I Started a Joke

"I Started a Joke" is a 1968 song by the Bee Gees from their album Idea, which was released in September of that year. Curiously, it was not released as a single in the UK, where buyers who could not afford the album had to content themselves with a Polydor version by Heath Hampstead.

1 Composition
2 Content
3 Chart performance
4 Parodies, appearances in other media, etc.
5 Faith No More cover
6 Other cover versions
7 References
8 External links

Composition

The song is mainly written and sung by Robin Gibb. "I Started A Joke" is supposedly about someone who has done or said something horribly wrong, which results in feelings of social alienation. Another interpretation is that the song is sung from the point of view of the devil. Prior to performing the song onstage, Barry Gibb remarks that one interpretation of the song is regarding the devil.

Content

According to Robin Gibb, the melancholic melody of the song was inspired by the sounds on board an aeroplane:

“

The melody to this one was heard aboard a British Airways Vickers Viscount about a hundred miles from Essen. It was one of those old four engine 'prop' jobs, that seemed to drone the passenger into a sort of hypnotic trance, only with this it was different. The droning, after a while, appeared to take the form of a tune, which mysteriously sounded like a church choir. So it was decided! We accosted the pilot, forced him to land in the nearest village and there; in a small pub, we finished the lyrics. Actually, it wasn't a village, it was the city, and it wasn't a pub, it was a hotel, and we didn't force the pilot to land in a field... but why ruin a perfectly good story?"^[1]

”

Chart performance

Chart (1969)	Peak position
Austrian Singles Chart^[2]	16
Dutch Singles Chart^[2]	3
Swiss Singles Chart^[2]	5
US Billboard Hot 100^[3]	6

Parodies, appearances in other media, etc.

The song was parodied by a Radio Free Vestibule sketch in which a voiced-over commentary takes the lyrics completely literally.
The song appeared in the film Zoolander as covered by The Wallflowers.
The song is featured heavily in the ending of the film Penn & Teller Get Killed, which features the two magicians playing a succession of increasingly elaborate practical jokes on each other with a fatal conclusion.
The song was recited in The Fighter, when Dickie Eklund (Christian Bale) sings to his mother Alice (Melissa Leo) after attempting to run away because of his crack addiction.

Faith No More cover

"I Started a Joke"

Single by Faith No More

from the album Who Cares a Lot?

Released

September 21, 1998

Format

Recorded

Early 1995

Genre

Easy listening

Length

3:03

Label

Slash

Writer(s)

Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb

Producer

Billy Gould
Dean Menta

Faith No More singles chronology

"Stripsearch"
(1997)

"I Started a Joke"
(1998)

Alternative cover

Faith No More originally covered "I Started a Joke" as a bonus track on some versions of their fifth studio album King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime but following the band's dissolution in 1998 it was released as their final single with their greatest hits album Who Cares a Lot?

Music video

The music video for it was filmed on 8 September 1998,^[4] after Faith No More had split up, and featured none of the band members except for Mike Patton in a brief cameo as "Michael from Barnsley". It was directed by Vito Rocco, filmed by Nick Sawyer with make-up by Julie Nightingale and Dani Richardson and had Gabi Norland as the clapper-loader. British actors Martin Freeman and Shaun Dingwall both feature in the promo, along with performance artist David Hoyle as the karaoke singer.^[4]

Track listing

Disc one

"I Started a Joke" – 3:03
"The World Is Yours" – 5:52
"Midnight Cowboy" (Live) – 1:01

Disc two

"I Started a Joke" – 3:03
"This Guy's in Love with You" (Live) – 4:20
"We Care a Lot" (Live) – 3:55

Live tracks recorded on 21 October 1997 at the Horden Pavilion, Sydney, Australia by MTV Australia.

