# Alanis Morissette

Alanis Nadine Morissette (born 1 June 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and actress.

## Quotes

* There's a lyric in the middle of the song that says, "I want to decide between survival and bliss." Basically I'm talking about the difference between really being alive and really embracing the reason why I'm here on this earth versus my just being asleep and sleep walking and accepting the status quo and accepting somewhat of a suffering mentality to being here. It really is my responsibility to distinguish the difference between the two and choose which one I want. It's so easy for me to want to not take responsibility for my life and relinquish it and look outside of myself for the answers that I know very well are within me. It's so scary to be silent and it's so scary to go within, until I do it. And once I'm doing it, I just wonder why I wasn't doing this all the time. So that decision to be fully alive is one that is preceded by some pretty intense decisions and some choices and responsibility-taking that at times can be very intimidating, again, before I do it.
** On her song "Precious Illusions", in "Alanis Morissette talks about songs from 'Under Rug Swept'", in MSO (23 Jun 2002)
* When [Jagged Little Pill] came out, I feel like I immediately went into survival mode to keep the 'overwhelm' that comes from being famous at bay. Ten years later, I have the luxury of time and distance to formally honor it.
** "Ten Years On, Alanis Unplugs Little Pill" by Melinda Newman in Billboard (4 March 2005)
* For a long time, I didn't understand the idea of not being able to appeal to a human heart. And then Marianne Williamson (if I can dare drop her name)... we were doing a Q&A on stage, and there was a question about evil, and my quick, sort of spiritual response was (and I actually stand by it in some senses)... was that human beings are... maybe we're traumatised, maybe we're disconnected, and our behavior, ideally, would be separate from the truth of who we essentially are.
** Alanis Morissette - Wake Up San Francisco with Adyashanti & Tami Simon - YouTube (28 March 2015; starts at 14:17)

## Song lyrics
### Alanis (1991)

* Can't feel no pain when I'm thinking about you Dreaming isn't black and white Can't make no gain until my vision comes true Give it to me like I'd like to give it to you.
** "Feel Your Love", written by Alanis and Leslie Howe

### Now Is the Time (1992)

* I had high expectations It's something I could not compromise And when I saw you I wasn't ready It completely took my heart by surprise.
** "An Emotion Away", written by Alanis, Leslie Howe, and Serge Côté
* And we hurt the ones that we love the most Why we do only heaven knows And I don't know why I'm still holding on, holding on.I reach in my heart to see If your love is alive in me But now I feel alone My feelings turn to stone My heart makes no apologies.
** "No Apologies", written by Alanis, Leslie Howe, and Serge Côté

### Jagged Little Pill (1995)

* Do I stress you out? My sweater is on backwards and inside out And you say, "How appropriate!"
** "All I Really Want"
* And there I go jumping before the gunshot has gone off, Slap me with the splintered ruler. And it would knock me to the floor if I wasn't there already. If only I could hunt the hunter.
** "All I Really Want"
* I want you to know that I'm happy for you, I wish nothing but the best for you both. An older version of me, Is she perverted like me? Would she go down on you in a theatre? Does she speak eloquently? And would she have your baby? I'm sure she'd make a really excellent mother.
** "You Oughta Know"
* 'Cause the love that you gave that we made Wasn't able to make it enough for you to be open wide, no. And every time you speak her name Does she know how you told me You'd hold me until you died? Till you died, but you're still alive.And I'm here to remind you Of the mess you left when you went away. It's not fair to deny me Of the cross I bear that you gave to me. You, you, you oughta know.
** "You Oughta Know"
* 'Cause the joke that you made in the bed that was me And I'm not gonna fade as soon as you close your eyes. And you know it. And every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back I hope you feel it. Well, can you feel it?
** "You Oughta Know"
* Sometimes is never quite enough If you're flawless, then you'll win my love. Don't forget to win first place. Don't forget to keep that smile on your face.
** "Perfect"
* I'm broke, but I'm happy. I'm poor, but I'm kind. I'm short, but I'm healthy, yeah. I'm high, but I'm grounded. I'm sane, but I'm overwhelmed. I'm lost, but I'm hopeful, baby.And what it all comes down to Is that everything's gonna be fine, fine, fine. 'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket And the other one is givin' a high five.
** "Hand in My Pocket"
* Wait a minute, man You mispronounced my name You didn't wait for all the information Before you turned me away. Wait a minute, sir, You kind of hurt my feelings. You see me as a sweet back-loaded puppet And you've got meal ticket taste.
** "Right Through You"
* I sang Alleluia in the choir (Alleluia) I confessed my darkest deeds to an envious man. My brothers, They never went blind for what they did, but I may as well have. In the name of the Father, the Skeptic and the Son, I had one more stupid question.
** "Forgiven"
* I recommend getting your heart trampled on to anyone Yeah, oh. I recommend walkin' around naked in your living room Yeah.Swallow it down (What a jagged little pill) It feels so good (Swimming in your stomach) Wait until the dust settlesYou live, you learn. You love, you learn. You cry, you learn. You lose, you learn. You bleed, you learn. You scream, you learn.
** "You Learn"
* I had no choice but to hear you. You stated your case, time and again. I thought about it. You treat me like I'm a princess. I'm not used to liking that. You ask how my day was.You've already won me over In spite of me. And don't be alarmed if I fall Head over feet. And don't be surprised if I love you For all that you are. I couldn't help it, It's all your fault.
** "Head over Feet"
* A traffic jam when you're already late, A "No Smoking" sign on your cigarette break. It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife. It's meeting the man of my dreams And then meeting his beautiful wife.And isn't it ironic? Don't you think? A little too ironic, And yeah, I really do think.
** "Ironic"
* There's an obvious attraction To the path of least resistance in your life Well there's an obvious aversion no amount of my insistence Could make you try tonight 'Cause it's easy not to So much easier not to And what goes around never comes around to you To you, to you, to you, to you, to you.
** "Wake Up"

