“Ironic” is a rock song co-written and performed by Canadian-American singer Alanis Morissette. It was released as a single on her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill.
The songwriting for this song is extraordinary. It depicts a number of ironic scenarios that causes listeners to view life in a different way. A few of them are the man who turns 98 years old, wins the lottery and dies the next day, unexpected rain on your wedding day, a free ride when you’ve already paid. It is a well written song that creates images that will encourage people to enjoy life rather than waiting for the perfect moment to live the way they would like to.
The vocals are a mixture of folk and rock n’ roll sounds. It also has a pop melody which is the reason the song performed well on radio and with its official music video. As a singer, she has a broad range and accents certain vocals to make them have an original flare.
The song starts off with her voice and the guitar. When the chorus comes in the live drums, bass and drums create the musical foundation for the rest of the song.
Songs like “Ironic” are extremely important today, particularly due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in many countries. The infectious disease has changed the way we all live; some people are calling it a “new normal” the fact that we have to wear protective gear and cannot assemble more than 10 people in an area at one time. It would be a little too ironic to go through this disaster, finally get it contained, produce an effective vaccine, but at the end of it all lose so many people from around the world, and find that people who postponed important events for 2020 like marriages, employment, traveling and so many other scenarios, are no longer able to experience those events in 2021.
The simplicity of the official music video makes the song stand out more. Alanis is the only person in the video, but she sees another version of herself in the rearview mirror, in the backseat that is the embodiment of the ironic scenarios she creates in this piece. It’s interesting that she doesn’t drive very far in the music video and all the stories told within the song occur in such a short ride. It symbolizes that there is not enough time in life, but a lot can be said, done and thought in the amounts of time that we do have.