Charts

Chart	Peak
UK Singles Chart^[5]	49
Australia ARIA Charts	58
New Zealand RIANZ Charts^[6]	38

Other cover versions

Brazilian singer Ronnie Von had a Portuguese version, called Comecei uma Brincadeira and translated by himself, on his psychedelic-rock-album "A misteriosa Luta do Reino de Parassempre contra o Império de Nuncamais" from 1969.
Between 1972 and 1974, this song was covered by Singapore-based female singer Ervinna, backing music by The Stylers, on her LP album Top Hits with the local White Cloud Record.
Skibby did a reggae cover which has been released as part of the sampler CD set "It's Reggae" in 1996.
In 1998 it was covered by Robbie Williams with The Orb (for a Bee Gees tribute album).
In 2001, a cover by The Wallflowers was featured in the Zoolander movie soundtrack.
Shannon Wright covered the song on Perishable Goods EP released in 2001.
Richie Havens, Tim Rose, The Cascades, The Beautiful South, The Dirtbombs, Vonda Shepard, indie pop bands The Lucksmiths and Low, British singers Lulu and Kathryn Williams have also recorded covers of the song.
Low covered the song with Mimi Parker on vocals and released it in the A Lifetime of Temporary Relief boxset
There are several instrumental versions with Francis Goya on guitar in his album Romantic Guitar^[7] and James Galway on flute in his 1988 Greatest Hits album.^[8]
Ventriloquist Terry Fator sometimes performs an excerpt as part of his live show, generally following Stayin' Alive
Angela Chang, a popular Taiwanese singer, sang a cover of the song in her sixth studio album.
Comedian Neil Hamburger released a 7" single of his country-western version of the song, backed by Nashville guitarist Dave Gleason and members of The Tubes.
Micheal Castaldo recorded an italian version of the song on his 2010 album Aceto.

References

^ p.188, Bee Gees Anthology, Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1991.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bee Gees - I Started A Joke - swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Bee+Gees&titel=I+Started+A+Joke&cat=s. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
^ I Started a Joke at Allmusic
^ ^a ^b Faith No More – "I Started a Joke". mvdbase.com. Retrieved on 1 June 2008
^ chartstats.com page on Faith No More, retrieved on 27 January 2008
^ "charts.org.nz - Faith No More - I Started A Joke". charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Faith+No+More&titel=I+Started+A+Joke&cat=s. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
^ Francis Goya - The Belgian Pop & Rock Archives
^ Sir James Galway-Discography

External links

The Bee Gees

Barry Gibb
Robin Gibb

Studio albums

The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs (1965)
Spicks and Specks (1966)
Bee Gees' 1st (1967)
Horizontal (1968)
Idea (1968)
Odessa (1969)
Cucumber Castle (1970)
2 Years On (1970)
Trafalgar (1971)
To Whom It May Concern (1972)
Life in a Tin Can (1973)
A Kick In The Head Is Worth Eight In The Pants (1973) (unreleased)
Mr. Natural (1974)
Main Course (1975)
Children of the World (1976)
Spirits Having Flown (1979)
Living Eyes (1981)
E.S.P. (1987)
One (1989)
High Civilization (1991)
Size Isn't Everything (1993)
Still Waters (1997)
This Is Where I Came In (2001)

Singles

1960s	"The Battle of the Blue and the Grey" (1963) "Timber!" (1963) "Peace Of Mind" (1964) "Claustrophobia" (1964) "Turn Around, Look at Me" (1964) "Every Day I Have To Cry" (1965) "Wine and Women" (1965) "I Was A Lover, A Leader Of Men" (1965) "I Want Home" (1966) "Monday's Rain" (1966) "Spicks and Specks" (1966) "Born A Man" (1967) "New York Mining Disaster 1941" (1967) "To Love Somebody" (1967) "Holiday" (1967) "Massachusetts" (1967) "World" (1967) "Words" (1968) "And The Sun Will Shine" (1968) "Jumbo/The Singer Sang his Song" (1968) "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" (1968) "I Started a Joke" (1968) "First of May" (1969) "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" (1969) "Don't Forget to Remember" (1969)

