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 giving a high five

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

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

And 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 a peace sign

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

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

And what it all comes down to, my friends, yeah
Is that everything is just fine, fine, fine
'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is hailing a taxi cab


Lyrics submitted by kevin

Hand in My Pocket Lyrics as written by Glen Ballard Alanis Nadine Morissette

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Hand In My Pocket song meanings
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  • +12
    My Interpretation

    Hand in my pocket = symbolizes hesitation, apathy, indifference, disengagement, reservation, misgivings, fear

    The other one is... giving a high five flicking a cigarette giving a peace sign playing the piano hailing a taxicab = all symbolizes the openness and enthusiasm to experience and seize what life has to offer

    Even with the all the uncertainty of the hand in pocket, as long as the other hand is doing all these things above, everything is going to be just fine, fine, fine.

    synderellaon June 19, 2011   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    Alanis is referring to this concept of duality. We are never just one singular thing, but that we encompass all emotions and attitudes at all points in life. She juxtaposes this with the concept of a hand in pocket (inactive and disengaged) while the other hand remains active and engaged with the world. The ultimate conclusion she makes is that regardless of the contradicting emotions and actions we make and tell, the world is full of everything good and bad, engaged and disengaged.

    03giggleson February 12, 2008   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    i think this is one of the best songs she has! its talkin bout findin the more positive things in evrything and thats somethin that u need to do all the time. "what it all comes down to, is that evrything is going to be quite alright" i love it

    pissgreenmartianon April 15, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    I'm amazed more people haven't commented on this song!!!

    This was on Jagged Little Pill, which is a very angry, bitter, resentful album... To me this song is kind of the eye of the storm, ya know? It's all about contradictions... And it's so calm compared to the tumult of the rest of the album...

    This song has a very soothing effect on me when I'm feeling boxed in... I think loser fish is right about it being about nonconformity... It's about taking all the crap that society tries to force feed you and shoving it back in their face (which is such a contradiction to the mood and feel of the music itself)!!

    SoundandFury1031on January 13, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    I think there should be a line in this tune where she's got one hand in her pocket, and one hand is giving the single finger salute.

    OpinionHeadon January 25, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I love this song, I think it's definitely one of her best. It's so amazingly written, the phrasing and everything. It's a very positive song. Even if things seem to be going wrong, there's always a brighter side to every situation. You always have to look on the bright side, and things won't seem so bad after all.

    babieemellyon April 08, 2004   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    absolutely adore this song...listened to JLP since i was 5. to me this song refers to how even though she reveals so much of herself to the public, she still keeps aspects of herself private. She's got one hand in her pocket, to herself...and the other is free for public view. i think it also refers to how someone can have so many different sides to their personality, and how many of them go unnoticed.

    Gypsy_Roseon April 16, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I see this as an anthem for Generation X, the generation that were becoming adults in the 90's.

    We became adults during a recession: we found it hard to find jobs. Our bosses and our parents enjoyed the prosperity of the 50s and 60s, and were were screwing us for all we were worth when we did get a job working for them.

    We became adults in a post AIDS world. Our bosses and parents had "free love".

    We live in a postmodern world of uncertainty. Things are always morally ambigious and the truth is spun out of every communication.

    We grew up at the end of the Cold War: still with the threat of nuclear holocaust over our heads. Would we even have a future?

    We're not engaged with politics and big issues. We're too busy looking after ourselves.

    And we were too young to enjoy the prosperity of the 80s as an adult.

    We don't have the luxury of being able to be activists like our parents, because we couldn't afford to be. And anyway, boomers abandoned their high ideals of the 60s and sold out to affluenza.

    Now I'm not saying the song is about all of the above. But the circumstances of Gen X set the song in context, and allow us to consider the feelings expressed in the song in a wider context.

    The song is deliberately ambigious about whether the "fine fine fine" is genuine or sarcastic. I think its both.

    In essence, the song is saying that life as a young adult in the 90s is hard and confusing, but I'm happy and cautiously optimistic. The hand in my pocket is a sign of both relaxation and disengagement.

    Sonofagunzelon July 23, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Alanis has an excellent way to describe human psychology issues through her lyrics In my eyes this song is about self acceptance. She is like saying well life is complex full of contradictions imperfections lifecan be very confusing but Iam cool with that i accept life's complexities cuz anyway no one really figured life out just yet and besides I do not have to be perfect all the time. The parade theme in the video clip is sort of showcasing the diversity of human as a celebration. Hand in the pocket to me is a sign of inadequacy of someone who is not yet confident about his place in life so I guess Alanis is singing it to herselfor anyway who is still lacking certainty about life. In my experience certainty never comes from the world ouside, certainty is an inner quality I figured that one out and yet occasionally I find myself with one hand in my pocket but with a smile on my face.

    neptunianon April 07, 2014   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think the chorus is sarcasm. The verse is how she feels. But the chorus is the act that she is putting on for the world around her.

    shibby_shoeson June 25, 2008   Link

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