Funny by Scars on Broadway Lyrics Meaning – A Dive into Dark Satire in Modern Rock
Lyrics
When I first said
Let’s join the dead
Funny, I was driving by
Feeling really high
It made me cry
Wooooohhhhhh…
Ahhhhh…
Funny, there were swastikas
On Santa Monica
Where they were scarred
Funny, that no one said
that you were dead
and painted red
Where do you go when you fall on your face?
It’s a place that you never should know
Is there a reason why people should change
And they changin’ the way that they go
If I was there with you for long
Would you be singing me this song?
I’m holding on…
Wooooohhhhhh…
Ahhhhh…
Where do you go when you fall on your face?
It’s a place that you never should know
Is there a reason why people should change?
And they changin’ the way that they go
If I was there with you for long
Would you be singing me this song?
I’m holding on…
Wooooohhhhhh…
Ahhhhh…
Wooooohhhhhh…..
Ahhhhh…
In a haunting blend of arresting melodies and striking lyrics, Scars on Broadway’s ‘Funny’ clutches the listener with a contemplative grimace. As the title suggests, there’s a dichotomy at play; stark and raw emotion served with a side of sardonic humor. This song, from their eponymous 2008 debut album, showcases Daron Malakian’s ability to marry unconventional lyrical themes with an unforgettable auditory experience.
The song surges beyond the facade of its own name, dragging listeners through a riveting and somber landscape painted with personal anguish and societal critique. It invites an exploration into the undercurrents of irony, the bleak comedy of human conditions, and the transformative power of confronting our own mortality.
The Red Stains of Realization
The song opens with a scene both intimate and jarring: an acknowledgment of death’s inevitability. Red, the color of passion, violence, and life’s essence—in blood—permeates throughout the lyrics, symbolizing a stark awaking to the harshness of reality. When Malakian sings ‘Funny, how you turned red / When I first said / Let’s join the dead,’ there is an invitation to confront the concept of death, not with fear, but with an almost derisive acceptance.
This verse sets the stage for an existential exploration that flirts with the macabre humor of our end. It is a reminder of the unpredictable journey of life and the certainty of its conclusion. The very human reaction, to turn red, is indicative of the shock and shame—or perhaps the rush of adrenaline—that comes with acknowledging our own mortality.
Highs and Cries: The Oscillating Human Experience
The line ‘Funny, I was driving by / Feeling really high / It made me cry’ delves into the erratic nature of our emotions and experiences. There’s an inherent irony in feeling elated and sorrowful almost simultaneously, a duality that Scars on Broadway captures with precision. The high serves as a momentary escape, a fleeting respite from painful truths, while the ensuing tears shatter that illusion, dragging the protagonist back to a sobering reality.
It’s in this poignant admission where we find a raw and honest observation of life’s often contradictory nature. The tears don’t necessarily denote weakness; they can also represent a release, a physical manifestation of the profound, complex nature of human emotion.
Scars of Society Reflected on Santa Monica
The startling image of swastikas on Santa Monica alludes to the scarring remnants of hatred and bigotry that persist in our world. Using the sun-soaked icon of Santa Monica, a place often associated with carefree living, the song juxtaposes the idyllic with the horrific. It’s a stark reminder that even in spaces perceived as safe and beautiful, the stains of history and darkness of human nature can emerge.
This potent imagery questions the listener’s complacency and provokes a reflection on society’s underbelly. By framing this horror as ‘Funny,’ Malakian forces us to examine the disturbing absurdity of accepting such symbols as mundane parts of our landscape.
A Eulogy Unspoken: The Ignorance of Loss
In the refrain ‘Funny, that no one said / that you were dead / and painted red,’ there’s a biting critique of how death, and the dead, are often neglected or forgotten in the hustle of daily life. If no one acknowledges the passing, does the death carry less weight, or does it indict the living for their indifference?
This lyric captures the loneliness often accompanying demise—whether it’s the death of a person, a dream, or an era. The act of painting red serves as an emblem of not just marking but possibly concealing the true gravity of the loss with a veneer of normality or even festivity.
Between the Lines: The Hidden Requiem for Change
The song pierces through its melody to question the nature of humanity’s evolution or the seeming lack thereof. The repeated quest ‘Is there a reason why people should change / And they changin’ the way that they go’ becomes a refrain that yearns for progress. It’s a reflection on the frustratingly slow pace of societal growth and the personal transformations that often go unnoticed.
In an introspective conclusion, Malakian’s lyrics imply that the path to enlightenment or meaningful change is one seldom walked. The ‘Funny’ lens makes us wonder if the joke is on us for our adamant preservation of the status quo or reluctance to face the uncomfortable realities that might spur transformation.
