Laugh Track
Ben Hopkins Lyrics

One, two, one, two, three, woo!
The song is starting and the artist is counting down in a classic 1-2-3 style.

I feel like an open sore
The artist feels raw and exposed.

I feel like I'm hitting my head against the wall
The artist feels like their efforts aren't amounting to anything.

And I'm tired
The artist is expressing their exhaustion.

I feel like a crisis of optimism
The artist feels that even their optimism is being challenged.

And I'm tired of being tired
The artist is emphasizing their fatigue.

And I feel pain quotidian
The artist experiences mundane, everyday pain.

Over and over and over again
The artist emphasizes the repetitive nature of this pain.

I feel like a princess in a tower
The artist feels trapped and helpless.

Counting down the minutes and the seconds and hours
The artist is constantly aware of the time they're losing.

I feel like some art school hack
The artist feels like a fraud or a hack.

Pissing on about this and that
The artist's art feels unimportant and meaningless.

And I feel like my heart is for hire
The artist feels like they're trying to sell or exchange their emotions.

And I'm tired of being tired
The artist is repeating their fatigue.

I feel like an open house
The artist feels exposed and vulnerable.

In a neighborhood that burned down
The artist feels abandoned and left behind.

I feel like the bone that breaks
The artist feels like they're broken and damaged.

Grows back stronger in that place
The artist feels like they can come back stronger from that pain.

I feel like an aneurism
The artist feels like they're about to burst from their stress and frustration.

Bursting in the television
The artist feels like they're exploding and being broadcasted for the world to see.

I feel the ghosts of my friends
The artist feels haunted by the memories of their deceased friends.

In New Paltz diners in my head
The artist specifically remembers their friends in these diners.

I feel like the finest china
The artist feels fragile and delicate.

High up on the tightrope wire
The artist feels like they're in a precarious and risky situation.

I feel like a freedom fighter
The artist feels like they're fighting for their own freedom.

Choking on a pacifier
The artist feels infantilized and powerless.

I feel like my mom and dad
The artist feels like they're a product of their parents.

I feel like I might be out of chances and
The artist feels hopeless and out of options.

I feel sick these days
The artist feels physically and mentally unwell.

I feel so scared that
The artist is expressing their fear and anxiety.

Things may never change
The artist is worried that things will remain the same and never get better.

Like Alan Turing
The artist starts to compare themselves to historical figures.

When the needle went in
A reference to Alan Turing's death by cyanide poisoning.

As he thought on the
The artist suggests that Alan Turing was thinking about something important during his death.

Small-minded cruelty of man
The artist highlights the cruelty in human nature.

Like David Wojnarowicz
The artist continues to compare themselves to historical figures.

Sewing his mouth
A reference to David Wojnarowicz sewing his lips shut in protest of the government's inaction during the AIDS crisis.

Scared to open it up
The artist believes that David Wojnarowicz was afraid to speak out about the crisis.

And let the cancer out
The artist uses 'cancer' as a metaphor for the issue at hand.

Like Fred Herko
The artist continues to compare themselves to historical figures.

With a Grand Jete
A reference to Fred Herko's death by jumping out of a friend's apartment while performing a grand jete.

So sick of this shit
The artist suggests that Fred Herko was fed up with the world around him.

He tried to fly away
The artist suggests that Fred Herko tried to escape his problems through death.

Like Charles Ludlam
The artist continues to compare themselves to historical figures.

As he died of AIDS
A reference to Charles Ludlam dying of AIDS.

As he thought of a script
The artist suggests that Charles Ludlam had a creative mind up until his death.

To a brand new play
The artist suggests that Charles Ludlam had plans to create something new.

Like Ophelia
The artist continues to compare themselves to historical figures.

In the willow tree
A reference to Ophelia's suicide in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

When the branch broke
A reference to the cause of Ophelia's death.

And so did she
The artist highlights the tragic nature of Ophelia's death.

Like Hedda Gabler
The artist continues to compare themselves to historical figures.

In the other room
A reference to the setting of Henrik Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler.

With her friends at the party
The artist suggests that Hedda Gabler was feeling isolated and left out even at social events.

Going boom
The artist is suggesting a sudden, violent, or unexpected end.

Like Iphigenia
The artist continues to compare themselves to historical figures.

In her wedding dress
A reference to the Greek mythology tale of Iphigenia's sacrifice for her father Agamemnon at their wedding.

As a horrible chorus
The artist suggests that Iphigenia's fate was predetermined and out of her control.

Put a knife to her neck
A reference to the cause of Iphigenia's death.

Like Blanche Dubois
The artist continues to compare themselves to historical figures.

In her finest feathers
A reference to Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire.

'Cause her nerves are shot
The artist suggests that Blanche Dubois is on the verge of a mental breakdown.

And she'll never feel better
The artist suggests that Blanche Dubois' pain will never go away.

Like a forest fire
The artist starts to compare themselves to natural disasters.

Like a crisis actor
The artist is using current events to describe their state of mind.

Like a 3D movie
The artist compares themselves to artifice.

Like running forever
The artist expresses the feeling of endless efforts.

Like a cocaine nose job
The artist uses juxtaposition to describe their own 'enhancement.'

Like a bull in the heather
The artist suggests they feel lost and in a place they don't belong.

Like crying in baseball
The artist uses a metaphor to describe their vulnerability and weakness.

Like endless winter
The artist uses a metaphor to describe a long-lasting and suffocating feeling.

Like glorious summer
The artist uses a metaphor to describe a fleeting and temporary happiness.

Like Ro Cham Beau
The artist suggests a specific kind of feeling.

The feeling you feel
The artist emphasizes the importance of feeling and recognizing emotions.

When you're feeling alone
The artist suggests that being alone can lead to a specific feeling.

Like a new forgiveness
The artist suggests the possibility of redemption and growth.

Brand new way
The artist suggests that this growth is a new and hard-fought journey.

I'm trapped on a laugh track
The artist is highlighting the inauthenticity and pretense of forcing laughter.

Things will never change
The artist feels that the cycle of pain and frustration will never break.

Never change
The artist reiterates their lack of hope for the future.

I'm tired of being tired
The artist once again emphasizes their pervasive exhaustion.

Hey!
The song comes to a close.