| "Should I Laugh or Cry" | |
|---|---|
| Song by ABBA | |
| from the album Thank You for the Music | |
| A-side | "One of Us" |
| Released | 30 November 1981 |
| Genre | Synth-pop[1] |
| Songwriter(s) | Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus |
| Audio | |
| "Should I Laugh Or Cry" on YouTube | |
"Should I Laugh or Cry" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA, released as the B-side to the 1981 singles "One of Us" and "When All Is Said and Done" for the album The Visitors. Lead vocals were handled by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. It first appeared on an album on the 1983 compilation Thank You for the Music.
ABBA - Uncensored on the Record says: "Should I Laugh or Cry" is "a rather bitter song" about the end of a relationship.[2] ABBA: Let the Music Speak explains it as "reflect[ing] a failing relationship's pre-emptive strikes of anger and contemplation". The narrator is the "emotionally afflicted party", both "volatile and pitiless" in the verses yet "tender and forgiving" in the choruses. There is a sense that this is the last time the narrator will put up with this situation.[3]
 | This section contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. (January 2022) |
The chorus harmonies are "intricate" and "close-knit". Agnetha's "dreamy echo vocal" adds a sense of sadness to Frida's "fiery sentiments". The song has "deep percusive strikes" and also a "defiant electric glissando" in the verses, and a "lilting acoustic" in the chorus.[3]
While originally recorded on 4 September 1981 during sessions for the album The Visitors,[4] "Should I Laugh or Cry" was ultimately not included. However, the song is included on Thank You for the Music (1983)[5] and as a bonus track on remastered reissues of The Visitors.[2]