### City of Angels (soundtrack) (1998)

* Must be strangely exciting To watch the stoic squirm.Must be somewhat heartening To watch shepherd need shepherd But you, you're not allowed. You're uninvited An unfortunate slight.
** "Uninvited"

### Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998)

* How 'bout me not blaming you for everything? How 'bout me enjoying the moment for once? How 'bout how good it feels to finally forgive you? How 'bout grieving it all one at a time?Thank you India. Thank you terror. Thank you disillusionment. Thank you frailty. Thank you consequence. Thank you, thank you silence.
** "Thank U"
* That I would be loved even when I numb myself That I would be good even when I am overwhelmed That I would be loved even when I was fuming That I would be good even if I was clingy.That I would be good even if I lost sanity That I would be good whether with or without you.
** "That I Would Be Good"
* How can you just throw words around? Like grieve and heal and mourn I feel fine we may not have been born As awake as you were It was much harder in those days We had paper routes uphill both ways We went from school to a job to a wife To instant parenthood.
** "The Couch"
* To all the unheard wisdom in the schoolyard, You think you're the right ones. You think you're the charmed ones, I'm sure. And how can you go on with such conviction? And who do you think you are? Why do you question me?
** "Can't Not"
* Supposed former infatuation junkie, I sink three pointers and you wax poetically.
** "So Pure"
* I remember vividly a day years ago, We were camping. You knew more than you thought you should know. You said I don't want ever to be brainwashed And you were mind-boggling, you were intense. You were uncomfortable in your own skin, You were thirsty. But mostly, you were beautiful.
** "Joining You"
* If we were their condemnations, If we were their projections, If we were our paranoias, I'd be joining you. If we were our incomes, If we were our obsessions, If we were our afflictions, I'd be joining you.
** "Joining You"

### Under Rug Swept (2002)

* Do you derive joy when someone else succeeds? Do you not play dirty when engaged in competition? Do you have a big intellectual capacity, But know that it alone does not equate to wisdom? Do you see everything as an illusion, But enjoy it even though you are not of it? Are you both masculine and feminine, politically aware, and don't believe in capital punishment?These are 21 things that I want in a lover, Not necessarily needs but qualities that I prefer.
** "21 Things I Want in a Lover"
* Dear popular boy, I know you're used to getting everything so easily, A stranger to the concept of reciprocity. People honor boys like you in this society.
** "Narcissus"
* If it weren't for your maturity, none of this would have happened. If you weren't so wise beyond your years, I would've been able to control myself. If it weren't for my attention, you wouldn't have been successful and if If it weren't for me, you would never have amounted to very much.Ooh, this could be messy But you don't seem to mind, and Ooh, don't go telling everybody And overlook this supposed crime.We'll fast forward to a few years later And no one knows except the both of us. And I have honored your request for silence And you've washed your hands clean of this.
** "Hands Clean"
* I can feel so unsexy for someone so beautiful, So unloved and for someone so fine. I can feel so boring for someone so interesting, So ignorant for someone of sound mind.
** "So Unsexy"
* But this won't work as well as the way it once did Because I want to decide between survival and bliss. And though I know who I'm not I still don't know who I am, But I know I won't keep on playing the victim.These precious illusions in my head Did not let me down when I was a kid And parting with them is like parting with a childhood best friend.
** "Precious Illusions"

