MAD WORLD: THE HISTORY OF A SONG
Exercise 1. Read the information and answer the questions:
- 1982 Roland Orzabal of the British band Tears for Fears wrote Mad World. The Tears for Fears recording reached number three in the UK charts and became the band’s most successful international hit.
- 2001 The American musician Gary Jules made a version of the song for a film soundtrack. This time, there weren’t any synthesisers or percussion – there was just a piano and a cello. In the UK chart, this version was more successful than the original song.
- 2006 the song became popular again because of a computer game advert. It reached number one in the download chart.
- When did Tears for Fears write Mad World?
- Did the original song reach number 1?
- Why did Gary Jules make a version?
- Which instruments were there in Gary Jules’s version?
- Why did the song become popular again in 2006?
- Was it successful in the download chart?
Exercise 2. Listen to the song and fill in the gaps:
| funny school glasses sad good head places |
(Verse 1)
All around me are familiar faces
Worn out __________ – worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere -going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their __________
No expression – no expression
Hide my ___________ I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow – no tomorrow
(Chorus)
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of __________
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 __________
It’s a very, very mad world
Mad world…
(Verse 2)
Children waiting for the day they feel _________
Happy Birthday – Happy Birthday
And they feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen – sit and listen
Went to ____________ and I was very nervous
No one knew me – no one knew me
Hallo teacher tell me what’s my lesson
Look right through me – look right through me
(Repeat chorus)
Exercise 3. Match the words with their definitions.
a. worn out 1. something you do every day
b. daily 2. strange, different
c. sorrow 3. sad or tired
d. funny 4. something you have when you feel sad
Exercise 4. Answer the questions.
1. Is this song happy or sad?
2. In verse 1, what are the people that are described doing?
3. How does the child in verse 2 feel?
This song became famous because it was used in a videogame advert. What kind of game do you thing it was?
Watch the advertisement below and check if you were right. Do you think the feeling from the song corresponds to the images in the videogame?
Source: Activities adapted from the book Voices 2. Macmillan.
