In April 1963, her single "I Will Follow Him" had soared to number one on U.S. charts. Recorded in early January 1963 and released January 22 of that year, it made Peggy March the youngest female singer with a number one hit at age fifteen. The record also took the number one spot in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Scandinavia.
Her success also came with financial trouble. March was a minor and the Coogan Law prevented her parents from managing her money. The responsibility was placed on her manager, Russell Smith. It was discovered in 1966 that he had squandered the fortune away, leaving her with $500. She soon had a new manager, Arnie Harris, who became her husband and gave her one daughter, Sande, born in 1974.
Though she is remembered by some as a one-hit wonder, her singles "I Wish I Were a Princess" and "Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love" made the Top 30 in the United States and the United Kingdom. She began making a very strong presence in the European and Asian music markets, and she moved to Germany around 1969. Her commercial success in Germany continued through much of the 1970s. In 1979 she experimented with disco on the album, Electrifying, but it failed to achieve commercial success. By 1981 record companies did not renew her contracts, and she moved back to the United States. A retro fad in Germany brought her some continuing success starting in the mid-1990s. Her song "I Will Follow Him" largely inspired the beat in the Eminem and Dr. Dre song Guilty Conscience, and was also featured in the 1992 movie Sister Act. Currently she works largely in the Las Vegas music scene.
You Make Me Laugh
Little Peggy March Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Laugh till I cry
You make me laugh
Telling me
You're in love
With someone new
You make me laugh
Laugh
Till I cry
Laugh till I cry
You think I care
When you say
It's goodbye
Our love is through
You make me laugh
Laugh
Laugh
Till I cry
Laugh till I cry
I used to go from boy to boy
Breaking every heart and every dream
Now you're doing the same to me
It's so funny I could scream
You make me laugh
It's a joke
Cause I'm still in love with you
You make me laugh
Laugh
Laugh
Till I cry
Laugh till I cry
Laugh till I cry
The lyrics of Little Peggy March’s song “You Make Me Laugh” describe a deeply relatable feeling of heartbreak and emotional distress. Peggy March sings about how her lover has moved on and gotten into a new relationship, leaving her heartbroken and alone. Despite the pain of this situation, she finds that she can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. She finds it amusing that she, who used to go from boy to boy and break hearts, is now the victim of the same behavior.
The lyrics convey a sense of irony – March isn’t actually finding the situation amusing or funny, but rather she’s laughing to keep from crying. The phrase “laugh till I cry” is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing this point. In the bridge, March reveals that she is still in love with her ex despite the pain he’s caused her. The contrasting emotions of love and heartbreak make it hard for her to know how to feel, and the laughter is her way of coping with this turmoil.
Overall, “You Make Me Laugh” is a poignant and touching song about the struggles of a broken heart. While the lyrics may be simple, they are deeply resonant and speak to the universal experience of emotional pain.
Line by Line Meaning
Laugh till I cry
The singer is laughing uncontrollably to the point of crying.
You make me laugh
The subject is causing the singer to find humor in their situation.
Telling me
The subject is confessing something to the singer.
You're in love
The subject is expressing their romantic feelings for someone else.
With someone new
The subject's love interest is not the artist.
You think I care
The subject believes the singer has no emotional attachment to them.
When you say
The subject is about to express something important to the singer.
It's goodbye
The subject is ending their relationship with the artist.
Our love is through
The subject and the artist are ending their romantic relationship.
I used to go from boy to boy
The artist used to casually date multiple men.
Breaking every heart and every dream
The singer was not emotionally invested in her past relationships and led men on only to hurt them.
Now you're doing the same to me
The subject is now treating the artist in the same way the artist treated her past love interests.
It's so funny I could scream
The situation is so absurd that the singer wants to scream out of disbelief.
It's a joke
The situation is so ridiculous that the singer sees it as a joke.
Cause I'm still in love with you
Despite everything, the singer is still emotionally invested in the subject.
Writer(s): GEORGE DAVID WEISS, HUGO, LUIGI
Contributed by Carter C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.