I was listening to the song "Ironic" on my iPod during my commute this morning... are we seriously expected to believe that every single person who heard that song being created, from Alanis herself, to the musicians, to the producer, to the engineer, to the record executives, failed to realize that the word ironic was being used incorrectly? I guess when you have a catchy beat and a good hook, nobody cares that the song is going to be confusing people for years about the correct definition of a word. Take these lyrics:
Mr. Play it Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase, 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?"
Couldn't they have gone with something like this?:
Mr. Play it Safe was afraid to fly
Every flight he booked and cancelled flew safely through the sky
When at last, he decided it was finally time to go
That was the plane that crashed and he died in a fiery inferno
Now granted, it's still in the beginning stages... but that is the correct definition, right? Every flight was safe except for the one he went on? Now I'm not even sure. Someone back me up on this.
1 comment:
I've been saying for years, probably close to a decade, that that song completely ruined the concept of irony for an entire generation. Of course, what it's really done is just change the meaning of "irony" to be synonymous with "coincidence," usually a negative one. That's how language works; it's why "momentarily" now means "in a moment" instead of "for a moment," as it originally did; so many people used it incorrectly that the wrong meaning became the right one.
ANYWAY, your version isn't necessarily ironic either by the textbook definition, but it's much closer than Ms. Morrisette's. Irony in the traditional sense requires humor. Now, while your phrasing is definitely humorous (more lighthearted pop songs should use the phrase "died in a fiery inferno"), but the outcome isn't, so much.
Traditional irony would be
Mister Play it safe was afraid to fly,
Every flight he booked and cancelled flew safely through the sky
When at last, he decided it was finally time to go
Outside the airport he was hit in the face with a pie, which contained certain ingredients to which he was allergic, went into anaphylactic shock, slipped into a coma and died several weeks later.
Because what's funnier than a pie in the face?
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