The song, “Mad World” was originally written by Roland Orzabal in 1982 (Wallace). He was one of the three members of the first British band, Tears for Fears, to record it. The British band was quite familiar with depression as they encountered different types of violence and traumatizing events themselves when they were younger. Roland Orzabal experienced domestic violence. Orzabal said, “My childhood was the same as my two brothers' and they didn’t go around moaning about it! We can all make a big deal that we were council estate kids. But that was the biggest thing that upset me, that my Dad would be physically violent towards my Mum. And it got so bad that in the end she left” (Wallace). By Orzabal facing such events, it makes it really easy for the listener to understand why he would write a song about the unfair world we live in. It is evidently cleat that these kinds of abuse were all he perceived from his childhood. Even though, I am not a life counselor, having such a traumatic infancy has to influence a lot with the way people carry themselves as adults and event to the extreme of causing severe damage, such as mental illness.
The genre of “Mad World” is somewhat “alternative rock” as the band was classified a rock band. The rhythm is very effective considering the purpose of the song because it shows anger and impotence regarding the world we live in. One of the stanzas in the song says, “The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had” (“Mad World Lyrics”), which definitely shows a suicidal thought of death being the only escape. This part of the song could be considered the topic sentence for the whole song because it can connect to the idea of suicide. The stanza, “All around me are familiar faces, Worn out places, worn out faces. Bright and early for the daily races, Going nowhere, going nowhere” (“Mad World Lyrics”) gives me the sense that Orzabal thinks of life as a routine rather than an actual life style. In this part of the song, he describes how he sees people walking around with empty should and no particular motivation to become someone better. Another very powerful stanza of this song is, “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” (“Mad World Lyrics”). This particular stanza shows a very strong feeling of depression because being ignored is one of the worse ways to treat someone who is considering suicide. Not only did Orzabal, who suffered depression experience this, many of us do so as well. I include myself because this particular part of the song makes me think of all the times I sought for attention, not only in school but pretty much in general. However, in most cases these kids not only want the attention but really need it in order to not feel so miserable and fall into depression, which can lead to suicide. Not to forget the chorus of the song, “And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of 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” (“Mad World Lyrics”), which shows the writer's awareness of his own condition -- depression. Yet, he can't help feeling hopeless because of all the negativity that surrounds him.
The genre of “Mad World” is somewhat “alternative rock” as the band was classified a rock band. The rhythm is very effective considering the purpose of the song because it shows anger and impotence regarding the world we live in. One of the stanzas in the song says, “The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had” (“Mad World Lyrics”), which definitely shows a suicidal thought of death being the only escape. This part of the song could be considered the topic sentence for the whole song because it can connect to the idea of suicide. The stanza, “All around me are familiar faces, Worn out places, worn out faces. Bright and early for the daily races, Going nowhere, going nowhere” (“Mad World Lyrics”) gives me the sense that Orzabal thinks of life as a routine rather than an actual life style. In this part of the song, he describes how he sees people walking around with empty should and no particular motivation to become someone better. Another very powerful stanza of this song is, “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” (“Mad World Lyrics”). This particular stanza shows a very strong feeling of depression because being ignored is one of the worse ways to treat someone who is considering suicide. Not only did Orzabal, who suffered depression experience this, many of us do so as well. I include myself because this particular part of the song makes me think of all the times I sought for attention, not only in school but pretty much in general. However, in most cases these kids not only want the attention but really need it in order to not feel so miserable and fall into depression, which can lead to suicide. Not to forget the chorus of the song, “And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of 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” (“Mad World Lyrics”), which shows the writer's awareness of his own condition -- depression. Yet, he can't help feeling hopeless because of all the negativity that surrounds him.