Cover Songs - Mad World

In the year 1982, Tears for Fears released their first single, “Mad World”. Tears for Fears is a British Synthpop band, and “Mad World” was their first song to make the top charts in the UK. This song made it to #3 on the UK Singles Chart, and it made several top 40s in other countries. Twenty years later, Gary Jules covered “Mad World” for the movie soundtrack for Donnie Darko. Gary Jules recorded a simple, stripped down, alternative rock version of the song. Jules’ version of the song became a success once the Donnie Darko soundtrack was released in 2002. Because of the song’s sudden success, it had to be released as a single. This cover of “Mad World” made it to #1 on the UK singles chart, and it has been featured in several television shows, commercials, etc.

There are several notable differences between the original song and the cover song. Jules’ version is very slowed down and the main instrument used in the song is a piano, compared to Tears for Fears’ upbeat version of the song with a full band playing. The tone is different in each such because of the style of music. Tears for Fears’ version of “Mad World” is more upbeat and without listening to the lyrics, it could possibly be mistaken as a happy song, because of its bouncy vibe. Gary Jules’ cover of “Mad World” has a more eerie tone, and it has a darker feel to it since it isn’t as fast paced as the original. Jules’ version puts an emphasis on the lyrics of the song by using less instruments and focusing more on the vocals. The song lyrics in the cover version are the same as the lyrics in the original.

Tears for Fears’ lyrics contain several poetic devices, such as imagery, situational irony, tone, mood, and paradox. The lines “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” are an example of a paradox, because the first two lines are contradictory, which can both be true. The first verse of the song is an example of imagery, describing worn-out people being up bright and early for work, and yet they are “going nowhere”. Also, the idea of going to work and yet going nowhere is an example of situational irony. The tone of the song varies between the versions of the song, but they are both mainly negative tones. The mood of the song is negative and depressing due to the fact that the writer’s best dreams are the dreams in which they’re dead.

Twenty years after Tears for Fears released their first hit single; Gary Jules covered that same song and made it an even bigger hit than the original. Through their ways of performing the song, and their contrasting music genres, the tone of the song is different in each version. Although the lyrics remain the same in the cover song, the song gives off a different vibe due to its slow rhythm and simplicity. The song became more popular more recently when Adam Lambert of American Idol covered the Gary Jules version, although his cover of the song is not that different.