I was watching American Idol and heard Adam Lambert sing this beautiful song, 'Mad World'. I thought the music was haunting and the lyrics beautiful. Take a look at the lyrics. (you can listen to Lambert singing this song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hik9OpRDN50 )
All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Goin' nowhere, goin' nowhere
Their tears are fillin' up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dyin
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
Mad world, mad world
Children waitin' 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
I read the lyrics over and over again and I found them so melancholic, so dismal. The persona must be so jaded with life to think that the dreams where he was dying are the best he had ever had.
Why do people run in circles? Do they do that to run away from their own lives only to begin where they had started?
What's your 2 cents worth of the words behind this lyrics?
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It is quite sad, like there is no happiness in this song. Strange.
ReplyDeleteZi Qin(11) 109
Personally, I feel that this song is filled with sadness as in every stanza, it talks about a sorrowful event. The composer's life is filled with sorrow and probably since young. I would agree that it would be hard to imagine a person who thinks that dreams of dying are the best. This could most likely be due to the fact that he is really stressed out and probably lost without a place to go.
ReplyDeleteCharmaine (2) 109
this song shows that the person feels sad and lonely, as if there was no one that understood him well or would stand by him when he need.
ReplyDeletei hope i right ...
Koo Kai Siang(31) 109
I feel that this song is full of emotions with hidden sorrow. As the singer talks about his dying self in his best dreams, he faces it with weariness and is trying hard to stay strong.
ReplyDeleteShini(20) 109
This song is fill with sadness. The singer is lonely and sad. As the singer is talking about his dying self in his best dreams. He did not give up but faces it instead.
ReplyDeleteI think this song is a sad song.The writer seems very lonely.
ReplyDeleteHo Wen Siang(29)109
As we can see the song lyrics is filled with sadness. i am quite curious about the part of the 'people running in circles' too. Well, yes, it maybe because of them going back to the starting point. But in my opinion, i think that the people try to think back and reconsider why they are doing this and hence they are going back to the same point again.i think that the song writer have been living in the dark shadow since young, that's why he is so pessimistic. He hopes that school end faster and no one knew him, maybe he was being ostracized. i think that the meaning of this song is that do not run away from life, face it. There will always be a brighter side of life waiting for us, that's my opinion.
ReplyDeletei feel that this a sad but very beautiful song.i think that the singer might have a dark and sad childhood, so he wrote this song to express his sorrow.He should not be so pessimistic.He should try to be more positive about life.
ReplyDeleteJaslynn(23)109
this song is sad yet meaningful.perhaps his life has been riddled with sorrow since he was a boy.he has no one to talk to and so has dreams of dying as he has no one to be with.
ReplyDeleteRachel(7)109
I feel that this song is very melancholic. The song depicts real life situations in life, especially when people feel like giving up on life. The songs also shows that he is lonely and just wants someone to care for him. However, I feel that there is always a brighter side to life, no matter how hard it seems at first.
ReplyDeleteThe composer is feeling very lonely, empty and sadness in this lyrics. He may be even feeling lost and neglected in this world. The fact that he says that the dreams in which he’s dying are the best he has ever had shows that he has lost confidence and hope in this world and he probably even feels confused and do not know what to do or where to go. I think people run in circles to actually avoid some problems they encounter but ends up coming back to the problem so making them running in circles. I think we should not ever run away from any problem we encounter as even if we are able to escape it now, eventually, they would come back again. Instead, I think we should stand up and face the problems. Sit down and find solutions to the problem, do not attempt to just run away from them. I think the composer wants someone to care and understand him as in the last stanza of the lyrics, he asked the teacher to look right through him. I also think that we should not think in the same way as the composer. The world is filled with wonderful and happy things. Think positively, do not always think of the bad side of things and you will find the world around you more beautiful. Thinking positively also helps you to do your work better so start thinking positively everyone and remember to be happy!!!
ReplyDeleteWang Yan(25) S109
I've reread these lyrics again and again many times, and each time I've felt differently.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this song during a time when I was sad about an incident, I felt that this was so true. Yes, the world is extremely imperfect. It's true. There's no running away from that fact. The people itself just add to the imperfection. Sometimes simple words can hurt someone so much. Sometimes it makes you think that this world is totally mad. Why are we destroying ourselves? Walk out onto the streets and you'll see zombies everywhere. People tired from exhaustion, people saddened by global warming and destruction, people plagued by personal problems. Some of their faces really scare you because you don't see any emotion or expression. It makes you wonder, what has this world come to?
