“I’m sane but I’m overwhelmed. I’m lost but I’m hopeful, baby. What it all comes down to is that everything’s gonna be fine, fine, fine. ‘Cause I’ve got one hand in my pocket and the other one is giving a high five.” Alanis Morissette sings in Hand in My Pocket. This is the song I chose to discuss. This song is very meaningful to me in many ways. This is because there are so many various life lessons woven throughout her lyrics. I could listen to this song several different times in one day, and every time I would take something new out of it.

Something that really stands out to me about this particular song is that even though it was written around twenty-five years ago, I think it can be relevant to any time period or person. When I listen to this song, I hear Alanis talking about how there are so many different types of emotions that we as humans are able to feel. These feelings get so intense that we feel multiple at a time, which is completely normal. These various feelings can be polar opposites of each other and yet we still go through them. As I said I think that it is something that someone of any age is able to relate to. One line that really makes me believe this is “I’m sane but I’m overwhelmed. I’m lost but I’m hopeful”, I feel as if almost everyone has been in this state of mind at least once in their life. I can definitely speak to that. Many times in my life, especially recently, I have felt as if I am in the right place yet somehow lost. Whether it be which “clique” I belong to or my feelings towards how I look. However, these lyrics clearly state that even though sometimes life will throw obstacles at you, which feel never ending, one way or another you will figure it out.

An aspect of Alanis’ music that I personally love is how honest she is. She speaks the truth and only the truth. Her songs are about her personal experiences and what she is going through at that time in her life. The way that I look at this song is that having her hand in her back pocket is a metaphor for something that is keeping her grounded, whatever that may be. When she feels like nothing is going right, she has this method to hold herself together. My favourite line is “What it all comes down to is that everything’s gonna be fine, fine, fine.”. This just reminds me that I need to look at the big picture and that I should not be worrying about the little things. This is something that I need to be reminded of often. I generally worry more about the little things that honestly, do not even make a difference in the long run. The meaning of this metaphor in my case is my family and friends. I need to remember that even if I did not get the test score I wanted or I get in a fight with a friend, I have this method. This method of holding myself together. In my case this method is the ones I love.

I really relate with these lyrics, as well as the song as a whole because its main message is if you have something keeping you together you can be true to yourself and stand strong. No matter what comes your way, when it comes down to it, everything will be okay.