"Ironic" lyrics

"Ironic"

Hey, yeah, yeah
Yeah, ah-ah-ah, yeah

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

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

Mr. Play-It-Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
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

It's 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

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


Writer(s): Glen Ballard, Alanis Nadine Morissette
The song was released on February 27, 1996 as the third single from Alanis Morissette's third studio album.
Several situations that are described as "ironic" in the song attracted media attention for an improper application of the term. "If it rains on your wedding day, that's a coincidence, not an irony. If you win the lottery and drop dead before claiming the money, it's good luck followed by bad luck. If you meet the man of your dreams and then meet his beautiful wife, it's a bummer. But if a song called "Ironic" contains no irony, is that in itself ironic?" asks Bob Harris in his New York Times column.
"For me the great debate on whether what I was saying in 'Ironic' was ironic wasn't a traumatic debate. I'd always embraced the fact that every once in a while I'd be the malapropism queen. And when Glen and I were writing it, we definitely were not doggedly making sure that everything was technically ironic" - Alanis Morissette.
"Ironic" was nominated for Grammys in the categories Record of the Year and Best Short Form Music Video. The music video won 1996 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video, Best Editing, and Best New Artist In A Video.
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