I Started A Joke lyrics by Bee Gees, 11 meanings. I Started A Joke explained, official 2025 song lyrics | LyricsMode.com

Bee Gees – I Started A Joke lyrics

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Bee Gees – I Started A Joke lyrics
I started a joke, which started the whole world crying,
But I didn't see that the joke was on me, oh no.

I started to cry, which started the whole world laughing,
Oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was on me.

I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes,
And I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that I'd said.

Til I finally died, which started the whole world living,
Oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was on me.

I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes,
And I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that I'd said.

Til I finally died, which started the whole world living,
Oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was one me.
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I started a joke, which started the whole world crying, But I didn't see that the joke was on me, oh no. I started to cry, which started the whole world laughing, Oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was on me. I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes, And I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that I'd said. Til I finally died, which started the whole world living, Oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was on me. I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes, And I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that I'd said. Til I finally died, which started the whole world living, Oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was one me. Explain Request ×



Lyrics taken from /lyrics/b/bee_gees/i_started_a_joke.html

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Songwriters: Barry Gibb, Maurice Ernest Gibb, Robin Hugh Gibb
I Started A Joke lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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I Started A Joke meanings Post my meaning

  • b
    + 17
    bobfan54 2009-11-11 22:59:34
    I see the song meaning that here's a man that doesn't fit in. When laughing, the world is crying. When crying, the world is laughing. He doesn't see why he can't fit in. He's blind. Blind to the world around him which leaves him feeling he doesn't make sense. He gives up. He dies. He does know the world will go on without him. He just wishes he understood it. This song seems to be written for the poor soul who feels that life had more to offer him. He just couldn't find it. Robin's voice in this song is amazing! Great vibrato and range! Love the song!
    1 reply
  • U
    + 10
    Unregistered 2020-10-15 13:04:19
    Havent we all felt this way at some time or another ?
    Feeling like you’d be better off dead that others could go on living ? Or that awful feeling of being laughed at inside your crying.
    I felt this way as a young teenager and it was dreadful .
    This song really puts it all together .Feelimg like you don’t fit in and question your existence.
    This song for me goes deep into my core .
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 6
    Unregistered 2021-01-27 21:31:17
    This is a Bee Gees song written and performed by them originally. I think it’s about a misunderstood outcast and it’s a masterpiece. In one way or another everyone can relate to this song. The original version is by far the best in my opinion. The Bee Gees wrote so many hits.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 4
    Unregistered 2020-12-03 06:19:35
    vincent van gogh was a fantastic artist...but he led a vague life... he was different... unexcepted... he reflected his depression in hi art. vincent van gogh's art was revealing to the world but he was still unrecognized and his art misunderstood until his death. when he finally let go in the dark, some may understand but most would simply shake their head, "until that fateful starry night: he died and in the glow of his fantastic art the world laughed over their discovery of his misunderstood life.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 2
    Unregistered 2020-05-03 20:25:21
    So love this song!! I was a kid when it came out, so I really related to it.
    Here is a guy who thinks that the world is against him. He's trying to fit in, but from his perspective, the world purposely does the opposite. It's about self loathing. He spends a life time being unhappy, only to realize in death, it was all in head! (I fell out of my bed hurting. my head from things that I said) so sad, but beautiful.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 2
    Unregistered 2012-05-21 05:13:09
    I'm not sure when robin wrote this song, but he left the group for awhile, not sure why, maybe because he didn't get the credit he deserved, he kinda was in the background along with his twin maurice because of his older brother barry, it wasn't anything barry did it was peoples attraction to barry that caused the split. So I think this song is about the split and him realizing the joke was on him cause it took all three of the brothers to be the bee gees! Just my opinion. :)
    Add your reply
  • j
    + 1
    John Cook 2015-08-17 23:19:13
    Jesus Christ started a joke. Everyone took it too seriously. It drew them away from the people in power, who set out to destroy Jesus. As Jesus was being destroyed, everyone had to laugh that they'd taken him so seriously. Jesus fell out of bed and woke up in his tomb, realizing everything that had happened. His example had set a new standard for the world, a standard which they would be compelled to imitate.
    Add your reply
  • U
    0
    Unregistered 2023-11-19 23:22:15
    P S I can't agree with the May 3, 2020 post. I don't hear self loathing at all. To me, it's about a gentle soul who only wants to find a place. Not fame, not fortune; just to fit in. Is that really so much to ask? Sadly, for far too many it obviously is.
    Add your reply
  • U
    0
    Unregistered 2023-11-19 23:15:27
    I fully understood these lyrics the first time. I agree with some of the previous posts. I have been on the outside looking in all my 71 yrs. Another song by the Canadian band Skylark called "Wildflower" went straight through my heart the first time I heard it. I felt so strongly, and still do, it was written just for me. It was released in the USA in the early 70s. Please take the time to look it up and listen. I recently found a near mint album by Skylark. The history of it is very interesting.
    The Bee Gees have always held such meaning to me. What happened to the brothers was a tragic loss to their fans, the music world and the world in general. The world is an emptier place without them.
    Add your reply
  • r
    - 2
    RobWeekes 2018-03-04 22:49:58
    The song could we be about the famed atheist Fredrick Nietzsche. There are actually many long-standing Nietzsche jokes. Robin Gibb himself has said that it is a very spiritual song. The bad joke that Nietzsche started was the idea that God was dead. Many people who believed Nietzsche would certainly have been crying to learn that their faith was worthless after all. However, Nietzsche finally died, relieving the world from such a twisted ideology. When people began to realize that Nietzsche now was dead, but God was still alive after all, the joke was truly on Nietzsche.
    Add your reply
  • U
    - 4
    Unregistered 2016-05-01 03:46:16
    Someone told me they thought this song was about Hitler which seemed pretty off the wall. Then I watched a PBS show called Dark Charisma about Hitler. Woke up with an image of a certain presidential candidates red hat reading "make Germany great again -1933". " I started a Joke?" Spooky.
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    Top meanings Post my meaning

    • b
      + 17
      bobfan54
      I see the song meaning that here's a man that doesn't fit in. When laughing, the world is crying.... Read more →
    • U
      + 10
      Unregistered
      Havent we all felt this way at some time or another ?
      Feeling like you’d be better off dead that... Read more →
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    Bee Gees - I Started A Joke (Live in Las Vegas, 1997 - One Night Only)

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    [Intro][Verse][Pre-Chorus][Chorus][Hook][Bridge][Outro]