h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Are any of the lyrics in the song "Ironic" an example of irony?

Absolutely not! I think they're actually paradox-es. My english tutor recently went into great length on this subject, but unfortunately I can't have been listening at the time!

I do have a friend who would quite happily strangler her on site, however, irony/paradox or no.

I guess so, wouldn´t make much if not...

Chili, trying to find the lyrics for the song... brb

Great, just great even if I use preview, I am loosing whole...

Should definitely, drink less, work less, sleep more...

It should read : Guess so, woulnd´t make much sense if not..

Chili, hung over and still looking for those lyrics...

Chili: If you find the lyrics, would you post them, or make a link to where the lyrics are? Unless of course, this violates copyrights and such. I just think it would help the discussion...

JAR

In my opinion, most of them are just downright unfortunate.
As I recall the lyrics go...
"It's like rain on your wedding day,
a free ride when you've already paid,
good advice that you just can't take..."

and then theres a verse something like:
"It's like a traffic jam when you're already late,
a no smoking sign on your cigarette break,
10000 spoons when all you need is a knife,
meeting the man of your dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife"

The bit about the guy in the planbe crash might be ironic - if he's a retired airline safety officer or something....

While we're on (off) the subject - what exactly is Shania Twain looking for in a bloke...?

Please don't get me started on that Canadian harpy. My mood can be altogether blackened further by her mindless wailings. Couldn't even term the lines she wrote as 'most ingenious paradox'.

The word "irony" has a number of different uses. The most common where I come from is where something happens which would normally be good but in the particular circumstances turns out to be either bad or of no use. The cavalry arriving after the injuns have wiped out the wagon train would be an example. In the song, I believe there's a bit which goes "the free tickets when you've already paid". This is ironic in that sense.

Another sense of the word irony is "an incongruity between the actual resuly and the normal or expected result". This might cover the cases of "the black fly in your chardonnay" and "rain on your wedding day", although here in Ireland, the last one is the expected result.

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Shania Twain should be hung, drawn and quartered into tiny tiny little pieces (as should anything remotely related to country & western but that's just my opinion)

Shania Twain? Hopefully a better tailor, but unfortunately, as she's joined the 'Goody Two Shoes' brigade. Altogether now, ' You don't drink, don't smoke, what do you do?.....'

I don't remember the line after that one, my lyrical knowledge is obviously far behind your wealth of information. Though it's nice to see Shania has visited a hairdresser in the last five years.

There are a couple that may be ironic, but the majority are either paradox (es? unsure of the plural, is it paradoxi??), coincidence, or just plain misfortune. However, I shall have to return another time, these connections are slowing down to something akin to an arthritic snail, and as I am about as technically proficient as a slightly bewildered slice of lemon, I am unsure as to whether this is due to my PC, h2g2 or the internet in general. Adios

Quartering Shania? What a waste, rip out her tongue and vocal chords should be enough...

Chili, loves to watch her videos w/o sound

What's Shania Twain got to do with it?

Particularly since it was Alanis Morisette who sang this song!

Now that's ironic! Or is it?
Or is this? - I saw an ad which was a big picture of a zebra. The slogan?
Born to be noticed.
Ironic or just stupid?

The strange thing about the zebra is that it is the only thing in the savannahs with highly contrasting black and white stripes. This should not be a good example of protective camouflage. But in fact a zebra is perfectly camouflaged when standing in front of ... a herd of zebras!

Isn´t it ironic, that talking about the lyrics of this song is so boring, that we have made it to zebras, via Shania Twain, in a matter of minutes?

Chili...

No - it's not ironic..it's just plain suspicious...
Guy drops dead the day after he wins the lottery despite having made it to 98 with all his faculties? Suspicious.
Guy who is afraid to fly takes a plane journey haviong first kissed his kids goodbye and it crashes..and he's not screaming like everyone else? Suspicious.