Laura

Billy Joel

Laura calls me
In the middle of the night
Passes on her
Fateful information
Then these careless fingers
They get caught in her vise
'Til they're bleeding
On my coffee table

Living alone isn't all that
It's cracked up to be
Oh, oh, oh
I'm on her side
Why does she push the poison on me?
Oh, oh, oh, oh

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
Oh, oh, oh
Failure to break
Was the only mistake that she made
Oh, oh, oh, oh

Here I am
Feeling like a fucking fool
Do I react the way exactly
She intends me to?
Every time 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 (ah)
All her questions
Will get sympathetic answers
I should be so immunized
To all of her tricks (ah)
She's surviving
On her second chances

Sometimes I feel like this
Godfather deal is all wrong
Oh, oh, oh
How can she hold an umbilical chord
For so long?
Oh, oh, oh, oh

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 (Laura) loves me (loves me)
Even if I don't care (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 (self in my chair)
Even though I
Faced electrocution

She always says
I'm the best friend that she's ever had
Oh, oh, oh
How do you hang up on someone
Who needs you that bad?
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh


Lyrics submitted by fletch699

Laura Lyrics as written by Billy Joel

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Laura song meanings
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17 Comments

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  • +4
    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/…
    sanfrandanon March 28, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    This song is about his mother.
    billyjoelnuton August 18, 2007   Link
  • +1
    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.
    timetodieon April 06, 2010   Link
  • +1
    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.
    narcan2981on December 16, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    This song is cool. That is, if you don't mind the fact that he's completely trying to make the musical part sound like a later Beatles effort. But the words are sung passionately with his own style and it sounds good. On first listen, it sounds like he's really singing about something that means something to him, although when you read the lyrics, you have to wonder what the hell it's about. Any ideas?
    suckmykisson May 24, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    He's singing about that girl that just completely captivates him. He can't push her away no matter how hard he tries, she's just that needy. You know the kind, they call in the middle of the night to tell you some story that really doesn't matter but is a "big deal" to them but don't care how you're doing at all. She basically just uses him all she wants and then hangs him out to dry. It's a very one-sided relationship. I have a "best friend" just like Billy Joel's "Laura"
    LILJCOXon August 03, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    oh and ps my name is laura..that hurts
    LILJCOXon August 19, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    is laura a drug addict or an alcoholic or something?
    appypollyloggyon March 08, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Some men are just born knights in shining armour and must save distressed damsels. I think he's writing about a relationship which began this way and then predictably turned into an unhealthly dependancy. ""How do you Hang up on someone Who needs you that bad?"" Sounds like his pity obliges him to stay. Clever women. We know all the right tricks! :p
    Trishyon December 08, 2004   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??
    2deoon July 13, 2006   Link

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