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Joke (I'm Laughing)

{{Infobox song

| name = Joke (I'm Laughing)

| cover = Eddi Reader Joke I'm Lauging 1994 single cover.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Eddi Reader

| album = Eddi Reader

| B-side = Saturday Night

| released = 1 August 1994{{cite magazine |title=Single Releases |magazine=Music Week |date=30 July 1994 |page=25 |issn=0265-1548}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre =

| length = 3:52

| label = Blanco y Negro

| writer = Boo Hewerdine

| producer = Greg Penny

| prev_title = Patience of Angels

| prev_year = 1994

| next_title = Dear John

| next_year = 1994

}}

"Joke (I'm Laughing)" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter Eddi Reader, released on 1 August 1994 by Blanco y Negro Records as the second single from her second studio album, Eddi Reader (1994). It was written by Boo Hewerdine and produced by Greg Penny. "Joke (I'm Laughing)" reached No. 42 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the Top 100 for three weeks.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/29859/eddi-reader/ |title=EDDI READER | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company |publisher=Officialcharts.com |access-date=2020-04-12}}

In 1996, Hewerdine released his own version of the song as a single from his album Baptist Hospital.{{cite web|author=James Chrispell |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/baptist-hospital-mw0000074413 |title=Baptist Hospital - Boo Hewerdine | Songs, Reviews, Credits |publisher=AllMusic |date=1996-09-24 |access-date=2020-04-12}} Speaking to Folk Radio in 2014, Hewerdine said of the song: ""Joke" was the first song I made up that I thought was good. I wrote it for my post-school band Placebo Thing."{{cite web|url=https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2014/12/exclusive-preview-boo-hewerdine-my-name-in-the-brackets/ |title=Exclusive Preview: Boo Hewerdine - My Name in the Brackets |publisher=Folk Radio |access-date=2020-04-12}}

Critical reception

Upon its release as a single, Andrew Mueller of Melody Maker remarked, "There is something intangible about Ms Reader's new single that makes me think that I will hear it in a dark, dusty, deserted wine bar somewhere in the former Soviet Union in about three years time and get annoyed because I can't remember who sang it."{{cite magazine |last=Mueller |first=Andrew |date=6 August 1994 |title=Singles |magazine=Melody Maker |page=31}} In a review of Eddi Reader, Ira Robbins of Trouser Press described the song as "sardonic" which "seethes with quiet disdain".{{cite web|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=eddi_reader |title=Eddi Reader with the Patron Saints of Imperfection |publisher=TrouserPress.com |access-date=2020-04-12}} Jon Pareles of The New York Times observed that "love doesn't go smoothly in Ms. Reader's songs" and noted "Joke (I'm Laughing)" for its narrative of a "spurned woman".{{cite web|author=Jon Pareles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/03/arts/in-performance-pop-424170.html |title=In Performance; POP - The New York Times |work=Nytimes.com |date=1994-10-03 |access-date=2020-04-12}}

Track listing

  • 7" and cassette single
  1. "Joke (I'm Laughing)" - 3:52
  2. "Saturday Night" - 4:58
  • CD single
  1. "Joke (I'm Laughing)" - 3:52
  2. "Saturday Night" - 4:58
  3. "Wonderboy" - 2:39
  • CD single (UK limited edition)
  1. "Joke (I'm Laughing)" - 3:52
  2. "Three Crosses" - 4:16
  3. "Go and Sit Upon the Grass" - 1:27

Personnel

Joke (I'm Laughing)

Production

  • Greg Penny – producer of "Joke (I'm Laughing)" and "Wonderboy"
  • Jon Ingoldsby – mixing and recording on "Joke (I'm Laughing)"
  • Andy Strange, Steve Holroyd – assistant engineers on "Joke (I'm Laughing)"
  • Ron Johnson – technical assistance on "Joke (I'm Laughing)"
  • Chris Bellman – mastering on "Joke (I'm Laughing)"
  • Eddi Reader, Teddy Borowiecki – producers of "Saturday Night", "Three Crosses" and "Go and Sit Upon the Grass"

Other

  • Kevin Westenberg – photography
  • M at Maitland – sleeve design

Charts

class="wikitable sortable"
Chart (1994)

!Peak
position

UK Singles (OCC)

| style="text-align:center;"|42

UK Airplay (Music Week){{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1994/Music-Week-1994-09-03.pdf#page=36|title=The Airplay Chart|magazine=Music Week|date=1994-09-03|page=24|access-date=2025-05-23}}

| style="text-align:center;"|28

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Eddi Reader}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1994 songs

Category:1994 singles

Category:Blanco y Negro Records singles