Cockburn's early albums were fairly straight ahead folk music spotlighting his brilliant guitar playing. In fact, there were a good number of instrumental guitar numbers on those early recordings. A Christian element came into his music around the time of the album Salt, Sun and Time, and over time his writing has taken on a stronger and stronger political orientation.
Perhaps the most consistent element of Cockburn's music has been his willingness to change and evolve over time. In this way, he is similar to fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
He has had a couple of radio hits in the United States, including (Wondering Where the Lions Are and If I Had a Rocket Launcher).
His albums in the 80s are considered some of his strongest, including Humans, Inner City Front, Stealing Fire, and Big Circumstance. After Big Circumstance he struggled with writer's block, and his output began to slow down; but he recovered with the formidable Nothing But a Burning Light, which led the way back to a sparer, more folk-oriented form of music. His later album The Charity of Night contains one of his most thoughtful songs, Pacing the Cage.
His 2006 album Life Short Call Now was preceded by Speechless, a collection of instrumentals, many of them from earlier albums. The album highlights Cockburn's prodigious abilities as a guitarist.
Cockburn's 31st studio album,Small Source of Comfort was released in March, 2011. BruceCockburn.com called the album "an adventurous collection of songs of romance, protest and spiritual discovery. The album, primarily acoustic yet rhythmically savvy, is rich in Cockburn’s characteristic blend of folk, blues, jazz and rock."
Listen For The Laugh
Bruce Cockburn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not the laughter of a man in pain
It's not the laughter you can hide behind
It's not the laughter of a frightened mind
Balanced on the brink, only waiting for a shove
You better listen for the laugh of love
Balanced on the brink, only waiting for a shove
It's not the laughter of the gloating rich
It's not the laughter of the sacred bitch
It's not the laughter of the macho fool
It's not the laughter that obeys the rules
More of a chain saw in a velvet glove
You better listen for the laugh of love
More of a chain saw in a velvet glove
You better listen for the laugh of love
It's not the laughter of a child with toys
It's not the laughter of the president's boys
It's not the laughter of the media king
This laughter doesn't sell you anything
It's the wind in the wings of a diving dove
You better listen for the laugh of love
It's the wind in the wings of a diving dove
You better listen for the laugh of love
Whatever else you might be thinking of
You better listen for the laugh of love
In this song, Bruce Cockburn is urging listeners to pay attention to the ways in which love manifests itself in the world. He begins the song by describing the different kinds of laughter that exist in the world and explains that the laughter of love is none of these. It is not the laughter of a man in pain, a frightened mind, a gloating rich person, a macho fool, or a child with toys, nor is it the laughter of those who obey rules or who try to sell something to others.
Cockburn then goes on to suggest that love exists in a delicate balance, and that we must be careful not to push it over the edge. He uses the metaphor of being "balanced on the brink, only waiting for a shove" to describe how easily love can be lost. Consequently, he urges listeners to "listen for the laugh of love," which he describes as being "more of a chain saw in a velvet glove" or "the wind in the wings of a diving dove." In other words, love is both powerful and graceful, and it is something that we must pay close attention to if we are to recognize and appreciate it when we encounter it.
Overall, this song is a tribute to love and the importance of paying attention to the subtle ways in which it makes itself known in the world. By encouraging listeners to "listen for the laugh of love," Cockburn reminds us that love is not always obvious or easy to spot, but that it is always present if we take the time to look and listen for it.
Line by Line Meaning
It's not the laughter of rain in the drain
This laughter is not the meaningless, fleeting sound of rain draining away.
It's not the laughter of a man in pain
This laughter is not the hollow or forced laughter of a person in pain or distress.
It's not the laughter you can hide behind
This laughter is not a mask or a facade to hide behind; it is genuine.
It's not the laughter of a frightened mind
This laughter is not the nervous, scared laughter of someone in a very dangerous situation.
Balanced on the brink, only waiting for a shove
In a precarious situation, which could end negatively without a push.
You better listen for the laugh of love
You should pay close attention for the laughter that comes from love and joy in order to keep yourself from slipping over the edge.
It's not the laughter of the gloating rich
This laughter is not the arrogant, entitled laughter of the wealthy.
It's not the laughter of the sacred bitch
This laughter is not the hypocritical or phony laughter of someone who acts holy but is not.
It's not the laughter of the macho fool
This laughter is not the bullying, foolish laughter of a macho man.
It's not the laughter that obeys the rules
This laughter is not the staid, predictable laughter that adheres to societal norms.
More of a chain saw in a velvet glove
It is powerful like a chainsaw, yet gentle like a velvet glove.
It's not the laughter of a child with toys
This laughter is not the carefree, superficial laughter of a child playing with toys.
It's not the laughter of the president's boys
This laughter is not the forced or fake laughter of sycophantic followers of a leader.
It's not the laughter of the media king
This laughter is not the manufactured or manipulative laughter of a media mogul.
This laughter doesn't sell you anything
This laughter is not designed to sell you anything or manipulate you in any way.
It's the wind in the wings of a diving dove
This laughter is as pure and natural as the wind in the wings of a bird taking flight or diving down from the sky.
Whatever else you might be thinking of
Despite anything else you may be considering or preoccupied with,
You better listen for the laugh of love
you must pay attention to the laughter that comes from true love and joy.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bruce Cockburn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Donald Bromwell
"Dart to the Heart" is one of his best albums.
Brett Service
This is a great album. Wore out the tape I had of it in my 91' POS Dodge Spirit in the mid 90's. Really like Colin Linden's additions. He gave the tunes a bit more edge.
rose kaczmarek
That's what i tell all the people i help listening for the laughter of love thank bruce Cockburn i love you too keep it up
bruce Cockburn
@rose kaczmarek nice is the number registered with whatsApp so I can text you there so you take it off for security reasons.
rose kaczmarek
@bruce Cockburn here i go again arother one bit the dust i live at 435 kerr st apt 205 oakviile on't l6k3c2 if you want to write me once in a while ok
bruce Cockburn
@rose kaczmarek OK yeah I would have love to continue this conversation over here but it's against my policy.. So it's will be of great pleasure to me by dropping your email address so I can write to you over there and as soon as you receive my messages you can take it off for security reasons OK..
rose kaczmarek
@bruce Cockburn no problem right now im listening to your music the the video thats what friend are for i though i had friends l guess i dont ask for help until next week a money problem got turned down thats all right i will survive ok
bruce Cockburn
@rose kaczmarek thanks for your wonderful wishes and comment it's a pleasure to me. If you don't mind I will like to have a personal conversation with you to know more about your good thoughts and advise towards me as a fan of mine.
Doug McFall
nicely done
sammygunnsOfficial
I LOVE YOU BRUCE