The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby song)

"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"
UK & European picture sleeves
Single by Bruce Hornsby and the Range
from the album The Way It Is
B-side	"The Wild Frontier"
Released	July 1986
Studio	Studio D (Sausalito, California)
Genre	Soft rock[1] pop[2]
Length	4:58
Label	RCA
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)

Creation

“The Way It Is” was on a solo demo recording, also including “Mandolin Rain” and “The Red Plains," made by Hornsby which 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]

Musically, the song is characterized by two long piano solos by Hornsby.

Sampling

The song has been sampled by various rappers such as E-40 for his song "Things'll Never Change",^[6] by Tupac for "Changes", by DJ Don Diablo for his song "Never Change", and Polo G for "Wishing for a Hero" in 2020.^[7][8]

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "The Way It Is" Chart (1986–1987) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 12 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 1 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[12] 13 Ireland (IRMA)[13] 8 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 23 Spain (AFYVE)[17] 6 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[18] 13 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 15 UK Singles (OCC)[20] 15 US Billboard Hot 100[21] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[22] 1 US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard)[23] 3 West Germany (GfK)[24] 16

Year end charts 1986 year-end chart performance for "The Way It Is" Chart (1986) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[25] 77 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[26] 74 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[27] 99 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[28] 27 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] 23 1987 year-end chart performance for "The Way It Is" Chart (1987) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[30] 56 US Billboard Hot 100[31] 8

Certifications

Certifications for "The Way It Is"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32]	Gold	400,000‡
‡ 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]}
• It was used in the Oscar-winning short film Two Distant Strangers, about the deaths of Black Americans during encounters with police

See also

• Civil rights movement in popular culture