Funny the Way It Is

Many people have struggles that they fight with everyday just so they can survive. Other people have things handed to them, and will never lift a finger a day in their lives. The world is full of completely different people, with completely different life experiences. Expressing the misfortunes of others in “Funny the Way It Is,” the Dave Mathews Band utilizes contradicting irony, natural symbolism, and oxymoronic narrative in order to suggest that it is “funny the way it is” that everyone is so different.

            The song contains various different examples of narrative, and most of these examples start out with a very positive feeling and end feeling dark and sad. As he is “lying in the park on a beautiful day,” he says that he can see “sunshine in the grass, and the children play.” This is a very happy representation of the mood of the song, and the mood of the man it is talking about. He soon begins to here “siren’s passing, fire engine red” because “someone’s house is burning down on a day like this.” Now, the song swiftly changes from being happy and carefree, to be dark and dismal. The scene is set up very uplifting, but soon takes a turn for the worse into something tragic. Oxymoronic narrative is a big device used throughout the song, along with symbolism that has a very natural connotation.

            As he is “standing on a bridge,” he can see the “water passing under [him].” He then starts to think about how “it must’ve been much harder when there was no bridge just water.” In this case, the water could be symbolic of his problems, rushing toward him with no end. The bridge could be symbolic of his way to deal with his problems, or how to get around them. He is looking back on a time when he had no way to deal with his problems, and they came rushing towards him all at once.

            Along with natural symbolism and oxymoronic narrative, this song also contains contradicting irony. As he is sitting outside, a car drove by. On the radio, the “war song is playing “why can’t we be friends?” This statement is ironic because a song title that has the word “friends” in it would usually be about friendship, but it is described as a “war song.” “Somebody’s going hungry and someone else is eating out” is a speculation that he makes, meaning that while someone is suffering greatly in their life, another person could be at their highest point. When he listens to music, he realized that “somebody’s heart is broken and it becomes your favorite song.” By this, he indicates that someone’s misfortunes in life can lead to someone else’s pleasure. The idea that “one kid walks 10 miles to school, another’s dropping out” is ironic because one kid is trying so hard to succeed in life that he is going the distance, while the other kid does not have to try to succeed, but he chooses to fail. “on a soldier’s last breath his baby’s being born” is ironic because it seems as though this soldier is giving up his live in order to institute life in his child. Contradicting irony is a common theme throughout the song.

Expressing the misfortunes of others in “Funny the Way It Is,” the Dave Mathews Band utilizes contradicting irony, natural symbolism, and oxymoronic narrative in order to suggest that it is “funny the way it is” that everyone is so different. The contradicting irony compares the misfortunes of people compared to the pleasures of others. The natural symbolism reminds him of a time when his problems were too difficult to deal with. The oxymoronic narrative shows that things may seem happy, but not everywhere around you is as happy. “Funny the Way It Is” is used to show how unfortunate some people are, while others are extremely lucky.

Song Analysis 1: Man In The Mirror

The world would be a better place if everyone desired to make it better. In oreder to make the world a better place, you must start with yourself. Focusing on things that he would like to change in the world, Michael Jackson uses natural personification, dependent imagery, and open-minded characterization in “Man in the Mirror” in order to “make the world a better place” you must “take a look at yourself, and make that change.”

Natural personification is used throughout the song in order to convey the desires in changing the world to make it a better place. As he is walking down the street, the “wind is blowing my mind,” suggesting, through his word choice, has the ability to put thoughts in his head. These thoughts that the wind are putting into his head may be how to change the world due to the sights on the streets. As he continues on his way down the street, he starts to think of “a summer’s disregards,” implying that the summer does not care about the matter at hand. Later on, Jackson is describing that he has been held captive by “a selfish kinda love,” although love cannot only care about itself. by this, Jackson is trying to convey the message that the love generated towards him was meant for no one else but him, therefore blocking out the world and ignoring the people more in need of that love. The desires to change the world to make it a better place throughout the song can be seen in natural personification, as well as dependent imagery.

Dependent imagery truly shows why he wants to change the world. At one point, he is walking and he sees “the kids in the street/ with not enough to eat.” Expressing his concern about the children without enough food, he implies that something should be done to change this. When Jackson is talking about how he plans to make the world a better place, he decides that he is “starting with the man in the mirror,” referring to himself. Jackson believes that in order to make a change in the world, you must start with yourself to make that change first, and others will follow. Imagery is used throughout the song in such a manner as to make it look dependent, along with characterization which seems to have a connotation of open-mindedness in order to express the changes he would like to see in the world.

Jackson’s optimistic disposition in the song can be characterized by open-mindedness. As he is walking down the street, he wonders “who am I to be blind/ pretending not to see their needs,” referring back to seeing the starving kids in the street. He is asking himself why he chooses not to notice the needs of these children when they are so apparent, implying that something should be done about this. When Jackson is thinking about changing the world, he decides that he must start “with the man in the mirror,” conveying that in order to make that change that you want to see, you must start with yourself. Thinking to himself about what must be changed, he realized “that there are some with no home,” suggesting that instead of worrying about his own problems, he must worry about people who have it worse than him. Open-minded characterization can be seen throughout the song in order to assist in showing the theme of desire.
Focusing on things that he would like to change in the world, Michael Jackson uses natural personification, dependent imagery, and open-minded characterization in “Man in the Mirror” in order to “make the world a better place” you must “take a look at yourself, and make that change.” Jackson expresses his desires to improve the world throughout the song to show that change can happen as long as anyone is willing to start with themselves and make that change.