In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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
And I 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
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
And I 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
Lyrics submitted by Emilia-san, edited by paryafarrokhi, sjihaat, JojoBearBinx
Mad World Lyrics as written by Roland Orzabal
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sentric Music
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think that this entire song is him realizing that there's no point in existing. He's not necessarily suicidal, but he sees existence as trivial. His dreams about dying are not necessarily about death, but about ceasing to exist altogether, something he wishes was possible. The part about the children is saying that children are oblivious to the concept of existence, that they see only what they know, and that he wishes he could share their ignorance. The birthday symbolizes the child's mentality of an event so significant that it is worth looking forward to consistently, believing that the next one will be better than the last, when in reality the effects of the event dull until it is simply another day. During the time when a child feels so excited about an event that an adult finds almost insignificant, they display true ignorance and obliviousness. The singer yearns to be a child and have such mentalities, but as he cannot, he sees no reason to exist.
Nice interpretation! Matched mine almost exactly!
I think you, Glacion, got it right on. Thanks very much for posting.
Best interpretation of any song I've ever read. You nailed it.
you nicely and clearly expressed what I was thinking too about the song. I do think that you pretty much got the whole meaning right.
good explanation!
Genius.
Wonderful interpretation! I agree, that's what i think it means too, and your ability to put it into words is incredible... something I had trouble doing
Very beautiful interpretation. I agree 100% with it. And it's so meaningful. Thanks.
@Glacion Thanks for your interpretation. You and also the other contributers are missing one crucial line in the song at the end: "Enlarge your world" <br /> <br /> Which for me means a invitation to not stay in the mindless circle in which you are and break out of it. Invitation to see that there is actually more than only living your life like that till your death. Enlarge your world means to enlarge your mind to be able to view more that only the pointless recurring events in which you are arrested.
I think he's just struggling with how empty existence feels.
You're right...he is struggling with the emptiness of existence. We all are.<br /> <br /> ...and that would be why I say kudos to all of you to whom this song appeals. If it touches you, you felt something - and if you felt something, you know something others don't, as do I.<br /> <br /> It's a mad world...but we're built to weather it.
This song is about war...read my review on the 5th page for more detail.
I agree, and that's why it's the perfect song for Donnie Darko. Donnie is the same way, he finds that all this s**t and society and living is just a bunch of bull.<br /> <br /> Oh and don't say god can help. Please. If you don't understand why this song is like this, you won't even get close to understanding the people that do.<br /> <br /> A song writer said it right: "Everyone is so pissed and mad all the time. And then they call the people who want to enjoy life druggies and degenerates. What's wrong and right?"<br /> <br /> "We don't take risks so that we can make it safely to death". The populace won't ever get this concept, society won't ever get this concept. So us who do are left in a society that's broken. We work to buy food, we buy food to live, we buy food to survive. There is no "living" in this world. Until you lose your fear of death, you won't get anywhere.
@Deadink Don't we all have those days? But, on the upside, it's good to know that even such a melancholy tune can be catchy when you need it to be?<br />
<b>"All around me are familiar faces Worn out places, worn out faces"</b> Everyday he sees the same things, and the same people and he is realizing life has become a constant, daily chore. <b>"Bright and early for their daily races Going nowhere, going nowhere"</b> Everyday, people try to outdo the last by getting up early and working extra hard, but they won't get any farther because life is a vicious circle, and you can't escape day and night. <b>"Their tears are filling up their glasses No expression, no expression"</b> People grow tired and sad of completing the same ritual over and over and over again, but you can't stop it, it's inevitable. <b>"Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow No tomorrow, no tomorrow"</b> He realizes how terrible it is to get up and do something only to do it again the day after that, and the day after that. <b>"And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad"</b> It is a silly thought that every person on Earth does everything to get nowhere, but it's still really depressing that it is like that. <b>"The dreams in which I'm dying Are the best I've ever had"</b> He finds that he likes the dreams in whick he's dying because he's finally out of the monotonus, repetitive psychical world. <b>"I find it hard to tell you I find it hard to take"</b> He hates the idea of it. <b>"It's a very, very Mad world Mad world"</b> Duh. <b>"Children waiting for the day they feel good Happy birthday, happy birthday"</b> Kids wait for their birthday because they feel special, and happy about getting to be a year older, but it's just another ring in the tree, and it means nothing because it's going to happen again and again, just like everything else. <b>"Made to feel the way that every child should Sit and listen, sit and listen"</b> Kids are just raised to be replacements of their parents and just sit with the other children and listen. <b>"Went to school and I was very nervous No one knew me, no one knew me"</b> Obvious. <b>"Hello teacher, tell me, what's my lesson? Look right through me, look right through me"</b> He asks the teacher a question but she just "looks right through him" because he is just another member of the class and isn't important as an individual.
So it's all just about being a number and unimportant and repeating the same day over and over again but still not getting anywhere. Ahh this song makes me cry, I can't listen to it.