1970s	"Let There Be Love" (1970) "If I Only Had My Mind on Something Else" (1970) "I.O.I.O." (1970) "Lonely Days" (1970) "Melody Fair" (1971) "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" (1971) "When The Swallows Fly" (1971) "In The Morning" (1971) "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" (1971) "My World" (1972) "Israel" (1972) "Run to Me" (1972) "Sea Of Smiling Faces" (1972) "Alive" (1972) "Saw a New Morning" (1973) "Wouldn't I Be Someone" (1973) "Mr. Natural" (1974) "Throw a Penny" (1974) "Charade" (1974) "Jive Talkin'" (1975) "Nights on Broadway" (1975) "Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)" (1976) "You Should Be Dancing" (1976) "Love So Right" (1976) "Boogie Child" (1977) "Children Of The World" (1977) "Edge of the Universe" (1977) "How Deep Is Your Love" (1977) "Stayin' Alive" (1977) "Night Fever" (1978) "More Than A Woman" (1978) "Too Much Heaven" (1978) "Tragedy" (1979) "Love You Inside Out" (1979) "Spirits (Having Flown)" (1979)

1980s	"He's a Liar" (1981) "Living Eyes" (1981) "Paradise" (1981) "The Woman in You" (1983) "Someone Belonging to Someone" (1983) "Life Goes On" (1983) "You Win Again" (1987) "E.S.P." (1987) "Crazy For Your Love" (1988) "Angela" (1988) "Ordinary Lives" (1989) "One" (1989)

1990s	"Bodyguard" (1990) "Secret Love" (1991) "When He's Gone" (1991) "The Only Love" (1991) "Happy Ever After" (1991) "Paying the Price of Love" (1993) "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1993) "How to Fall in Love, Part 1" (1994) "Kiss Of Life" (1994) "Alone" (1997) "I Could Not Love You More" (1997) "Still Waters (Run Deep)" (1997)

2000s	"This Is Where I Came In" (2001)

Soundtracks

Melody (1971)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
Staying Alive (1983)

Live albums

Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live (1977)
One Night Only (1998)

Compilation albums

Best of Bee Gees (1969)
Best of Bee Gees, Volume 2 (1973)
Bee Gees Gold (1976)
Bee Gees Greatest (1979)
Tales from the Brothers Gibb (1990)
The Very Best of the Bee Gees (1990)
Their Greatest Hits: The Record (2001)
Number Ones (2004)
Love Songs (2005)
The Ultimate Bee Gees (2009)
Mythology (2010)

Gibb Productions

Andy Gibb's "Flowing Rivers" (1977), "Shadow Dancing" (1978) & "After Dark" (1980)
Jimmy Ruffin's "Sunrise" (1980)
Barbra Streisand's "Guilty" (1980)
Dionne Warwick's "Heartbreaker" (1982)
Kenny Rogers' "Eyes That See in the Dark" (1983)
Diana Ross' "Eaten Alive" (1985)
Carola's "Runaway" (1986)
Barbra Streisand's "Guilty Pleasures" (2005)

Videography

Cucumber Castle (1969)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
The Bee Gees Special (1979)
One For All Tour (1990)
Keppel Road (1997)
One Night Only (1998)
This Is Where I Came In (2001)
Live By Request (2002)
In Our Own Time (2010)

Book:Bee Gees

Faith No More

Mike Patton · Jon Hudson · Billy Gould · Roddy Bottum · Mike Bordin
Chuck Mosley · Jim Martin · Dean Menta · Trey Spruance
Joe Pye · Walter · Paula Frazer · Courtney Love · Jake Crucifix · Mark Stewart · Desmond Trial · Scott Colbertson · Mark Bowen

Studio albums

We Care a Lot · Introduce Yourself · The Real Thing · Angel Dust · King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime · Album of the Year

Live albums

Live at the Brixton Academy

Compilations

Who Cares a Lot? · This Is It: The Best of · Epic and Other Hits · The Platinum Collection · The Works · The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection

Videos

You Fat Bastards: Live at the Brixton Academy · Video Croissant · Who Cares a Lot?: The Greatest Videos · You Fat Bastards/Who Cares a Lot? (DVD)