The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby song)

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"The Way It Is"
UK & European picture sleeves
Single by Bruce Hornsby and the Range
from the album The Way It Is
B-side"The Wild Frontier"
ReleasedSeptember 1986 (1986-09) (US)
StudioStudio D (Sausalito, California)
Genre
Length4:58
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)Bruce Hornsby
Producer(s)Bruce Hornsby, Elliot Scheiner
Bruce Hornsby and the Range singles chronology
"Every Little Kiss"
(1986) 		"The Way It Is"
(1986) 		"On the Western Skyline"
(1986)

"The Way It Is" is a song by American rock group Bruce Hornsby and the Range. It was released in the United States in September 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. Musically, the song is characterized by two long piano solos. The song has been sampled by various rappers such as E-40 for his song "Things'll Never Change",[4] by Tupac for "Changes", by DJ Don Diablo for his song "Never Change", and Polo G for "Wishing for a Hero" in 2020.

Content[edit]

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, white supremacy and economic value.[5]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for "The Way It Is"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

In popular culture[edit]

  • An adapted version of "The Way It Is" was used as the theme tune for BBC One's City Hospital, a medical documentary television series which ran from 1998 to 2007.[30][31]
  • 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".[32]
  • The song was used for many years on Grandstand in the league tables segment.
  • An instrumental version of the song was used in one of the trailers for the 1995 teen adventure drama Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain.
  • The final piano solo is often used as fade-out music on many talk radio stations.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (January 22, 2021). "The Number Ones: Bruce Hornsby & The Range's "The Way It Is". Stereogum. Retrieved September 30, 2023. Bruce Hornsby & The Range's "The Way It Is," the gentle and florid soft-rock jam, is unambiguously a song about racism...
  2. ^ Smith, Troy L. (May 13, 2021). "Every No. 1 song of the 1980s ranked from worst to best". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  3. ^ Metzger, John (November 2000). "Against the Grain: An Interview with Bruce Hornsby". The Music Box. 7 (11). Retrieved May 4, 2007.
  4. ^ E-40 - Things'll Never Change (Official Video) ft. Bo-Rock, retrieved December 20, 2021
  5. ^ "The Way It Is wiki entry". Bruuuce.com.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Bruce Hornsby and the Range – The Way It Is" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0759." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  9. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 38. September 27, 1986. p. 12.
  10. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Bruce Hornsby and the Range". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  11. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 38, 1986" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  12. ^ "Bruce Hornsby And The Range – The Way It Is" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  13. ^ "Bruce Hornsby And The Range – The Way It Is". Top 40 Singles.
  14. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  15. ^ "SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Acts H". rock.co.za. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  16. ^ "Bruce Hornsby And The Range – The Way It Is". Swiss Singles Chart.
  17. ^ "Bruce Hornsby And The Range: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  18. ^ "Billboard Hot 10". Billboard. December 13, 1986. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  19. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. December 6, 1986. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  20. ^ "Mainstream Rock Airplay". Billboard. November 8, 1986. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bruce Hornsby and the Range – The Way It Is" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  22. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1986" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  23. ^ "Top 100 Singles of '86". RPM. Retrieved October 20, 2022 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  24. ^ "Hot 100 of the Year 1986". Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 51/52. December 27, 1986. p. 29.
  25. ^ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1986" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  26. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1986" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  27. ^ "Top 100 Singles of '87". RPM. Retrieved October 20, 2022 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  28. ^ "1987 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 52. December 26, 1987. p. Y-22.
  29. ^ "British single certifications – Bruce Hornsby – The Way It Is". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  30. ^ "City Hospital Credits BBC1 29/10/1999". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  31. ^ "City Hospital Opening Sequence 2nd September 2004". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  32. ^ Evans, Bradford (May 15, 2014). "29 Community Jokes You May Have Missed". Vulture. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
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