@BarbieIsMyHomegirl <br /> I love your analysis and i think you got it pretty much spot on except that in the line “look right through me” i believe that instead of the teacher looking through him and not seeing him as an individual, it sounds to me like he’s begging the teacher to see through his perfect student facade( hello teacher, tell me what’s my lesson ) although you interpritation makes sense
I love this song, and I've put alot fo thought into it.
The first part (lines 1-8) are about a funeral. He is sitting at the funeral, and he sees the familiar faces of friends and relatives. The reference to filling glasses with tears is not talking about drinking glasses, but rather they are crieing and getting tears all over their eye glasses. The blank expressions show that it is a solemn event, and the guy is clearly sad by wanting to hide his sorrows. He wants to be string and hide it, but he feels very strong emotions.
The chorus, about his dreams, reveals the confusion going on in his head. He doesn't know how to feel in his time of despair.
When the song talks about children waiting for the day they're happy, I think he is talking about himself. Either he is a child, or he is comparing himself to a child waiting for his birthday. The "sit and listen" part is , in the child metaphor, about how kids are made to behave. From older person perspective, he feels like he's being told how to feel by the people around him, but really he wants to feel his own way.
I think that the lines about going to school once again bring up the child metaphor. Children literally do go to school and talk to teachers, but I think it really means that "going to school" is returning to life after the loss of a loved one. He feels awkward, and unsure of himself, and people always would offer their condolences and pity him, which actually makes him feel alienated. He doesn't want any special treatment.
"Hell teacher, tell me whats my lesson" means that he could be praying to God, or just looking for guidance in his life after he was torn apart by his sorrows. He wants God, or whoever can help him to "look right through him" and understand how he feels, because, as I said before, he feels alienated.
The sing finishes with another chorus. I find it a bit hard o interpret, but, as I said before, it reveals his confusion and mixed emotions. When the lyrics talking about running in circles, I think it could be referring to the "circle of life", but I'm really not sure.
There'er my thoughts, enjoy!
wow i never considered the first verse in the way you did, as a funeral. great interpretation! you've completely changed my mind about that verse :)<br /> <br /> the only place i reckon you got it wrong was in the second verse, about the child. I think the first four lines of that verse really tell it all. <br /> 'Made to feel the way that every child should' really sums it up. The first part of that verse really says that every child (read: every person) should be able to feel safe and happy and wanted (happy birthday: on your birthday you are the centre of attention). 'Children waiting for the day they feel good' could be read as people waiting...<br /> <br /> the second half of that verse is a bit harder to work out. i think you may have gotten it right, but it might mean that he longs for his childhood (the good times), when the biggest obstacles were things like your first day of school, or trying to do well in class etc<br /> <br /> so maybe the first half of that verse is using childhood as a general metaphor for life, and the second half is referring directly to the artist's longing for childhood to return, because adult life is too difficult. <br /> <br /> the chorus is pretty hard to decipher, but i guess it does reflect his alienation as you say; how he finds it 'hard to take' or to understand adult life, therefore causing a longing for childhood.<br /> <br /> hope this helped :)
I think the part about "Look right through me, look right through me" tells shows that he isn't getting the help he needs for feeling alienated. I think that in simple and casual situations, such as the classroom, he is being ignored, even though this seems to be his time of need. This especially makes sense if you take the funeral interpretation, because I see it as though he has just lost one or both of his parents. While other children wait for their birthdays because they know they will be extra happy and recieve extra attention, I think this person is so low that he is simply waiting for an average day to feel average again. He doesn't need or want extra hype as the other kids do on their birthdays- he just wants to rise from his slump and feel normal again after his loss.
Your being way too literal most of the song is metaphorical and its definatly about existance.
Not exactly my interpretation, but pretty close! Your view of the song is very interesting, and it's just has possible. While sometimes a little literal about the lyrics, it's wise just the same.
That's a very insightful idea on what this song means... I agree with maniacle on what the second verse could mean. <br /> I don't think you're being too literal, and when I first heard this song that it kind of the idea that came to my head.
unless tears for fears [or whoever actually wrote it] themselves ave given a public explanation of the song, it is likely that no one will ever really know exactly what the song means. As for Canadian_Bacon, it may not be what the original writer is trying to say, but it does make a lot of sense. i've been very gray today thinking about my deceased boyfriend, and this song has been stuck in my head. That's why i came to this site to see what others have to say about it. Canadian_Bacon describes how i feel almost to a tee.
i accidently heard this song and cant even remember how i heard it but just automatically liked it. i could never figure out what the hell it was about all i knew or thought was it was definately about something depressing. while i agree with maniacle's 1st version, after reading gogators theory.. i totally think that could be what it means!! my dad died in a car accident 1 month before i turned 13 years old. and how gogators interpretation of the rest of the lyrics is absolutely identical to how i felt at that time in my life!! i can remember when i returned to school i felt that no one understood what i was mentally and emotionally going through. i would look at the other kids and wish i could be like them (not knowing what it feels like to lose a parent suddenly) and be jealous of them because they had both of their parents still. and didnt have to endure all the pain and misery that came along with it. i felt alone and wanted to die literally!! maybe the song doesnt necessarlly mean its about his parent dying but it could definately be about a death of a friend or someone. i dont know but i knew there was something about this song that drew me to it and couldnt put my finger on it exactly or even figure out what the hell it meant but i think i might of got an idea!!!
