Gary Jules attended The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California. Some of his early projects/bands were The Ivory Knights, Our Town Pansies, Woodenfish and The Origin.
Jules started off his solo recording career with the debut Greetings from the Side. Originally released by A & M, this album slipped through the cracks due to neglect on the label's part, and Jules was dropped. In 2001, together with friend Michael Andrews, Gary Jules recorded Trading Snakeoil For Wolftickets. It was from this album that the remake of Tears for Fears' Mad World was subsequently used by Michael Andrews for Donnie Darko.
In December 2003, two years after Donnie Darko was released, Mad World finally reached the charts and became the Christmas Number One in the UK. In early 2004, the song surfaced in the US and Canada.
His most recent album, simply titled Gary Jules was released in 2006. The song Falling Awake from this album was recently used in the season 3 episode Six Days: Part Two of Grey's Anatomy.
Jules' Andrews' arrangement of "Mad World", was recently used in a trailer for the Gears of War for the XBOX 360, it was also used in a few episodes of CSI, Without a Trace, in some episodes of Dead Like Me, in an episode of Jericho, and an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Official Site: http://www.garyjules.com/
Mad Mad World
Gary Jules Lyrics
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Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow
And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very very
Mad world, mad world
Children waiting for the day, they feel good
Happy birthday, happy birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher, tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me
And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very very
Mad world, mad world
Enlarge your world
Mad world
In Gary Jules' (ОСТ Донни Дарко) "Mad World", the lyrics paint a desolate and bleak picture of modern society. The opening lines, "All around me are familiar faces, worn out places, worn out faces" suggest a sense of monotony and routine, where people go through the motions of their daily lives without any sense of purpose or direction. This is further emphasized in the line "Bright and early for their daily races, going nowhere, going nowhere", which suggests a sense of futility and hopelessness.
Jules then goes on to describe the emotional state of these individuals, with the line "Their tears are filling up their glasses, no expression, no expression". The image of tears filling up their glasses is a powerful one, as it suggests a deep and overwhelming sense of sadness that these people are experiencing. The line "Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow, no tomorrow, no tomorrow" further emphasizes this sense of hopelessness and despair.
The chorus of the song provides a striking contrast to this, with Jules stating "And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad, the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had". This suggests a paradoxical relationship with death and dying, with the dreams of death being a sort of escape from the mundanity and futility of everyday life. The final line of the song, "Enlarge your world, mad world", suggests a call to action and a plea to break free of this cycle of despair and hopelessness.
Line by Line Meaning
All around me are familiar faces
I am surrounded by people that I know and recognize
Worn out places, worn out faces
The places and people around me are old and tired
Bright and early for their daily races
Everyone is up early and rushing to their daily routines
Going nowhere, going nowhere
Despite their rush, people are not getting anywhere in life
Their tears are filling up their glasses
People are crying so much that their glasses are getting filled with their tears
No expression, no expression
People are not expressing their emotions
Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow
I feel the need to hide and drown my sadness
No tomorrow, no tomorrow
I feel like there is no future or hope
And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad
I have conflicting emotions about the situation
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
Even my dreams are better than my real life
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
It is difficult for me to express how I feel or handle this situation
When people run in circles it's a very very
People are stuck in a cycle and it's a very chaotic and hopeless situation
Mad world, mad world
The world feels crazy and out of control
Children waiting for the day, they feel good
Children are waiting for a day when they will feel happy and content
Happy birthday, happy birthday
The only happiness they experience is on their birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Children are made to feel the way society thinks they should feel
Sit and listen, sit and listen
Children are expected to sit and listen obediently
Went to school and I was very nervous
I was very anxious when I went to school
No one knew me, no one knew me
No one knew who I was or cared about me
Hello teacher, tell me what's my lesson
I am asking the teacher to tell me what I need to learn
Look right through me, look right through me
The teacher ignores me and does not acknowledge my existence
Enlarge your world
The world seems small and limiting, we need to break out of that and strive for more
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
Written by: Roland Orzabal
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind