That song taught me that no matter what you're describing, if you call something "ironic" somebody will correct you.

I bet if They Might Be Giants wrote the song more people would get the joke.

"Though…the meta aspect of this is that a song called “Ironic” that misuses the word is actually…kinda ironic. Maybe that was the real artistry at work and we all just missed it. 🤷🏻"

Pretty sure this was intentional. A song named Ironic that doesn't have any actual examples of irony is in itself ironic. That's the joke.

More simply put, it came to acquire the general definition, "the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect".

It's like rain on your wedding day.
It's a free ride when you've already paid

Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out
When you think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up in your face

may it be that it's not the described situations that are ironic but life itself ? Life is using irony to tell Alanis something

Were they all afraid of her?

A barely recognized singer songwriter that was a wafer-thin smoker whose hair represented 30% of her body weight?

I’d be afraid I’d knock her over if I talked too loud.

Regardless, we are still generating buzz about the song decades later, so the decision has worked at some level

That's what I choose to believe. It's ironic that "Ironic" contains no actual irony.

Haha, yes this has been nagging me since the release. Still a good song, though.

The fact you typed all this out without recognizing that Jagged Little Pill is probably one of the most iconic Canadian music albums of the entire 90s is pretty fascinating.

Like.... Tell me how little you know about the significance of it..

From what she's said, that song was never meant to make it on the album. It was more of a recording exercise meant to loosen up the band and give them a low-stakes taste of a professional session. The lyrics themselves were written as a joke: a bunch of stupid scenarios that they'd then incorrectly brush off as ironic to make themselves laugh.

Everyone you're saying should have warned her actually begged her to include the song on Jagged Little Pill. She said that she pushed back, but ultimately wasn't that precious about the song, since she figured it wouldn't be popular since she didn't take it seriously.