Laughing Lyrics

Lyric discussion by blissery 

Cover art for Laughing lyrics by R.E.M.

i've read somewhere that this song was inspired by a Barthelme novel. His second one. The one about abortion?

I think you mean Barth, not Barthelme.

Relevant wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_the_Road#In_popular_culture