Laura Calls me In the middle of the night Passes on her Painful information Then these careless fingers They get caught in her vice Til they're bleeding On my coffee table Living alone isn't all that It's cracked up to be I'm on her side Why does she push the poison on me? Laura Has a very hard time All her life has Been one long disaster Then she tells me She suddenly believes she's seen A very good sign She'll be taking Some aggressive action I fight her wars While she's slamming her doors In my face Failure to break Was the only mistake That she made Here I am Feeling like a fucking fool Do I react the way exactly She intends me to? Everytime I think I'm off the hook She makes me lose my cool I'm her machine And she can punch all the keys She can push any button I was programmed through Laura Calls me When she needs a good fix All her questions Will get sympathetic answers I should Be so Immunized To all of her tricks She's surviving On her second chances Sometimes I feel like this Godfather deal is all wrong How can she hold an umbilical chord For so long? I've done everything I can What else am I supposed to do I'm her machine And she can punch all the keys She can push any button I was programmed through Laura Loves me Even if I don't care That's my problem That's her sacred absolution If she had to She would put herself in my chair Even though I Faced electrocution She always says I'm the best friend that She's ever had How do you Hang up on someone Who needs you that bad?



Lyrics submitted by fletch699

Track duration: 05:03

"Laura" as written by Billy Joel

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Laura song meanings
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  • +1
    Song Meaning:In the 1970s and 80s, a mysterious woman calling herself Miranda called many famous men and established telephone relationships with them. Bryan Burrough chronicled her activities in Vanity Fair. Billy Joel was among the people she called, and he would write songs and leave them on her answering machine. This song is clearly about her. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
    Flag sanfrandanon March 28, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I hadn't heard this song for a long time until yesterday. This song struck a cord with me because I recently had a HUGE falling out with a female friend of mine who I suspected of being a bit narcissistic and was extremely needy. Her life always had some sort of drama or turmoil in it and she was constantly burning bridges with other friends that she claimed had changed. I don't know if you would say I was in love with her but I did find her attractive. She would always call me and said I would always make her feel better because "...all her questions would get sympathetic answers..." In other words, I'd tell her what she wanted to hear. And then ultimately, when it came my time in the dunk tank and she purposely sabotaged our friendship after repeated times of me sticking my neck out for her, she dropped me like a bad habit. And I am happier for it.
    Flag narcan2981on December 16, 2012   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:Perhaps Laura is a pathological narcissist. There was a very famous movie in the 1940s titled Laura. It was about a woman named Laura Hunt who was a narcissist. Perhaps that is why this song is titled Laura.
    The women in this song wants full control in order to obtain eventual submission which a narcissist would always try to do. The last line "How do you hang up on someone who needs you that bad?" indicates that he knows the whole game and no longer will be torn apart by participating any longer.
    Flag timetodieon April 06, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It seems to me like he's the typical guy that's in love with his best friend, who is 'Laura'. Whoever she's with at the moment is abusive, but she won't leave him and only complains to Joel, who is being torn apart by it. She's hurting him by not helping herself.
    Flag 5foottromboneon March 26, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:ok first off, suspectdevice, yes i do read you fucking dipshit. but oddly enough his sister is not mentioned anywhere on this page before your post. so i don't know what the fuck you're talking about. fucking hell. go fucking an hero you stupid piece of shit.

    now, onto the meaning of the song (how odd that i would be posting such a thing on SONGMEANINGS.net) it's clearly about john laurnnon (or something like that) as joel is blatantly ripping off the beatles with the musical aspect of this song, so this song basically gives a description between the romance between joel and lennon. Yes, joel and lennon had an affair. It's just a good thing that none of his seventeen thousand wives have found out about it. Joel names the song "laura" in an attempt to confuse us but we all know that it is really the feminine form of the name "lennon". right?

    okay, good. now that that's all cleared up, allow me to reinforce a point i made earlier: go fucking kill yourself you stupid piece of fuck. honestly, you're reading songmeanings.net. how pathetic.
    Oh and anyone who signs up just to respond to me and say "YOU'RE the one whos pathetic" is even more fucking pathetic.

    Squadala! i'm off motherfuckers.
    Flagged ashowofhandson February 26, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Yeah, this song is definitely about a family member, and mother makes the most sense. Did anyone else read Klosterman's 'Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs'? There's a chapter that cites this song and in a footnote Klosterman explains that he actually interviewed Joel, who told him it was about family, which is obvious (as billyjoelnut said) in the phrase 'umbilical chord'.
    Flag HalfRightatTwilighton June 30, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Here I am
    Feeling like a fucking fool
    Do I react the way exactly
    She intends me to?

    It's addiction to a woman. He wants to break the habit, knowing the relationship is not good for him, but he finds himself going back to her (maybe out of pity) and he hates it because he just can't cut her loose.
    Flag movinouton June 25, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Let me explain..

    The umbilical chord says it all ;)
    I've always thought it was about his mom, 'cause
    my mom is exactly like "Laura" I recently got
    it confirmed... it truly is written about his mother.
    Flag billyjoelnuton August 18, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is about his mother.
    Flag billyjoelnuton August 18, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I don't think its about his sister. Where did you get that idea. doesn't say anywhere in the lyrics....

    so please explain

    i really thinks its about someone he used to love, now he CARES about her, but doesn't want her anymore.

    He wants her to be happy, safe, but he doesn't want to be the one providing it.

    mayybe??
    Flag 2deoon July 13, 2006   Link

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