However, when I reread this when I was in a lighter mood, I saw the more positive side of the issue. I saw the depiction of a sad, sad life, and the need for things to be brightened. When people run away from their issues, they may need more time before they can accept the problem, sit down, analyse it, and solve it. I saw the irony in each sentence, for example, "the dreams I had of dying are the best I ever had." He could be thinking of suicide as an option or he could be mocking that choice, saying that "No, it's just a dream, who'd do that?"
This evidently shows there are 2 faces to every coin.
Chelsea #3 Team109
The poor guy feels lonely and sad and bravely tries to face his loneliness.He is always overlooked by his peers and teachers.Slightly pathetic come to think of it...
ReplyDeleteKoh Jia Lin(12)109
For the first time I listened to the song, I thought it was haunting and was something that will be etched in your mind long after you listened to it. After listening to it a number of times continuously, it occured to me that ' no tomorrow' and that the best dream were of dying, could meant that to this person, death is the best ending of every sorrow.For the one where people run in circles, may also mean that they strive for what they want, running towards there goal and in the end, they came back to where they started. Perhaps it might be talking about a failure in life that brought the person into sorrow and depression. Since young, this person may think that no one knows him at all, and wants people to turn some attention to him, look into him, as to understand him better. After listening to the song for the last time, I realised that when the person sang 'sit and listen, sit and listen', he could have meant he was trying to grab attention.
ReplyDeleteLiow Jia Zhen(15) 109
In the first stanza, it talks about the people all around the world being busy .Waking up in the wee hours of the morning to work, work and more work. And probably this song composer had this kind of childhood where his /her parents did not balance out their work and family. Thus, neglecting the child caused the child to feel sad and lonely. Then in the second stanza, the composer wrote “The dreams in which I'm dying, are the best I've ever had”, he is probably hoping to die as he cannot take it any longer and hopes to end the pain of being lonely once and for all. And because his parents neglect him he has no one to confront his problems or worries to. And when he went to school when he was young, it was harder for him to blend in. Thus becoming nervous and even not knowing what lesson he is learning now.
ReplyDeleteAs parents, in my view, I think that they should spend more time with their children and balance out their family and work. In this way neither will get neglected or hurt.
Well, this song is chock full of emotions, and yes, I do agree that it is very melancholic. The song describes Adam's typical everyday lifestyle, and it also shows us how bored he was getting of this lifestyle. From the second stanza, Adam actually expressed his temptation about dying. How it might actually be a way to escape from his life, and all the misery that befelled him. He detested that feeling, and played around with the thought of simply taking away his own life. Also in every stanza, he repeated a couple of phrases twice. He did this to ensure that these phrases, which he repeated, were an impact on the song. In the first stanza, I'd say that he was pretty bitter about his life and wanted something more. He did not just want to be anyone, he wanted to be someone which would create an impact on the world.
ReplyDeleteThis song is melancholic. The author seems that he wants to escape from his life as he says that "the dreams in which I am dying are the best I ever had".
ReplyDeletePeople running in cirles looks like they are distressed, or they keep starting from the same point, yet return to the same results after a period of trying.
The author implies that he has been controlled to think "the correct way", the way that he should. He wants the teacher to "look right through me", meaning that he wants to reveal his true feelings.
Elaine Low (18)
109
I find the lyrics rather funny as it repeats itself again and again.I can feel its sadness and its loneliness, like he/she has nowhere to go to, don't know what to do and confused.I can also feel that he/she is kind of stressed of something.
ReplyDeleteLam Hiu Tung Gloria(13)109
as i read this, i feel that i am inside and very lost.i meant to say that for example,i am like a sec one who has just entered secondary school who has no friends and is very lost. he/she is not familar with his/her environment and has nowhere to go. he/she is very confused and has received no instructions to do anything.
ReplyDeleteThis song is full of sorrow and the writer seems that he has no purpose in life.
