Laugh ‘Till You Bleed

[Verse 1]
Got a tickle in my throat and a rattle in my chest
Been laughin' for three days now, ain't had no rest
Every time I try to stop, the quiet starts to creep
So I crank it up again and I laugh 'til I bleed

[Chorus]
Laugh 'til you bleed, boys, that's the only way
Drown out the voices, drown out the day
If I stop for one second, I might start to think
And thinkin' leads to drinkin' and drinkin' leads to the brink
So I laugh 'til I bleed
Laugh 'til I bleed
If the joke ain't funny, hell, I'll fake the need
[manic giggle]

[Verse 2]
Told a joke to a cactus. It didn't even sway.
Told it to a corpse. It started to decay faster anyway.
Told it to myself in the mirror, glass fogged up with spit
The son of a bitch just stared at me — didn't even flinch one bit

[Chorus]

Laugh 'til you bleed, boys, that's the only way
Drown out the voices, drown out the day
If I stop for one second, I might start to think
And thinkin' leads to drinkin' and drinkin' leads to the brink
So I laugh 'til I bleed
Laugh 'til I bleed
If the joke ain't funny, hell, I'll fake the need
[manic giggle]

[Bridge — spoken, rapid, breathless]
You ever laugh so hard your ribs hurt?
Your eyes water?
Your brain starts to feel like it's floatin' out your ears?
Yeah?
Now imagine that. Forever.
No punchline. No relief. Just the ha-ha-ha-ha-HA-HA-HA-HA—
[deep breath]
Feels good, don't it?
[pause]
...don't it?!

[Instrumental break — everything goes slightly off the rails. Drums stumble. Guitar hits a wrong note and keeps going. Like a man falling down stairs and pretending he meant to.]

[Outro — sung, cracking, slower but still pushing]
Laugh 'til you—
Laugh 'til you—
Laugh 'til your blood tastes like copper and your voice is just a scream
Laugh 'til you forget that you were ever in a dream
Laugh 'til the walls come down
Laugh 'til the sun burns out
Laugh 'til you can't remember what the silence was about

[long, awful, hollow laugh that turns into a cough]

[whispered:]
...keep laughing.
...keep...
[silence.]

[one last, weak:]
...ha.

[feedback from the amp. Then nothing.]

Outlaw Country, Tempo: fast, frantic, like a heart about to give out. Drums pounding. Guitar scratching., male