Don't Laugh At Me

I saw Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary fame) performing at The Brattle Theater this past Saturday. He performed a song entitled "Don't Laugh At Me" and it hit me very hard. I have never cried at a concert before, but I did on Saturday. I was teased a lot as a child and this song just brought a lot of the repressed sadness to the surface, I guess.

I just started a series on my own blog - I expect it to run for a month or more - but I wanted to share the lyrics to this song as soon as possible, so I'm posting them here. I hope you find them as lovely as I did.

Don't Laugh At Me

I'm a little boy with glasses, the one they call a geek
a little girl who never smiles cuz I got braces on my teeth
and I know how it feels to cry myself to sleep

I'm that kid on every playground, whose always chosen last
a single teenage mother trying to overcome her past
You don’t have to be my friend if it's too much to ask

Don't laugh at me, don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
some day we'll all have perfect Wings
Don’t laugh at me

I'm a cripple on the corner
You pass me on the street
I wouldn't be out here begging if I had enough to eat
and don't think I don’t notice that our eyes never meet
I lost my wife and little boy when someone crossed that yellow line
The day we layed 'em in the ground was the day I lost my mind
Right now I'm down to holding this little cardboard sign

Don't laugh at me, Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don’t laugh at me

I'm fat, I'm thin
I'm short, I'm tall
I'm deaf, I'm blind
Hey aren't we all

Don't laugh at me, Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

Written by Allen Shamblin and Steve Seskin

There is a program for educators and others, utilizing this song (among others) and aimed at providing an environment free from teasing and such in schools. Go to:

http://www.operationrespect.org/

Thanks for reading.

Suldog