My very first CD was Alanis Morissette, because I didn't think Z100 played "You Oughta Know" enough, and I thought the song was so edgy. I begged my mom to buy the album for me and she did, even though she noticed the "Parental Advisory Suggested" symbol on the cover. Luckily, she never listened to it with me, because Jagged Little Pill had lyrics I did not understand as a kid, but surely were recognizably inappropriate to an adult's ear. Aside from obvious "You Oughta Know" innuendos, the 20-year-old hit album has a lot of words that I just didn't get at the time (and I do totally now) — especially since I'm finally passed my teen angst years.
Morissette won the Grammy for Album Of The Year for Jagged Little Pill and was the highest selling album of the '90s. When the album was first released in 1995, people had quite a connection to her songs and her lyrics. "The reaction of the audience has been so amazing and open," Morissette told Rolling Stone in 1995. "It's comforting and bittersweet to know that I'm not the only one who's gone through these things. At the same time it's a little disturbing that apparently there's a lot of people out there having gone through such painful things. The reaction has been pretty intense."
But as a kid, I had no idea just how mature Jagged Little Pill was. Here are the lyrics I had no idea about when I was a kid.
1. "You Oughta Know"
An older version of me
Is she perverted like meWould she go down on you in a theatre
I mean, naturally this one would be on the list. I'm pretty sure I thought "going down" was cool slang for making out before I learned its real meaning later on.
2. "Head Over Feet"
You are the bearer of unconditional thingsYou held your breath and the door for meThanks for your patience
When I was a kid, the guy Morissette describes in this song sounded so boring. Now in my 30s, he sounds like a dream.
3. "Right Through You"
You took me out to wine dine 69 meBut didn't hear a damn word I said
I used to go around singing this song and had no clue what "69" was until I finally searched the Internet for it. Talk about an "a ha!" moment for little me.
4. "You Learn"
Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)It feels so good (swimming in your stomach)Wait until the dust settles
First of all, I always loved it when I could find the album title in song lyrics, so naturally I thought this one was pretty cool. But I didn't understand that a "jagged little pill" is probably a drug and that these lyrics are about taking said drug.
5. "Your House"
I went through your drawersAnd found your cologneWent down to the denFound your CD'sAnd I played your Joni
I loved this melancholy acapella track, but I had no idea that Alanis was talking about Joni Mitchell here (or who Joni Mitchell was).
6. "Hand In My Pocket"
I'm broke but I'm happyI'm poor but I'm kindI'm short but I'm healthy, yeahI'm high but I'm groundedI'm sane but I'm overwhelmedI'm lost but I'm hopeful baby
How well this describes adult life. I didn't understand that as a child.
7. "All I Really Want"
Did you think about your bills, your ex, your deadlinesOr when you think you're gonna dieOr did you long for the next distractionAnd all I need know is intellectual intercourseA soul to dig the hole much deeperAnd I have no concept of time other than it is flyingIf only I could kill the killer
Some more lyrics that sums up adulthood.
8. "Ironic"
And isn't it ironic... don't you think
Nope, it's not. This song is noted for its lack of actual ironies.
