No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God
When they're starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one's laughing at God
When it's gotten real late
And their kid's not back from the party yet

No one laughs at God
When their airplane start to uncontrollably shake
No one's laughing at God
When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else
And they hope that they're mistaken

No one laughs at God
When the cops knock on their door
And they say we got some bad news, sir
No one's laughing at God
When there's a famine or fire or flood

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they're 'bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God
When they've lost all they've got
And they don't know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize
That the last sight they'll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one's laughing at God when they're saying their goodbyes

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they're 'bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughing at God in hospital
No one's laughing at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they're starving or freezing or so very poor

No one's laughing at God
No one's laughing at God
No one's laughing at God
We're all laughing with God



Lyrics submitted by tinylittlewords

Track duration: 03:15

"Laughing With" as written by Regina Spektor

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Laughing With song meanings
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182 Comments

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  • 0
    My Interpretation:I agree with most here; this song is highlighting the two-faced ability of human beings. We forget God and mock Him when things are going well for us. We laugh at the "super-religious", make jokes, forget what God is all about, by believing in men to help us get miracles when we should be relying on God and His instructions, not what a man tells us to do to get miracles. I see this happen so often with prayer cloths and special water that will be sent to you if you only send a specified monetary amount to the "miracle worker." If these people have your best interest in mind, why don't they help you without any monetary gifts? Why do they have to gain financially. But that's another talk altogether... back to my interpretation....

    As for the line where Regina says "we are laughing with God", I don't think it's all that deep as others are making it. Have you ever heard someone saying, "I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you."? It is a very sarcastic comment one makes when you really are laughing AT the person, but don't want them to know. It's an ironic statement when you say it to God, because though you think you are fooling God by saying, "I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you." God knows all, so you are only fooling yourself.
    Flagged Eboniqueon August 31, 2012   Link
  • -1
    My Interpretation:This song is not neutral like some people are saying here.

    As an atheist, I don't think of God, or stop "laughing at God", if things are bad. Quite the contrary, when things are bad, then I realize even more that there is no such thing as God (or if there is, he's an asshole).

    By stating that "we're all laughing WITH God", it's safe to say the song says that we all will resort to God when things are bad and that the "truth" is that God does exist. Maybe without that sentence it would be more neutral.

    As an atheist, I'd say that we're laughing alone. This song does not represent me.
    Flagged nbriion August 30, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I'd agree with those who say that this song isn't a religious or anti-religious endorsement. If anything Regina is promoting a "live and let live" attitude toward the schism between faith and accusations of fiction.

    FYI, the line of this song that kills me: "The last thing you'll see is a pair of hateful eyes". A reference to dehumanization and murder. What a horrible evocative image. Yet we're prone to seeing such needless dehumanization between theists and atheists on this very thread.
    Flagged asortofdreamon August 14, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I've just now discovered this song - a wonderful work that pulls at the human condition. I blogged about it here: precedinggrace.blogspot.com/2012/04/…
    Flagged sampowerson April 16, 2012   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I don't think this song is about God, it's about people. People who, even when they don't believe in God, still turn to him when times are really bad. And other people (the "crazies") who just see God as someone who will grant their wishes.

    The song doesn't really say anything about whether or not God actually exists... It's irrelevant.

    I love this song... Some of the lines give me chills.
    Flag Freyjaon March 15, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I think it's about how people only look to God in times of strife and trouble, and a commentary on how we shouldn't do that, because he's there for us*.

    *I'm not actually religious, I just think that's what the song is about.
    Flag Ryanbtwon February 05, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I totally disagree with those who interpret this song as an endorsement of theism. It’s as if you are saying that turning to God when the chips are down is somehow evidence that God exists and should be worshiped (or else).

    The fact that people turn to God in bad times tells us infinitely more about human beings than it does about God…which leads me to believe that the song reinforces the position of many atheists and agnostics: that God is a fabrication of the human mind.

