10 Overlooked Songs About Laughter

Feature Photo: The Everett Collection: Licensed From Shutterstock

We often think of laughter as lighthearted and simple, but these songs reveal that it can carry a weight that is anything but. Instead of choosing obvious titles that announce laughter up front, this list looks at songs where laughing appears inside the story and takes on different meanings, from freedom and affection to embarrassment, irony, loneliness, and pain. Jefferson Airplane, Elton John, R.E.M., Ian Dury, Prince, Thin Lizzy, Joan Baez, Steely Dan, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and The Brian Setzer Orchestra all use laughter in strikingly different ways.

Some of these songs are joyful, while others use laughter as a shield, a memory, a taunt, or a small flash of humanity inside something much darker. That is what makes them interesting. Laughter in music is not always about humor, and these ten recordings prove how much emotional territory one simple act can cover.

# 10 – If You Feel – Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane’s “If You Feel,” from the 1968 album Crown of Creation, turns laughter into an invitation to let go and live fully. The song was written by Marty Balin and Gary Blackman, with Balin delivering the lead vocal. Laughter appears as part of the song’s larger celebration of emotional release, spontaneity, and freedom. Crown of Creation was produced by Al Schmitt and reached No. 6 on the Billboard album chart. The track remains an overlooked example of how Jefferson Airplane could make a playful idea feel both liberating and slightly surreal.

# 9 – Blue Eyes – Elton John

Elton John’s “Blue Eyes,” from the 1982 album Jump Up!, blends longing and melancholy with brief images of laughter that feel warm and deeply personal. The song was written by Elton John and Gary Osborne, not Bernie Taupin, and was produced by Chris Thomas. It was recorded during sessions at AIR Studios in Montserrat and Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris. “Blue Eyes” reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and No. 8 in the United Kingdom. The laughter in the song works as a memory of intimacy and comfort, giving the ballad one of its gentlest emotional touches.

# 8 – Shiny Happy People – R.E.M.

R.E.M.’s “Shiny Happy People,” from the 1991 album Out of Time, puts laughter right at the center of its bright, communal chorus. The track was produced by Scott Litt and R.E.M. and features guest vocals from Kate Pierson of The B-52s. Its colorful arrangement and deliberately cheerful surface made it one of the band’s most unusual hit singles. The song reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 in the United Kingdom. Whether heard as simple exuberance or something more complicated, its repeated image of people laughing makes it impossible to leave off a list like this.

Read More: Top 10 R.E.M. Songs

# 7 – If I Was With A Woman – Ian Dury

Ian Dury’s “If I Was With A Woman,” from the 1977 album New Boots and Panties!!, uses laughter with the sharp, sardonic edge that defined so much of Dury’s writing. Dury wrote the lyrics with music by Chaz Jankel, and the recording features Norman Watt-Roy, Charley Charles, Davey Payne, and other musicians central to that period of his work. The album was recorded at The Workhouse in London and produced by Peter Jenner, Laurie Latham, and Rick Walton. Here, laughter is not simple happiness but part of Dury’s cynical look at attraction, emotional distance, and human behavior. That darker use of laughter gives the song a very different character from the more openly joyful entries on this list.

# 6 – Purple Rain – Prince

Prince’s “Purple Rain” is one of the most famous songs on this list, but its connection to laughter can easily be overlooked beside the song’s much larger themes of love, regret, and reconciliation. The core performance was recorded live with the Revolution at First Avenue in Minneapolis on August 3, 1983, before being refined for the 1984 album and film. Prince’s desire to see someone laughing gives the song one of its most vulnerable images, turning laughter into a symbol of closeness and happiness that feels just out of reach. The single reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the defining recordings of his career. Few songs use such a small image of joy inside such an enormous emotional landscape.

Read More: 10 Most Rocking Prince Songs

# 5 – Things Ain’t Working Out Down at the Farm – Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy’s “Things Ain’t Working Out Down at the Farm” finds Phil Lynott using laughter as a reaction to chaos, embarrassment, and trouble. The song dates from the band’s early period and was originally released on the four-track New Day EP in 1971 rather than on the original running order of the debut album. The recording features the classic early trio of Lynott, guitarist Eric Bell, and drummer Brian Downey, with Nick Tauber producing. Its loose storytelling lets laughter become a form of defiance when the narrator’s circumstances keep getting worse. The song later appeared on compilations and expanded editions, helping it find the audience it missed the first time around.

# 4 – Donna Donna – Joan Baez

Joan Baez’s 1960 recording of “Donna Donna” makes laughter one of the song’s most haunting images. The song originated in Yiddish theater, with music by Sholom Secunda and lyrics by Aaron Zeitlin, while the English version associated with Baez was adapted by Arthur Kevess and Teddi Schwartz. Baez recorded it for her self-titled Vanguard debut, produced by Maynard Solomon at the Manhattan Towers Hotel Ballroom in New York. The laughing wind stands in sharp contrast to the calf’s helplessness and the swallow’s freedom, giving the song its unforgettable sense of sorrow and distance. Baez’s stark vocal and acoustic presentation allow that contrast to land without any unnecessary decoration.

Read More: Top 10 Joan Baez Songs

# 3 – Bad Sneakers – Steely Dan

Steely Dan’s “Bad Sneakers,” from the 1975 album Katy Lied, places laughter inside one of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s typically strange portraits of alienation and memory. The track was produced by Gary Katz and features Jeff Porcaro on drums, Michael Omartian on piano, and Michael McDonald on backing vocals. Its narrator sounds increasingly unmoored, and the reference to laughing at the frozen rain makes that instability feel both funny and unsettling. The polished arrangement creates an elegant surface while the lyric underneath it keeps slipping into anxiety and dislocation. That tension is exactly why the song works so well in an article about laughter that is not necessarily happy.

# 2 – I Don’t Wanna Fight – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

“I Don’t Wanna Fight,” from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1999 album Echo, is unusual because guitarist Mike Campbell wrote the song and sings the lead vocal. The album was produced by Tom Petty, Campbell, and Rick Rubin, but this track gives Campbell a rare turn at the microphone. Laughter appears as ridicule rather than joy, with the narrator frustrated by someone who keeps laughing at him when nothing feels funny. That makes the song one of the most direct examples on this list of laughter being used to wound instead of comfort. Its short, hard-edged arrangement also gives Echo a burst of energy in the middle of an otherwise emotionally heavy record.

# 1 – Jingle Bells – The Brian Setzer Orchestra

The Brian Setzer Orchestra’s “Jingle Bells” closes the list with the most straightforward use of laughter of all ten songs. Released on the 2002 album Boogie Woogie Christmas, the recording turns the holiday standard into a brassy rockabilly and swing workout. Brian Setzer’s guitar and vocal lead the arrangement, while Dave Darling is credited as producer of the track. Here, laughter really is laughter, tied to motion, celebration, winter, and the simple pleasure built into the original song. After so many darker and more complicated examples, this performance earns the final spot by reminding us that sometimes laughter in music can simply sound like joy.