Album: The Nylon Curtain (1982)

License This Song 

• 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 Writer/s: Billy Joel
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 7

• Sonnycrockett from UsaActually the guitar solo sounds like George Harrison from his solo career, not Beatles.
• Davedsone from UsaFunny as I listened to this for the first time since about 1985 my first thought was how it sounded very much like a Beatles song. Then I come here and it seems every one else thinks so too.
• Groovus Maximus from Boston, MaUnbelievable song! So great and, as noted elsewhere, very Beatle-esque!! Powerful imagery and superbly crafted lyrics; when Billy drops the F-bomb, you can tell he really means it, as he's never even come close to cursing anywhere else in his illustrious career, and it fits, too (notice the alliteration of several words which start with the same letter, a favorite literary device: "Here I am, feeling like a f**king fool"). An extremely deep, very meaningful song with which I've always identified - quite Freudian, indeed! Overlooked gem from a sadly underrated album, full of quirky, clever songs & inventive production work capturing killer performances. All hail Billy Joel...
• Ken from Louisville, KyNow that she is deceased, it has been revealed, and Joel has confirmed, that "Laura" is about his mother. She put him on a typical Jewish mother's guilt trip until she died. And since this was Joel's "Beatlesque" album, the influences from John Lennon's "Mother" jumps out. Joel even sounds like Lennon on this song.
• Randy from Reading, PaThe guitar solo is very much a Beatle-esque George Harrison solo.
  
  I dated a girl named Laura and it was very close to these lyrics.
• Kevin from Memphis , Tnyes Billy dropped the "f bomb", but it fits the mmod of the song (anger/revenge)
• Ken from Louisville, KyJoel and Phil Ramone deliberately recorded Joel's voce and piano slightly out of phase on this track. This was a studio trick the Beatles sometimes used starting with the White Album.

More Songfacts:

At This MomentBilly Vera & the Beaters

"At This Moment" was first released by Billy Vera & the Beaters in 1981, and hit #79. After it was used in two episodes of Family Ties in 1985-1986, it went to #1.

Mr. Tambourine ManBob Dylan

Bob Dylan's original version of "Mr. Tambourine Man," released on his album Bringing It All Back Home, has no tambourine, just guitars and harmonica.

Piano ManBilly Joel

"Piano Man" was inspired by Billy Joel's time playing at a piano bar in Los Angeles. The "real estate novelist" was a guy who always talked about writing a book, but spent all his spare time in the bar.

True ColorsCyndi Lauper

With a message of acceptance and inclusivity, "True Colors" became a gay rights anthem. Cyndi Lauper help form an organization called True Colors United to help support LGBTQ youth.

Edge Of SeventeenStevie Nicks

The death of John Lennon was an influence on the Stevie Nicks hit "Edge Of Seventeen." He's the one with the "words of a poet and voice from a choir."

VoodooGodsmack

The line, "I feel the snakebite enter my veins," led many to believe the Godsmack song "Voodoo" is about drugs, but it's really about Wiccan ritual, inspired in part by the Wes Craven movie The Serpent and the Rainbow.

Editor's Picks

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.