ReplyDeleteThis song was sad and full of sorrow. This pharse " No tomorrow, no tomorrow" describes that the writer/person in the lyrics had no purpose in life and was distressed. When he/she said that the best dreams he/she ever had was dying in it, it gives me a feeling that he/she does not want to live in this world anymore, it was like he/she thought that this world was hopeless, dark, bitter and grim to him/her.When people run in circles, it means that they are wandering around with no purpose in life chasing themselves in circles. He/she repeated each phrase two times, and this, created a great impact on the readers because it emphasises the pharse and gives the readers a deep impression.
ReplyDeleteValerie 109 (19)
I find this a very touching and saddening and yet meaningful song as the lyrics is full of melancholy and a certain pessimism that is able to help us experience the loneliness and unhappiness with his life that is felt by the composer and that's what makes the song special. i've heard the song before and it was just simply beautful and i loved it. The way Adam sang it just made it seem cooler.
ReplyDeleteFelicia (17)
109
This song seems like a sad sad song. Evidences such as "Goin' nowhere, their tears are fillin' up their glasses", "i find it kind of sad" tell me so. When people lead their lives in circle, they are just like repeating their misery, repeating what they have gone through and might just suffer the same thing again. Walking lives in circles also tells me something like walking/wandering around with no reason, no motivation, no nothing. "No one knew me, no one knew me" made it sound as if he/she had been out there by himself/herself all alone without anyone's support and care/help.
ReplyDelete"no tomorrow, no tomorrow" gave me a feeling as if his heart has blocked out all the things happening around the world, that he has no feelings for others, and that he only lives in hatred and his/her heart is filled with darkness. It also gave me another feeling like he/she was really tired of living, had enough and that as if the world is going to end tomorrow. Besides giving the lyrics a strong sense of sadness, i also strongly feel/think that it also brings out the feelings of the person who sang the song or the person who had wrote the lyrics.
In this song, there are also quite a number of repeated lyrics to emphasize on the importance of the meaning, words, and how they are feeling/ how they think or treat life. Lyrics such as Mad world, mad world "mad world, mad world" emphasizes on the word mad.
In conclusion, i think that he/she is trying badly not to be lefted out by this cruel world and he/she wanted something more in his/her life. He/she might also be searching for more attention and happiness in this world...
Watashiwa NG YI VOON (21) desu,
Class: 109! xD
I feel that the song is filled with sadness and fear as the singer uses the irony "And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad, the dreams in which I'm dyin, are the best I've ever had" to show that he has no happy thoughts or memories and is feeling very miserable.
ReplyDeleteIt also shows the singer's fear as he portrays himself as a child who was going to school for the fisrt time and was very fearful of his surroundings and does not know what to do or where to go. The singer may be living in such a world. A world full of sorrow and uncertainty.
Name: Yong Jun Yuan (41)
Class: 109
personally, i feel that the composer of this song has lost meaning in life.the singer was probably a left out kid when he was in school. understand what a mad world we're actually living in that makes one wonder where we're heading. after reading the lyrics, i feel that i am forced to think our purpose in this cruel, mad world. "bright and early for their daily races" everyday, we wake up and go through a day racing other people to get to the top. in the end, does it really matter?
ReplyDeletebtw, nobody in my class has yet to comment. have i come to the wrong page?
yokekay24
class203
the writer felt depressed and nowhere to go. as if there is no more hope for him, no more tomorrow. he feels contradicted, not knowing whether to feel sad or funny. he felt like he has no more reason to live on and wants to die for he finds the dreams where he dies are the best. he wants to ask someone, perhaps his teacher who are the most knowledgeable people he knew in his life, what did he do to deserve all this. he finds the world a mad place because people never manage to move on and instead runs in circles. he is sick of being in this world, seeing familiar faces, worn out faces and having to get up bright and early to do their routine but eventually lead them nowhere.
ReplyDeleteexactly. but i don't think it is wrong...
Tan Li Yin (20)
Class 203
The writer of the song feel that the world is a very very bored place for him to live.He do not know why he exist in this world for. He saw other people who were very happy but he himself could not be that happy. He realise in his dream that the dream of his dying is the best he ever had. He was a loner and live by himself with no friends to care for him. He do not understand why people are running in circles around him or if someone is happy
ReplyDeleteTm(25)
203