The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby song)

In 1985, working by himself in his garage in Van Nuys, California, Hornsby wrote the lyrics for "The Way It Is" first, after which he developed the song's music, and created the song's piano lick. The song later 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. ==Song lyrics and music==

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 against Black people, but insists that more work is needed. The last line promotes the idea that at the end of the hiring process, "the line on the color bar" of a job application carries a lot of weight, meaning that a person of color would not get a job as easily as someone who entered "white" on that line. Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2020, Hornsby provided his perspective on the song. When discussing the song with Steve Pond in a different interview published in Rolling Stone, Hornsby expressed his belief that the song was not commercial, adding that it was "a very even-running song" that "doesn't reach the highs and lows that I think of as desirable." ==Reception==

Andy Gill wrote in New Musical Express that the song was "one of those rare cases where melancholia and euphoria shift subtly back and forth in constant elision, complementing the blend of hope and resignation in the lyrics." Billboard said that the song combined roots rock with "articulate commentary". Cash Box called the song "sensitive and wonderfully produced" and thought that it "should bring attention to Hornsby’s overlooked but worthy debut LP of the same name." A few years after its release, Coretta Scott King asked permission from Hornsby to use the song for the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change. ==Sampling usage==

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

Weekly charts Year end charts ==Certifications==