Gary Jules – Mad World

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All around me are familiar faces
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, world
Enlarge your world
Mad world

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Lyrics submitted by Emilia-san

Track duration: 03:08

"Mad World [From Donnie Darko]" as written by Roland Orzabel

Lyrics © CHRYSALIS MUSIC GROUP

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Mad World song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment:Meaning:
    The song was influenced by the theories of Arthur Janov, author of The Primal Scream. The lyric "the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had" suggests that dreams of intense experiences such as death will be the best at releasing tension.

    "Lyrically the song is pretty loose. It throws together a lot of different images to paint a picture without saying anything specific about the world.—Roland Orzabal (who originally wrote it back in 1982)

    "It's very much a voyeur's song. It's looking out at a mad world from the eyes of a teenager.[2] - Curt Smith (who sang it with Orzabal.

    "TEARS FOR FEARS" RING A BELL ANYONE..............!!!!!!!!
    They were the band who wrote it and sang it, regardless of whether Gary Jules did a version of it, or whether it was released as a Sound Track for Donnie Darko!!!!
    Flag anton11Febon February 27, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Meaning:
    The song was influenced by the theories of Arthur Janov, author of The Primal Scream. The lyric "the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had" suggests that dreams of intense experiences such as death will be the best at releasing tension.

    "Lyrically the song is pretty loose. It throws together a lot of different images to paint a picture without saying anything specific about the world.—Roland Orzabal (who originally wrote it back in 1982)

    "It's very much a voyeur's song. It's looking out at a mad world from the eyes of a teenager.[2] - Curt Smith (who sang it with Orzabal.

    "TEARS FOR FEARS" RING A BELL ANYONE..............!!!!!!!!
    They were the band who wrote it and sang it, regardless of whether Gary Jules did a version of it, or whether it was released as a Sound Track for Donnie Darko!!!!
    Flag anton11Febon February 27, 2013   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning:The speaker is obviously viewing the world as an outsider. The first and final stanzas mainly discuss how everyone in the world seems so shut out of life itself as they are going through it with "worn out faces" with "no expression." The speaker perceives these people to be "going nowhere" because their goals in every day life are wrong in his point of view.

    The second stanza is about his feelings for this mad world, which he does not wish to continue being a part of, if you would even consider him a part of it in the first place. Again, he sees these people just running around in circles, with nothing truly reached in the end.

    The birthday and school references in the third stanza are examples as to how people are phased out and are no longer "living" and are instead just going through the motions. Every child just waits until they get to feel special for their birthday which is a very dark concept as it implies children do not very often feel as though they are special, or are highly valued, until it is their special day to be. Just as children do not feel special, the adults do not treat them as special. His teacher would look straight through him, as instead of getting to know his student, he runs through the motions as he would any regular student, rather than creating any bond between him as the teacher and the speaker as a student.

    The speaker is very obviously stating that there is something wrong with how people are living and that they are not truly reaching any valuable goals. I believe this could be interpreted in many different ways and this is also why this song is so great; people can form connections to the song with very different interpretations of it.

    One example that I believe fits best is that the speaker is speaking of the corporate world. Everyone is "racing" to get to the top, be the richest, and earn the most money. The speaker would perceive this as a mad world as money is completely extrinsic and does not help you achieve anything intrinsically meaningful. We could then see the teacher's lack of enthusiasm to help the speaker as a child as a very fitting topic to include in the lyrics because the teacher only wants money, and does not wish to go out of his way to help unless it will earn him more money. Then we could also acknowledge the bit about children not feeling so special until their birthdays as an effect of the greed of the adults who are too busy working to get money to make their children feel truly special, but attempt to make them feel better by buying them things instead.

