A new wave standard, inspired by Duran Duran, Mad World tells the story of people going about their lives with no real direction. I said before, Mad World was the first big single for Tears For Fears. ©1982 Phonogram / Mercury Original: Tears For Fears (1982) Of all these covers of Mad World, is there one that rises above the original Tears For Fears Version? Join me as we examine the original version of Mad World and four other versions. Covers of Mad World have also been recorded by Susan Boyle, Gregorian, 8 Bit Arcade, the cast of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, and several others. And just a few weeks ago, Pentatonix sang a new version of Mad World as an act of empathy for the world we currently live in. Later, Seal sang Mad World for The Passion of New Orleans project. Twenty years later, Gary Jules and Michael Andrews rewrote Mad World for the film Donnie Darko. Tears For Fears’ first big hit, Mad World, epitomizes the empathy Tears for Fears gives their listeners. Regardless, It’s obvious that Tears For Fears cares about the state of the world, and recognizing our strife. Head Over Heels is the exception to the rule, as that’s just a fun, lovey-dovey pop song. I can go on with songs like Change, Break it Down Again, Women in Chains. Sowing the Seeds of Love shows us the transformative property of love. Shout shows us the anger and the need to “Let it all out.” Everybody Wants to Rule the World shows us the importance of finding that place where the world won’t find you.
#MAD WORLD GARY JULES MORE DEPRESSING FULL#
In the chorus, when he refers to “dreams in which (he’s) dying” as “the best (he’s) ever had”, some may even say he’s alluding to suicide. (But in actuality it’s more along the lines of literally dreaming about dying as a form of stress release).Almost every hit song by Tears for Fears shows a world full of strife. Meaning of the “dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had” Moreover in Tears for Fears’ homeland of the United Kingdom, this song has received Silver certification, meaning it sold at least a quarter-million copies.Ī cover of “Mad World” by Gary Jules in 2003 was actually more successful than the Tears for Fears’ original. And this caused great joy to Roland Orzabal, who was by then middle-aged and well pass his musical heyday. Indeed by that time he could no longer relate to the “teenage menopause” which inspired him to write this and other of the band’s songs. “Mad World” peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted in Australia, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa. He evntually concluded that Curt Smith’s rendition “sounded fabulous”. Originally Roland Orzabal wrote this song with the intent of singing it himself. However, he didn’t like the sound, gave it to his partner to try. In the concluding chorus of this song, the words “Halargian world” are uttered. This phrase has usually been misinterpreted considering “Halargian” isn’t even a word. Or rather, it is actually a phrase that only Tears for Fears were familiar with, as in it belonging to their own inner-clique slang. And Curt Smith, who handled the vocals on “Mad World”, accredited its origin to either Ross Cullum or Chris Hughes, the track’s two producers. Tears for Fears’ member Roland Orzabal wrote “Mad World” when he was 19 years of age. His musical inspiration was a song entitled “Girls on Film” (1981) by Duran Duran. The song which served as the B-side to “Mad World” is entitled “Ideas as Opiates”.īoth of these tracks were influenced by the works of American psychologist Art Janov (1924-2017).Ĭlive Richardson served as the director of this song’s music video. It was the first music video Tears for Fears had ever done. “Mad World” is recognized as being Tears for Fears’ first hit song. The track was released on 20 September 1982 as the third single from their debut album, “The Hurting”.