### Feast on Scraps (2002)

* My misery has enjoyed company, And although I have ached, I don't threaten anybody. Sometimes I feel more bigness than I've shared with you. Sometimes I wonder why I quell When I'm not required to. I've tried to be small, I've tried to be stunted, I've tried roadblocks and all My happy endings prevented. Sometimes I feel it's all just too big To be true. I sabotage myself for fear of what My bigness could do.
** "Fear of Bliss"
* You're unsure and you're not ready, So that must mean I want you. You're unavailable and disinterested, To you I look for comfort. A million times in a million ways, I will try to change you. A million months and a million days, I'll try to convince you.
** "Bent for You"
* When I'd speak of artistry you would roll your eyes skyward. When I'd speak of spirituality you would label it absurd. When I spoke of possibility you would frown and shake your head. If I had stayed much longer, I'd have surely imploded. These are my words. This is my house. These are my friends of which you've had no part of.
** "Unprodigal Daughter"

### So-Called Chaos (2004)

* How to lie to yourself and thereby to everyone else, How to keep smiling when you're thinking of killing yourself, How to numb a-la-holic to avoid going within, How to stay stuck in blue by blaming them for everything.I'll teach you all this in eight easy steps, A course of a lifetime, you'll never forget. I'll show you how to in eight easy steps, I'll show you how leadership looks when taught by the best.
** "Eight Easy Steps"
* My tendency to want to do away feels natural and My urgency to dream of softer places feels understandable, But I knowThe only way out is through, The faster we're in, the better. The only way out is through ultimately.
** "Out Is Through"
* I wanna be naked running through the streets. I wanna invite this so-called chaos that you'd think I dare not be. I wanna be weightless flying through the air, I wanna drop all these limitations but the shoes upon my feet.
** "So-Called Chaos"
* Not in contact, not a letter, Such communication, telepathic. You've been vilified, used as fodder. You deserve a piece of every record.
** "This Grudge"
* I feel this, truly proclaimed Will help the curbing of this tendency. I know this sharing of shame Will ensure that I won't forget myself so easily.
** "Spineless"
* I am the funniest woman that you've ever known. I am the dullest woman that you've ever known. I'm the most gorgeous woman that you've ever known and you've never met anyone Who's as everything as I am sometimes.
** Everything

### Flavors of Entanglement (2008)

* There is no difference in what we're doing in here That doesn't show up as bigger symptoms out there. So why spend all our time in dressing our bandages When we've the ultimate key to the cause right here? Our underneath.
** "Underneath"
* Day one, day one, Start over again. Step one, step one, I'm barely making sense. For now, I'm faking it Until I'm pseudo making it. From scratch, begin again, But this time "I" as "I" And not as "we".
** "Not as We"
* This is in praise of the vulnerable man, Why won’t you lead the rest of your cavalry home?
** "In Praise of the Vulnerable Man"

### Havoc and Bright Lights (2012)

* I'll be your keeper for life, as your guardian. I'll be your warrior of care, your first warden. I'll be your angel on call, I'll be on demand. The greatest honor of all, as your guardian.
** "Guardian"
* So now it's your, your religion against my, my religion My humble opinion against yours This does not feel like love It's you, your conviction against my, my conviction And I'd like to know what we'd see Through the lens of love Love, love, love.
** "Lens"
* I wake up and first things first I’m of service I make sure your needs are met, as a selfless I give hard and serve hard and now I, I need a break I give big, I give all and now it’s time to regenerate.
** "Receive"

### Such Pretty Forks in the Road (2020)

* This is a life of extremes Both sides are slippery and enticing These are my places off the rails And this, my loose recollection of a falling I barely remember who I failed I was just trying to keep it together.This is my first wave of my white flag This is the sound of me hitting bottom This, my surrender, if that's what you call it In the anatomy of my crash.
** "Smiling"
* First thing that you'll notice is some separation from each other Yes, it's a lie, we've been believing since time immemorial There was an apple, there was a snake, there was division There was a split, there was a conflict in the fabric of life.One became two, and then everyone was out for themselves Everyone was pitted against each other, conflict ruled the realm All our devotions and temperaments are pulled from different wells We seem to easily forget we are made of the same cells.
** "Ablaze"
* These are the reasons I drink The reasons I tell everybody I'm fine even though I am not These are the reasons I overdo it I have been working since I can remember, since I was single digits Now, even though I've been busted I don't know where to draw the line 'cause that groove has gotten so deep.
** "Reasons I Drink"

## Quotes about Alanis Morissette

* There's nothing ironic about being stuck in a traffic jam when you're late for something. [pause] Unless you're a town planner. If you were a town planner... and you were late for a seminar of town planners at which you were giving a talk on how you solved the problem of traffic congestion in your area, and couldn't get to it because you got stuck in a traffic jam, that'd be well ironic! [mimicking a town planner] 'I'm sorry, lads, you'll never guess!'
** Ed Byrne, Pedantic and Whimsical

## External links

* Official website
* Discogs profile