    In all the examples Spektor cites, people are turning to God because they feel scared and powerless to stop something unfortunate from occurring. In times of trouble, it comforts the human mind to believe that someone or something is actually in control. Many people need this reassurance on a daily or weekly basis, while some only need it when faced with adversity. Whatever the case may be, our need for reassurance neither proves nor necessitates God’s existence.

    Additionally, when Spektor sarcastically says “God can be SO hilarious” followed by a painfully forced “ha ha,” she’s obviously not talking about God himself being funny, but about the ridiculousness of our own, human interpretations of what God is (just look at the examples she cites).

    In the end, this is a haunting and beautiful song about the frailty of human beings and our attempts to make sense of the absurd. But it is absolutely not an endorsement of theism.
    Flag claytonj26on December 06, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:To me she is saying that when the bad things are happening in life, in that moment we are scared, or crushed, or hopeless, but in the happy moments in life, we laugh and appreciate the meaning that the bad things give us in our lives. All of these experiences are part of the human experience. They are the point of life, and give life meaning. So by experiencing these feelings and situations that make up our lives, we are laughing with god by enjoying our lives. The great point of life is to live it and enjoy it for what it is. We have no way to know what lies beyond this life, if anything, so the only logical thing to do with this life is to live it and enjoy it. When things happen, good or bad, the best thing to do is enjoy the beauty of the human experience that is happening. Live your life fully and be happy, because there's no reason not to be.
    Flag hyphyleenkon November 12, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I think there are a few layers to this song, and most have been touched on, but there is one that hasn't. I feel like she's not talking about being funny as in laugh-out-loud funny, but funny as in "hmm..." When God is presented like a wish-granting vending machine, or a pissed-off dictator who hates everyone, or someone who will make you rich if you pray some prayer, that should make us scratch our heads and maybe even laugh a little. Something is off there. Something is funny there, not right. I feel like "we're laughing with God" in that context, then, means that some folks cheapen God with their view of him, and it's laughable how inaccurate it is. So much so that even God has to laugh, and perhaps those who laugh "at God" - the atheist who doesn't believe in a magical man in the sky, the person walking down the street who hears the man yelling through a bullhorn on the streetcorner and thinks, "Ugh, that's not a God I want to follow," and the wounded ex-Christian who was burned by a pastor telling her God was going to send her to hell for loving other women - these views of God *should* be laughed at. They should be approached with frivolity, and ultimately rejected. Because they cheapen who God really is, and maybe God is laughing at those views of himself, too. Just some thoughts.
    Flag cattieloveson November 11, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I may be wrong (I'm not, but that is the polite thing to say), but...

    The song is neither saying that "there are no atheists in a foxhole", nor is it saying that God does all this horrible stuff (and that we should either accept it or revolt against it), or anything of the sort. The idea is about how people use (and abuse) God to suit their own needs... "the crazies" for their own materialism or political agenda, the fearful as a scapegoat for accepting what's happening, the flippant for amusement or the subject of a joke... God is all of these things to all of these people, for whatever they need at that moment and to suit their own ego, but with respect for what "god" is in every moment and in everything (or, conversely, you can say that "god" is nothing/doesn't exist, but "god" is still enough a part of your consciousness that you can turn it into a joke, etc...).

    Regina is obviously religious, but she's also a self-admitted humanist. I do think the song is less about god and more about how people perceive and *use* god. However, I think the last line is far less cynical than everyone's implying (in fact, I think it's the least cynical line of the whole song... the rest of the song is quite cynical, but not the last line). "We're all laughing with god" is, I think, more a call to accepting that we're all together, part of the same world/identity/whatever. So regardless of what god is to you, or regardless of however you manipulate a belief (or lack) in god to suit your own perspective and situation, we're all ALWAYS "with" god (or with each other... the crazies and the cocktail part comics and those in their desperate last moments are all together, part of this collective existence that, to her, is God (these events aren't happening *at* something or somehow isolated, but it's all, and we're all, WITH everything and everyone).
    Flag Malchemyon November 05, 2011   Link

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