Alanis Morissette
Album: So-Called Chaos
Song: The Grudge
Reviewed by: Krystal Burns
The Band
At the ripe age of 21, Alanis Morissette crashed the charts with the 1995 release Jagged Little Pill. Although it’s actually her third album, something clicked with the public and she took home several Grammys and gained multi-platinum status. The Canadian singer/songwriter hasn’t slowed down much since then. She has released various other albums and singles including Ironic (’96), Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (’98), Unplugged (’99), Under Rug Swept (’02), and Feast on Scraps (’02).
The Music
So-Called Chaos is Alanis’ latest, released May 18th of this year. You may have caught one of her many public appearances to promote the new album. Unlike the angry, bitter young woman of her previous hits, Alanis seems to have turned a new leaf. So-Called Chaos is markedly softer with signs of maturity and perspective, while maintaining the raw authenticity Alanis is known for. What can be appreciated about Alanis is her blatant honesty in her music—wrestling with the “big questions” in life, fighting against human atrocities, and observing the fallibility of love—and the poetic language in which she expresses all her feelings. Songs included on So-Called Chaos include “Everything,” “Knees in My Bees,” and of course, “So-Called Chaos.”
The Song
“The Grudge” is one of the most interesting songs on the album because it’s about forgiveness—or rather the lack there of. “I conceptually knew what forgiveness meant,” said Alanis of the song, “but didn’t know how the [beep] to really do it.” The song explores the emotional consequences of not forgiving someone.
The first line says, “14 years 30 minutes 15 seconds I’ve held this grudge.” It goes on to describe how the object of her rage has been her motivation for 11 songs, yet “who’s it hurting now? Who’s the one that’s stuck? Who’s it torturing now, with an antique knot in her stomach?” Again, this is a vivid description of what pent up bitterness and anger do to a person. She goes on, “But who’s still aching now? Who’s tired of her own voice? Who’s it weighing down…?”
Unfortunately, many, many people live in bondage to this kind of grief, which is why God encourages over and over again to forgive one another--especially those of us who are Christians because we have experienced the incredible forgiveness of our own sins. Our sins are so great that we deserve the death penalty. But for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ, that penalty is removed because Christ already paid the price when he died on the cross and rose again. Once we’ve experienced forgiveness that we don’t deserve, what right do we have to withhold it from others? Mark 11:25 says, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins.” Obviously, after everything God has forgiven us for, it’s a pretty big deal that we do the same for others (see these verses for more info on God’s forgiveness: Matthew 6:14, Colossians 3:13, Acts 13:38).
The chorus of the song says, “I want to be big and let go of this grudge that’s grown old/ All this time I’ve not known how to rest this bygone/ I want to be soft and resolved clean of slate and released/ I want to forgive for the both of us.” Here we see a longing to move on and let it go—often easier said than done. But if God is truly living within us, he can give us the strength to change our hearts so that we can forgive others. It’s rarely easy and often humbling, but never impossible.
Alanis claims this song is about being truly ready to forgive someone, but what I hear is the voice of someone who desperately wants to forgive someone but can’t because she doesn’t know how. Ironic, don’t you think?
So What Do You Think?
1. So-Called Chaos has a different feel to it than other Alanis albums.
How do you think fans will respond?
2. Why is forgiving others so important?
3. Do you think you have to forgive someone even if they’re not
sorry?
4. When is it hardest to forgive someone?
5. What does it actually mean to forgive and how do you know when you’ve
done it?