Kinda funny, kinda sad

Creo que en cualquier momento inauguro una sección con esto de las canciones y las letras y los significados.

Esta canción está en la banda de sonido de Donnie Darko, una película que recomiendo si nunca la vieron. Es rara, pero buena. De esas que terminan al estilo «wtf» y hay que pensar un poquito (o no, y entonces no se le saca el jugo pero es válido igual)

Acá va la letra:

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I’m dying 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

Children waiting 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

And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I’m dying 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, world
Enlarge your world
Mad world

 

Y una de las interpretaciones que más me gustó dice:

The speaker is obviously viewing the world as an outsider. The first and final stanzas mainly discuss how everyone in the world seems so shut out of life itself as they are going through it with «worn out faces» with «no expression.» The speaker perceives these people to be «going nowhere» because their goals in every day life are wrong in his point of view.

The second stanza is about his feelings for this mad world, which he does not wish to continue being a part of, if you would even consider him a part of it in the first place. Again, he sees these people just running around in circles, with nothing truly reached in the end.

The birthday and school references in the third stanza are examples as to how people are phased out and are no longer «living» and are instead just going through the motions. Every child just waits until they get to feel special for their birthday which is a very dark concept as it implies children do not very often feel as though they are special, or are highly valued, until it is their special day to be. Just as children do not feel special, the adults do not treat them as special. His teacher would look straight through him, as instead of getting to know his student, he runs through the motions as he would any regular student, rather than creating any bond between him as the teacher and the speaker as a student.

The speaker is very obviously stating that there is something wrong with how people are living and that they are not truly reaching any valuable goals. I believe this could be interpreted in many different ways and this is also why this song is so great; people can form connections to the song with very different interpretations of it.

One example that I believe fits best is that the speaker is speaking of the corporate world. Everyone is «racing» to get to the top, be the richest, and earn the most money. The speaker would perceive this as a mad world as money is completely extrinsic and does not help you achieve anything intrinsically meaningful. We could then see the teacher’s lack of enthusiasm to help the speaker as a child as a very fitting topic to include in the lyrics because the teacher only wants money, and does not wish to go out of his way to help unless it will earn him more money. Then we could also acknowledge the bit about children not feeling so special until their birthdays as an effect of the greed of the adults who are too busy working to get money to make their children feel truly special, but attempt to make them feel better by buying them things instead.

I have only presented one possible interpretation that makes sense to me and throughout these comments you may find many more that are just as viable. I believe this is a very beautiful song.

Cuando uno logra abstraerse de la vorágine se ve todo tan claro.