"The Way It Is" is a song by American rock group Bruce Hornsby and the Range. It was released in July 1986 as the second single from their debut album, The Way It Is. The song topped the charts in the US, Canada and the Netherlands in 1986,[3] and peaked inside the top twenty in such countries as Australia, Ireland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Written by Bruce Hornsby, it made explicit reference to the Economic Opportunity Act, also known as the 1964 Poverty Act, as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
"The Way It Is" appeared on a demo recording made by Hornsby that included "Mandolin Rain" and "The Red Plains". This tape led to him being signed by RCA in 1985.[4]
Content
The opening verse recounts a story taking place at a line for welfare that illustrates a divide between the rich and poor; the second verse recounts ongoing social issues from the voice of someone supporting racial segregation. The final verse recounts the passage of the Economic Opportunity Act in 1964 "to give those who ain't got a little more", and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a victory in the civil rights movement against job discrimination, but insists that more is needed.
Hornsby's brother John said, "The song is mainly about compassion, about understanding racial and social types, and beliefs and practices that are different from your own. It's about a status quo that's so complacent in its narrow-mindedness and bigotry that it seems it'll never change. That's why the line 'Ah, but don’t you believe them' is so important." "The Way It Is" evokes people to give to the poor and to protest against racial segregation and economic value.[5][bettersourceneeded]
Musically, the song is underpinned by a piano hook and two improvised solos played by Hornsby, who described the song as "a wonderful accident, a great fluke. A song about racism with two improvised solos is hardly the formula for pop success then or at any time. Everyone thought it should have been a B side, but then BBC Radio 1 played it and, boom, there it went. The last place it hit was in the United States."[6]
Sampling
The song has been sampled by various rappers such as E-40 for his song "Things'll Never Change",[7] by Tupac for "Changes", by DJ Don Diablo for his song "Never Change", and Polo G for "Wishing for a Hero" in 2020.[8] According to Hornsby, Polo G had planned on booking an airplane to meet with him and ask for permission to sample "The Way it Is". After hearing the sampled track from Polo G's management, Hornsby reached out to the artist and authorized him to use the song in "Wishing for a Hero".[6]
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
In popular culture
An adapted version of "The Way It Is" was used in the United Kingdom as the theme tune for BBC One's City Hospital, a medical documentary television series which ran from 1998 to 2007.[33][34]
In the Community episode "Advanced Criminal Law", Pierce Hawthorne (played by Chevy Chase) writes a school song entitled "The Way It Goes", an unwitting rip-off of "The Way It Is".[35]
The song was used for many years in the United Kingdom on Grandstand in the league tables segment.[citation needed]
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