I don't think this has to do with a funeral at all. This isn't a temporary feeling he's having at the moment of a funereal This is his depressed perception of the world (the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had). So the best dreams of his entire life were about dying. This is a life perception.
@Canadian_Bacon I think the last line is moving on to his fear for the future.
@Canadian_Bacon Wow I never would have thought of that
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.
I couldn't have said it better myself, well put.
I agree with your interpretations for the most part but i dont see why it has to be a childs view of the world fully grown adults can suffer from this sort of severe depression too if not more so. Also i always thought their was a suicide undertone to this song particularly the lyrics "and i find it kind of funny, find it kind of sad, the dreams in which i'm dying are the best i've ever had "
I did a presentation for my school about how nobody really lives life anymore and takes for granted all the things that we have and put this song on the video that i made. There was about 60% of the crowd(which was about 200 people) that where crying at some point during the speech and every one of them told me that I couldn't of chosen a better song to use. I always felt that this song had a deep meaning but after my presentation, I finally realized that this song is truely a description of how 99% of people live there lives.everybody gets up, goes to work/school, goes home eats and goes to bed...rinse and repeat.
This song has much meaning to it, it is not just words being jumbled together to make pretty noises unlike most music in this generation. It shows how everyone is made to act like this, do this, and be like this. Feeling special comes only when they have actually made it another year, otherwise they aren't meant to feel much different from the bunch. Although as they get older, that special, butterfly feeling fades away and becomes only a distant memory. Really, age only becomes a number. Education is strict and must be done a certain way or they are told you will fail, they are just another face among the other students. Teachers only going for the money, not wanting to bond with the ones he is trying to educate. People are going in circles, going to work, going home, going to work. Getting nowhere, only back to where they began. They are told money is everything. Although if they was nothing, no food, no water, no clothes, just a pile of money, what would it be good for. Everyone is turning on each other just to be number one. Running and scurrying. Ramming into a wall over and over, expecting a different outcome. Being scared that they will not be like other people, to not be ordinary. Fearing the thought of standing out. People soon forget emotions, not knowing that they are sad, depressed. Yearning for sleep, dreams, where they feel safe and warm. Where they don't have to be like everyone else. Not having to be afraid to speak their mind. Enlarge in their world, their life. Don't be stuck in the same room forgetting how to use the door. The door to freedom, to true living. But they wouldn't know that feeling, it was drained from them. It is after all, a mad, mad world.
Good interpretation.<br /> This song puts me in the same mood as the song Bitter Sweet Symphony.
Personally, to me this song represents the idea that people lead generally cyclical lives in terms of what they pursue and how they subsequently fail at what they're doing, essentially gaining no ground whatsoever. At a specific level one can see this sort of thing working out with dating and people's orientations towards their love lives. People, despite being hurt by a particular type of person, will continue to pursue the same sort of person, and wonder why relationships never work out with themselves. Woman wonder why there are no "nice guys," and men wonder why women are "crazy."
At a general level you can see this cyclical nature of humanity happening throughout history. People are doomed to repeat the failures of the past, even with knowledge of the past. They repeat the same mistakes and follow the same pattern, stuck in the rut of their blindness and refusal to see that the path that they are on is the same path as others taken before, paths that inevitably lead to failure.
When people go in circles, it is a very very mad world.
@MysticSonic People are not doomed to repeat their failures, at least not forever - it's just natural that they transcend their problems after a while. If you focus on making just a single step in the right direction everyday you can prevent yourself from falling back into old paths.
The first verse is very indicative of a very repetitive life-style, 'worn out places, worn out faces'. In reality, everyone is rushing about their day, but for what? 'Going nowhere, going nowhere'. I believe the line 'their tears are filling up their glasses' is not meant to be taking literally, but rather their sorrows and sadness lead them to drink perhaps more-so, as in 'filling up their glasses'.
The verse referencing children is almost like a comparison between the first; between adulthood and childhood. 'Children waiting for the day they feel good, happy birthday...' seems to suggest is the only time in your life when you'll actually have a meaning for being alive, being a child it seems so exciting. It goes on to, again like an adult, present the robotic and mundane, repetitive routines that throughout your whole like you endure... 'sit and listen, sit and listen'.
'When people run in circles it's a very very... Mad World'. Why are we doing this? It's mad.
Love your remark about "tears are filling up their glasses." I never would've thought that to mean that their sadness was driving them to drink. Awesome job interpreting!
@betweenlines91 "Why are we doing this?" Because we are several billion monkeys in a piece of rock flying through deadly vacuum and radiation, around a giant ball of fire, around a infinitely more giant black hole. Even in our little planet life has been largely about war and suffering. It's easier to fool yourself than to look at the big picture.
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.