraid to take reasonable risks.
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
After finally taking the risk to fly, his worst fear comes true just when he is leaving his life behind.
And as the plane crashed down, he thought "Well, isn't this nice"
As the plane crashes, Mr. Play It Safe experiences an ironic thought, questioning the cruel twist of fate he faces.
Well, life has a funny way
Of sneaking up on you
Life is unpredictable, and it can throw unexpected surprises your way.
And life has a funny way
Of helping you out
When you think everything's gone wrong
And everything blows up in your face
Life can be ironic in its timing, offering help when you expect it the least.
A traffic jam when you're already late
It's a situation when something bad happens to worsen a difficult situation.
A "no smoking" sign on your cigarette break
It's a situation where a person sees something unexpected despite being in a related or obvious scenario.
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's a situation where what you have is useless, while what you need is something else.
It's meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
It's a situation where destiny sets you up for a cruel joke or a disappointing end.
And yeah, well, life has a funny way
Of sneaking up on you
The chorus repeats the idea that life can be a source of ironic twists and turns.
And life has a funny, funny way
Of helping you out
Helping you out
The chorus reminds the listener that life can help someone in ironic ways, even when it seems least likely.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Glen Ballard, Alanis Nadine Morissette
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@RosaliaFacts
I'm so emotional. This 4K restoration is MAGIC. It was shot in 1996 and looks like it was shot yesterday. The power of film. Thank you.
@RosaliaFacts
@@andarporbuenosaires Yes, directly scanned from the original negative :)
@Muhdah1972
This video & Hand in My Pocket are the sharpest looking but grateful to whomever had the idea
@3ver4fter53
@@RosaliaFacts That's what I was wondering. So all the videos from this album were shot on film ? If so, that's great because it was very uncommon at the time. It still is, but nowadays we have very high definition video.
@connorhanneken3244
@@3ver4fter53 If anything digital was rare and probably too expensive.
@3ver4fter53
@@connorhanneken3244 In the 80's and the 90's, 99% of music videos were shot on video because they were meant to be broadcast on the TV screens of that era. Shooting on video was the cheapest way. Only a few artists shot some of their "videos" on film, the most popular being Thriller, directed by John Landis and screened in cinemas before it was sent to MTV. But shooting on film was (and still is) very expensive. The record companies did not want to pay for that because they did not see the point. Music videos were made for SD TV and that was it.
Today we are surrounded by very high definition screens at home. Video formats have evolved from SD to HD, to Full HD, to 4K, now 6 & 8K... it's crazy. The only way to have a beautiful image on these new screens is to feed them with videos that were recently shot with the same standards, or with movies (old and new) that were shot on film and digitized in Full HD, 4K or more. From Chaplin to Spielberg, everything that was shot on film can be seen in the same quality than today's video formats. But everything that was shot on video before the 2000's is very difficult to upgrade to today's standards. The only way to do it is to artificially upscale those 80's and 90's videos by artificially creating new information that did not exist on the original source. But you will never get the quality of a "music video" that was shot on film, like these beautiful Alanis Morissette stuff. Old films had a very high definition similar to today's video standards. They can be scanned to fit our giant home screens. We cannot scan 80's SD videos :) Even if we could, there would be no higher definition to get from those scans.
@unpopularopinion____
The 90's wasn't a decade it was an emotion!
@mysteradio
I must concur, Mr President.
@Splandrocity
It was a state of mind.
@michellekarlene1131
For real, isn't it ironic.