Alanis Morissette Disliked 'Ironic' Despite Its Success

A musician disliking their own song, even when it's beloved, is not unusual. Alanis Morissette reportedly did not want one of her most popular songs: "Ironic," a single that became her signature track and her biggest hit. "Ironic" is the tenth track on Jagged Little Pill, placed among narrative songs like "You Oughta Know" and "Hand in My Pocket." It wasn't written with a clear story, and over the years the song came to haunt Morissette and co-writer Glen Ballard because its lyrics — "He won the lottery and died the next day," "It's like rain on your wedding day," "A traffic jam when you're already late" — describe bad luck and coincidences rather than true irony.

In a 2015 Spotify Landmark session, she said, "I think people had a lot of issues with perhaps my stupidity or Glen's, and my lack of care about being perfect. I see words as paint, so I play with them. I use words all the time that don't exist in the dictionary, so for us, it was just making each other laugh and making each other think and feel.

alanis morissette, ironic, jagged little, glen ballard, song lyrics, hit single, signature track, spotify landmark, co-writer, songwriting