Mad World lyrics

• All around me are familliar faces Worn out places ...:

  The narrator is stuck in a dull routine, seeing the same old people and doing the same old things over and over again.

• Bright and early for the daily races Going nowhere...:

  Each day, everyone wakes up early to get a head start in the rat race, competing for money or power, but because everyone is stuck in the system, no one really gets ahead. The imagery of a race sums up this unchanging existence, since many races occur on tracks which quite literally “Go nowhere”.

• Their tears are filling up their glasses No ...:

  Although everyone feels like the narrator, sad and unfulfilled, they hold it back so that their sadness doesn’t show. Since everyone is going through life on automatic, trying hard not to think or show how sad they are, everyone thinks everyone else is fine.

  “Filling up their glasses” is referring to drinking glasses (i.e., each person is extremely sad, and goes through their life drinking bitterness) or eyeglasses (suggesting that the tears waver in their eyes but never fall past the frames).

• And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad:

  The narrator repeats “kind of” twice, which emphasizes that even these feelings barely register. The difference between “funny” and “sad” then is not black and white but grey and grey.

• The dreams in which I'm dying Are the best ...:

  The narrator finds peace when he dreams of dying, as doing so brings an end to the monotony of his everyday life. Although the narrator may not be suicidal, his unfulfilling, status-quo life is “hard to take”, and he doesn’t see much to live for, either.

  This feeling is hard to share with others, because it’s private, and a bit messed-up, and it seems like most people go about their daily routines without criticizing or questioning it.

• When people run in circles, it's a very very...:

  People are stuck in routine and don’t go anywhere eventually. He thinks this way of thinking and acting is completely foolish.

• Children waiting for the day they feel good Happy ...:

  Instead of feeling cherished and alive every day of the year, children spend the year looking forward to the one day they get to feel special- their birthday.

• Made to feel the way that every child should Sit ...:

  The rest of the year, children are taught to be seen and not heard, following the instructions of those around them and never thinking for themselves, so that they can grow up to fulfill the status quo.

• Went to school and I was very nervous No one knew ...:

  The Narrator was just like these children he describes. No one understood him and he faded into the background.

• Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow No tomorrow ...:

  The narrator wants to put his head down and pretend that there’s “no tomorrow”, since each day is the same as the last. Thinking about how the unfulfilling cycle will continue is too much to bear, and makes him want to drink until he forgets.

• Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson Look ...:

  Attending school is just as mundane as adult life- all the children are taught the same lessons, regardless of skill level or interest, and the teacher looks right through the narrator because he’s just one of many interchangeable children, a number instead of an individual.

  “Tell me what’s my lesson” can also be asked sarcastically, as the narrator can be critiquing the teacher and the school system for not actually teaching children anything useful.

Thanks! ❤
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Submitted by slovokov on 2012-01-30

Last edited by Thomas222 on 2020-10-31