Synopsis

Alanis Morissette drives a vintage Lincoln through a snow-covered landscape while singing about life's unexpected disappointments. As the song unfolds, three more versions of Morissette join her in the car, each with a distinct look and personality. One sings from the backseat, another eats while performing, and the most reckless passenger climbs partly out of the moving vehicle. The four Alanises eventually turn the car into a moving portrait of contrasting moods, all sharing the same journey and chorus.

Factoids & Trivia

• French director Stephane Sednaoui directed the video, which was released on January 23, 1996.

• The winter road footage was shot during two especially cold days in December 1995 in New Jersey, including locations around Woodbridge, Route 9, and the Garden State Parkway.

• Morissette drives a 1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V. Its large interior made it practical to stage several versions of her inside the same vehicle.

• The four characters are distinguished through wardrobe and behavior: the driver wears a knit cap, the green-sweater passenger sings enthusiastically, the yellow-sweater passenger eats while performing, and the red-sweater passenger behaves most dangerously.

• The video's central visual trick is created through carefully matched performances and editing, allowing multiple Morissettes to appear together without making the concept feel like a conventional special-effects showcase.

• The video received six nominations at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards and won Best Female Video, Best New Artist in a Video, and Best Editing.

• The song's use of the word "ironic" became a long-running subject of debate because most of its examples describe bad luck or coincidence rather than irony in the strictest sense.

• A parody starring six-year-old Allison Rheaume circulated on MTV in 1996, reproducing Morissette's clothes, gestures, and car-bound performance.