    I have only presented one possible interpretation that makes sense to me and throughout these comments you may find many more that are just as viable. I believe this is a very beautiful song.
    Flag netramzon January 07, 2013   Link
  • +3
    General Comment:The themes in this song are going to be subjective/relative depending on the individual reading the lyrics and their reaction to the words in addition to the connotation given off by the music itself. Since I don’t think it is necessary to attempt an objective interpretation of this song, it is probably pertinent, before reading my opinion, to address the perception that ultimately molds my understanding of ‘Mad World’ by Gary Jules. I have always felt a degree of disdain for the 9-5 lifestyle to which many have grown accustomed in our modern society: finding it unnatural and sometimes numbing to the artistic senses. I believe Gary Jules is describing the deadening of the spirit wrought from the obligation to routine. He begins by referencing “familiar faces”, implying that he has not left the environment in which he grew up or possibly has been in for a while, so he knows everyone he sees. This could be construed as a positive thing, especially if you are one who finds comfort in routine both in surroundings and people, but Jules remarks that they are “worn out places…[and] faces”, which has a negative connotation. He first mentions routine in the next line: “Bright and early for their daily races” and elaborates by stating that they are “going nowhere, going nowhere”. If you consider the commute to and from work and home on a daily basis, or school in the case of youth who are mentioned later, the person is not geographically going anywhere by the end of the day—they have simply come back to where they started. Metaphorically this could represent a stunted growth, perhaps of the spirit, from not experiencing new things or people, which can expand one’s worldview (the second last line of the song tells the audience to ‘enlarge [their] world’). Next comes possibly my favorite part of the song: “Their tears are filling up their glasses/ No expression, no expression”. The cup refers to sustenance, as water sustains all life, and these people have actually become sustained by the sadness or numbness they feel in this lifestyle. Some feel obligated to society, some to family, and some to themselves to continue making money or maintain employment despite how happy they actually may be. The fact that these people have no expression indicates that they are unaware of this sadness and therefore are unlikely to change their lives. The speaker then says he wants to “Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow/ No tomorrow, no tomorrow” because he is despondent as he realizes this about those he knows so well. His view of there being no tomorrow refers to the impossibility of changing this in people because they are, once again, unaware that they are becoming numb to the beauty of their lives. Coming into the bridge to the chorus (I apologize if my musical terms are incorrect, I lack education in that field!!) he says “I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad/ The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had”. He wants to be rid of the world of which he does not approve, and he knows this a defeatist approach to the problem, which is why he finds it sad. He also finds this funny because typically dreams about dying are horrific but they are something he relishes because it allows him to pretend that he is released from something he apparently cannot fix. Subsequently Jules admits “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”. He finds it hard to tell you, the audience in addition to or as a part of the group of people this song is about, because he thinks it would be a moot effort but is still hard for him to take because he finds the lifestyle flawed. He mentions people running in circles, which relates back to those going nowhere, and reasons that this creates a mad world. Now one must decide is mad is defined as angry or crazy, and I have personally chosen the latter (If the people are not aware of it how can they be angry?). I believe Jules is asserting that it is “mad” to run in circles and essentially go nowhere. Next Jules mentions “Children waiting for the day they feel good/ Happy birthday, happy birthday”, because the world has become so invested in the material world, created from continuous pursuit of the monetary means to survive, that even their children look forward only to the day when they are acknowledged and given presents simply for surviving another year of life. They are also “Made to feel the way that every child should/ Sit and listen, sit and listen”. This describes the indoctrination of the next generation into this mentality, which relates back to the potentially moot effort of making others aware of the alternative lives they could lead. The fact that “every child should” feel this way highlights the uniformity of their lives because there is no difference in what one child should feel versus another. The next four lines must be cited and explained together: “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”. The use of “me” in these lines not only refers to the perhaps personal experiences of Gary Jules, but also gives the audience the chance to understand the magnitude of these first-person pronouns. This child is nervous going to school, apparently because no one knows him. Maybe this is because he is new to the school, but to maintain the literary analysis I have created up to this point, a much more relevant interpretation would suggest that no one truly knows the student because he is unable to convey himself to others. The result of this uniform society has prevented the individual from rising to the surface. For this reason also, the teacher look right through him because he/she is too preoccupied giving the lesson for the benefit of the masses to ever notice the individual. The only purpose of their relationship is for one to convey knowledge and the other to receive it, nothing more. We are then brought back to the chorus, which emphasizes the same sentiments it did before. However, as mentioned earlier, Jules also asks the audience to “Enlarge your world” which ties the entire piece together.
    Flagged jfountainon August 10, 2012   Link
  • -3
    General Comment:This is my favorite song, ever. In the beggining this song depressed me. I was depressed when listening to it for years. This song is about life, and life can sure be depressing. However, this song doesn't depress me anymore, as something has occured for me to where I now relate to it and I am filled with joy as I know what awaits for me. This song doesn't mean what it meant when I was depressed by it. Now it takes on a different meaning. I had a vission in 2009. I know my destiny and purpose. This song is a reminder of my purpose. And since my purpose and destiny gives my joy this song brings me joy. I also relate to the Donnie Darko character in the movie Donnie Darko. My purpose is the reason I don't fear death, or being killed, as much as I use to. I was very paranoid about that. Now, that is all gone. This song is amazing.
    Flagged Music4Realon July 24, 2012   Link
  • -2
    General Comment:this is a test with tags
    Flagged josiahbon July 17, 2012   Link
  • -2
    General Comment:this is a test

    also I love this song
    Flagged josiahbon July 17, 2012   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I think it's about depression, but also about the confusion of human conformity. People just run through a sullen routine, without even realizing it. The dude's depressed and is questioning why people do these strange things.
    Flag AndyRantzon July 06, 2012   Link
  • -1
    My Interpretation:This song is amazing. So amazing that I made a 2012 cover featuring a female vocalist. Check it out, I'm giving it away as a free download: paulloeb.net/…
    Flagged paulloebmusicon May 08, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:I kinda think this is about depression. I know this song speaks to me. I have an eating disorder and I have depression. The first part of this song is about how he realizes that people are fake....even he's faking happiness. It's what we do as humans. We mask things making our glasses fill up with tears. Everyone goes out to "run this race" which is life, and no one really goes anywhere. Everyone just stays the same. They're all just humans in the end. When it hits the chorus, I think he's kind of saying, so what if we end it? and then he says I find it hard to tell you I find it hard to take. To me that's like when my brother found out I had an eating disorder and I had the hardest time talking to him about it because I found it hard for myself to accept that there was something wrong. Same thing with depression. Childhood can be a good time for children. It's supposed to be full of innocence and carefree times. It sounds like for him as a child, he was ignored. I know for me when I get really down, I find myself thinking of how happy and carefree I was as a child. Anyway....just my thoughts. I really love this song.
    Flagged SultanaBranWthBananaon May 03, 2012   Link
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