ALANIS MORISSETTE - IRONIC

IRONIC

ALANIS MORISSETTE

SONGWRITERS: ALANIS MORISSETTE & GLEN BALLARD

COUNTRY: CANADA

ALBUM: JAGGED LITTLE PILL

LABEL: MAVERICK RECORDS

GENRE: ALTERNATIVE ROCK

YEAR: 1996

 

         Alanis Nadine Morissette (/əˈlɑːnɪsˌmɒrɪˈsɛt/ə-LAH-niss MORR-ih-SET; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two mildly successful dance-pop albums. Afterward, as part of a recording deal, she moved to Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. In 1995, she released Jagged Little Pill, a more rock-oriented album which sold more than 33 million copies globally and is her most critically acclaimed work to date. This was made into a rock musical of the same name in 2017, which earned 15 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical. Her more experimental follow-up album, electronic-infused Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, was released in 1998.

    Morissette assumed creative control and producing duties for her subsequent studio albums, including Under Rug Swept(2002), So-Called Chaos(2004), Flavors of Entanglement(2008), and Havoc and Bright Lights(2012). Her ninth album, Such Pretty Forks in the Road, was released in 2020. Morissette has sold more than 75 million records worldwide and has been dubbed the "Queen of Alt-Rock Angst" by Rolling Stone.

      "Ironic" is a song by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette. It was released in February 1996 as the third single from her third studio album, Jagged Little Pill(1995). It was written by Morissette and Glen Ballard, and was produced by him. "Ironic" is a song written in the key of B major, and includes a moderate tempo of eighty-five beats per minute. The lyrics present several situations that are described as "ironic"; this has led to debate as to whether any of these actually match the accepted meaning of irony.

          For six weeks, the track topped the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart. It also reached the top five in Australia, New Zealand, and Norway. In the United States, the song reached number four on April 13, 1996, and since then it has been her highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100. "Ironic" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA). The song won the Juno Award for Single of the Year, and received two Grammy Award nominations in 1997, for Record of the Year and Best Short Form Music Video. French diretor Stéphane Sednaoui filmed the music video. In it, Morissette drives through a winter landscape, and she plays multiple roles as her passengers. MTV nominated the music video for six MTV Video Music Awards in 1996, winning three of them. The music video was listed on VH1's "Greatest Music Videos" list and was parodied by DBA Flip, Allison Rheaume, Rusty and "Weird Al" Yankovic.

          In September 2001, following the September 11 attacks, "Ironic" was listed inappropriate due to its lyrics by American mass media company Clear Channel Communications. The song was included on the set list of Morissette's Jagged Little Pill World Tour (1995), and her compilation albums MTV Unplugged(1999), The Collection(2005), among others. The song was covered by Mexican duet Jesse & Joy for their album Esta Es Mi Vida Sesiones(2007), and by American band Four Year Strong for their cover album Explains It All(2009). 

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

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 good-bye

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

 

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.