McCorkle was born in Berkeley, California. She studied modern languages at the University of California, Berkeley. McCorkle began singing professionally after hearing recordings of Billie Holiday in Paris in the late 1960s. She nearly became an interpreter at the European Commission in Brussels, but moved instead to London in 1972 to pursue a career in singing. While in the UK, she made two albums which, although well received, enjoyed only limited circulation.
In the late 1970s, McCorkle returned to the United States and settled in New York City, where a five-month engagement at the Cookery in Greenwich Village brought her to wider public attention and elicited rave reviews from critics.
During the 1980s, McCorkle continued to record; her maturing style and the darkening timbre of her voice greatly enhanced her performances. In the early 1990s, two of the albums McCorkle made for Concord Records, No More Blues and Sábia, were enormously successful and made her name known to the wider world. She was recorded by the Smithsonian Institution which at the time made her the youngest singer ever to have been included in its popular music series. McCorkle played Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher and Alice Tully Halls five times and Carnegie Hall three times, and was featured soloist with Skitch Henderson and the 80-piece New York Pops in a concert of Brazilian music.
Thanks to her linguistic skills, McCorkle translated lyrics of Brazilian, French, and Italian songs, notably those for her Brazilian album Sabia. McCorkle also had several short stories published and, in 1991, began work on her first novel. She published fiction in Mademoiselle, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and non-fiction in the New York Times Magazine and in American Heritage, including lengthy articles on Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, Irving Berlin and Mae West.
McCorkle suffered for many years from depression and cancer, and took her own life at age 55 by leaping off the balcony of her highrise Manhattan apartment. She was alone in her home at the time. The police immediately entered her home after identifying her body and found no foul play. Suicide was ruled the cause of death.
They All Laughed
Susannah McCorkle Lyrics
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The world thought the heights were too high to climb
But people from missouri never incensed me
Oh, I wasn't a bit concerned
For from hist'ry I had learned
How many, many times the worm had turned
They all laughed at christopher columbus
They all laughed when edison recorded sound
They all laughed at wilbur and his brother
When they said that man could fly
They told marconi
Wireless was a phony
It's the same old cry
They laughed at me wanting you
Said I was reaching for the moon
But oh, you came through
Now they'll have to change their tune
They all said we never could be happy
They laughed at us and how!
But ho, ho, ho!
Who's got the last laugh now?
They all laughed at rockefeller center
Now they're fighting to get in
They all laughed at whitney and his cotton gin
They all laughed at fulton and his steamboat
Hershey and his chocolate bar
Ford and his lizzie
Kept the laughers busy
That's how people are
They laughed at me wanting you
Said it would be, "hello, goodbye."
But oh, you came through
Now they're eating humble pie
They all said we'd never get together
Darling, let's take a bow
For ho, ho, ho!
Who's got the last laugh?
Hee, hee, hee!
Let's at the past laugh
Ha, ha, ha!
Who's got the last laugh now?"
The lyrics of "They All Laughed" by Susannah McCorkle focus on the idea of overcoming odds and defying expectations. The opening lines are "The odds were a hundred to one against me / The world thought the heights were too high to climb," but the singer is undeterred by naysayers. She draws inspiration from history, noting that "many, many times the worm had turned."
From here, the song provides examples of historical figures and their achievements that were initially mocked or dismissed. Christopher Columbus was ridiculed for suggesting that the world was round, while Wilbur and Orville Wright faced disbelief when they claimed that humans could fly. Other visionaries who faced laughter and skepticism included Thomas Edison, Guglielmo Marconi, and Henry Ford.
However, the song's tone takes a turn when the singer reveals that she, too, was laughed at for wanting someone (presumably a romantic interest). Although others thought she was "reaching for the moon," this time, her faith was rewarded: "But oh, you came through / Now they'll have to change their tune." The song concludes triumphantly, with the singer noting that she and her partner were also laughed at, yet ultimately proved their doubters wrong.
Overall, "They All Laughed" celebrates persistence, optimism, and the ability to see past current limitations to a brighter future. It suggests that laughter and derision from others can be overcome through hard work, determination, and a belief in oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
The odds were a hundred to one against me
The chances of me succeeding were very low
The world thought the heights were too high to climb
People believed that the goals were impossible to achieve
But people from missouri never incensed me
But as I am from Missouri, this disbelief did not deter me.
Oh, I wasn't a bit concerned
I wasn't worried in the slightest
For from hist'ry I had learned
Because I had learnt from history
How many, many times the worm had turned
How many times the circumstances had changed for those who were getting laughed at
They all laughed at christopher columbus
They made fun of Christopher Columbus
When he said the world was round
When he claimed that the earth was a sphere rather than flat
They all laughed when edison recorded sound
They ridiculed Edison when he invented the recording of sound
They all laughed at wilbur and his brother
They taunted Wilbur Wright and his brother
When they said that man could fly
When they asserted that humans could fly
They told marconi
People told Marconi
Wireless was a phony
That wireless technology was a sham
It's the same old cry
They said the same old thing
They laughed at me wanting you
They made fun of my desire for you
Said I was reaching for the moon
Said I was aiming for an impossible goal
But oh, you came through
But you proved them wrong by succeeding
Now they'll have to change their tune
Now they will have to have a different attitude towards me
They all said we never could be happy
They all said we could not be happy
They laughed at us and how!
They laughed at us and made fun of us
But ho, ho, ho!
But look who's laughing now!
Who's got the last laugh now?
Who is successful now?
They all laughed at rockefeller center
People mocked Rockefeller Center
Now they're fighting to get in
Now they try to get in
They all laughed at whitney and his cotton gin
People ridiculed Whitney and his invention of the cotton gin
They all laughed at fulton and his steamboat
People laughed at Fulton's steamboat
Hershey and his chocolate bar
Hershey and his chocolate product
Ford and his lizzie
Ford and his popular car, Model T
Kept the laughers busy
Kept the people who laughed at him occupied
That's how people are
That is how people behave
Said it would be, "hello, goodbye."
Said that the relationship would not last long
Now they're eating humble pie
Now they are ashamed of their behavior and must admit they were wrong
They all said we'd never get together
Everyone said that we would not end up together
Darling, let's take a bow
Darling, let's celebrate our victory together
For ho, ho, ho!
For we have proved them wrong!
Who's got the last laugh?
who has ultimately succeeded?
Hee, hee, hee!
Ha ha ha! We won!
Let's at the past laugh
Let's laugh and celebrate about the past!
Ha, ha, ha!
Ha ha ha!
Who's got the last laugh now?
Who has the upper hand now?
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., SONGS MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: GEORGE GERSHWIN, IRA GERSHWIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind