Alanis Morissette Songs - Ironic Lyrics

Alanis Morissette - Ironic

Alanis Morissette - Ironic Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Jagged Little Pill
Released: 1995

Ironic Lyrics

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

[Chorus]
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
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,l don't you think

[Chorus]

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

[Chorus]

Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
And life has a funny way of helping you out
Helping you out.

Writer/s: MORISSETTE, ALANIS NADINE / BALLARD, GLEN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group, THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Ironic Song Chart

The events described in the song (rain on your wedding day, a traffic jam when you're already late, etc.), are not examples of irony. Irony is the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. The one actual, ironic statement in this song is, "As the plane crashed down he thought 'well, isn't this nice'..." Sarcasm is an example of irony, and this thought, clearly, was a sarcastic one. (thanks, Margaret - Buellton, CA [Margaret is an English teacher])

The London Times June 14, 2008 asked Morissette if she has worked out the meaning of irony yet. She replied: "Yes, I've now learnt the definition of irony - but the dictionary now says that it's a coincidence and bad luck, too - not that I don't deserve a little slap on the wrist for my malapropism. I always tell people that I'm the smartest stupid person you'll ever meet."

At the end of the song, Alanis says life has a funny funny way of helping us out - in spite of all of the bad stuff that we have to go through. The bad stuff helps us get to where we are going, and that is ironic. (thanks, Nicole - Houston, TX)

This was Morissette's third single and first Top-10 hit. Her first single, "You Oughta Know," is probably her best known, but no one had heard of her when it was released and it only hit US #13.

Glen Ballard produced this and wrote it with Alanis. He has also worked with Dave Matthews and has a history of radio-friendly production. Morissette moved from Canada to Los Angeles to write and record with him.

This is one of 5 hits on the album, which has sold over 16 million copies. The others are "You Oughta Know," "Hand In My Pocket," "Head Over Feet" and "You Learn."

This was nominated for Grammys in the categories Record of the Year and Best Short Form Music Video.

In 1996, this won MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video, Best Editing, and Best New Artist In A Video.

This was the first album Morissette released in America, but as a teenager, she released 2 dance albums in Canada. Her stage name at the time was simply "Alanis."