Music Review: Alanis Morissette "Hand In My Pocket"

Alanis Morissette

Hand In My Pocket

Album: Jagged Little Pill

Year: 1995

        Alanis Morissette tries to make the best out of a crappiness going on in her life in the accepting “Hand In My Pocket.”

         A coarse guitar opens the single, setting a voracious tone. The stack of bills keeps getting higher. The electric bill is already late, her half of the rent is due tomorrow and she’s low on gas in her car. She only has $30 leftover from her check. At her job, she’s only making, after taxes, at least $19,000 a year. She takes 10 dollars for gas and puts a twenty on the table with an I.O.U. note attached for the rent. The electric bill will just have to wait until she gets paid in another two days. While she wishes she had more money and gets a lottery ticket every once in a while, she’s not bitter. She lives on ramen, coffee and cereal, which, surprisingly, hasn’t caused any stomach problems yet. At her job, she keeps getting extra work while being expected to maintain her quota. Meanwhile, the phones are ringing with not enough people to answer them. Between the ringing and clicking, she imagines herself in a studio, asking if she could another take on her vocals. The fantasy gets her through the day and some days, it’s though she won’t ever get a break. However, she has to believe she will find her way out. (“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.”)

             In the chorus, she thinks it’ll work itself out eventually. Meanwhile, she’s going to get by with whatever small victory happens. (“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 giving a high five .”)

            She can’t stop laughing. Her friend next to her, still giggling, tells her to be quiet. Their boss is going to back soon. After taking a deep breath and wiping some tears from her eyes, she says they don’t pay her enough to act proper on cue. She yawns and stretches in her chair. She noticed the put a bunch of files in the wrong folder and thumbs through it, taking out the ones she needs. She may not love her job but she needs it all the same. She checks the time on the computer screen. It’s only 2 pm. She’s already checked out for the day. At3 pm, she and her friend get called into her boss’ office. They are being written up for talking. She apologizes to her boss office as she walks out of the office, she shrugs at her friend. It doesn’t matter. (“I feel drunk but I'm sober /I'm young and I'm underpaid .I'm tired but I'm working, yeah/I care but I'm restless/I'm here but I'm really gone/I'm wrong and I'm sorry baby.”)

             In the second chorus, she decides to take her cigarette break with her friend and vent for a couple of minutes. They’ll keep an eye out in the paper for other jobs. Somewhere else has to be hiring. However, nothing else seems to appealing, either. Just more of the same. She doesn’t quite know what she wants out of life yet. But she’ll be okay. (“And what it all comes down to/Is that everything's gonna be quite alright/Cause I've got one hand in my pocket/And the other one is flicking a cigarette/ What it all comes down to /Is that I haven't got it all figured out just yet/Cause I've got one hand in my pocket/And the other one is giving the peace sign.”)

        She scratches out a lyric and rearranges the melody a little. The song is almost done. She needs only one more to complete her demo. She may be inexperienced but she’s done her homework. She’s dealt with some rejection already and has developed a thick skin. It seems nothing is going to change in her life. Snarky jokes about it at least make her smile. Tomorrow, she has a meeting with an A & R executive. She goes over what she wants to say and the nausea hits her again. Once she cleans her face off with a towel, her eyes shine, flicking in the fluorescent light in her bathroom. (“I'm free but I'm focused/I'm green but I'm wise/I'm hard but I'm friendly baby/I'm sad but I'm laughing/
I'm brave but I'm chicken shit/I'm sick but I'm pretty baby.”)

          In the third chorus, she reminds herself that the A & R exec she’s meeting still questions the choices he’s made. Maybe he wonders what his life would’ve been like if he had married someone else. It gives her some inspiration for the song she’s been working on. She jots down a string of notes in her notebook and hums what she has so far as she plays the song on the piano. The next day, she raises her hand in the air, signaling a taxicab. All she can she do is hope for the best. (“And what it all boils down to/Is that no one's really got it figured out just yet/But I've got one hand in my pocket/And the other one is playing the piano/What it all comes down to my friends/Is that everything's just fine fine fine/Cause I've got one hand in my pocket/And the other one is hailing a taxicab.”)

          Morissette’s hard ball, gritty vocals dig and dig through the surface, staving off exhaustion, knowing there has to be something better out there.

         The astute “Hand In My Pocket” sticks it out, knowing there are others in the same boat, waiting for the moment they can break out and escape.