"Don't Laugh at Me" is a song written by

Allen Shamblin Allen Shamblin is a country music songwriter who was born in Tennessee, and was brought up in Huffman, Texas. After graduating from Sam Houston State University he worked in Austin as a real estate appraiser. In 1987, he quit his job and moved ...

and

Steve Seskin Steve Seskin is an American singer, songwriter, and musician whose songs have been recorded by recording artists Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Waylon Jennings, Tim McGraw, Colin Raye, and Mark Wills among others. The debut single from McGra ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Mark Wills Mark Wills (born Daryl Mark Williams; August 8, 1973) is an American country music artist. Signed to Mercury Records between 1996 and 2003, he released five studio albums for the label – ''Mark Wills'', ''Wish You Were Here'', '' Permanently'' ...

. It was released in July 1998 as the second single from album ''

Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * Wish You Were Here (1987 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * Wish You Were Here (2012 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 ...

''. Like "I Do (Cherish You)" before it, "Don't Laugh at Me" was a number 2 hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country charts. The song received

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

nominations for Country Music Association's Single, Song and Video of the Year in 1998.

Background

Allen Shamblin was inspired to write the song after his school-aged daughter came home and confided that she was being teased by her peers because of her

freckles Freckles are clusters of concentrated melaninized cells which are most easily visible on people with a fair complexion. Freckles do not have an increased number of the melanin-producing cells, or melanocytes, but instead have melanocytes that ...

Content

The song is a ballad in which various characters, from teased children to a homeless man on a street corner, seek acceptance from those around them. Wills has received letters from teachers and students who have said that they can identify with the song's story. According to him, "everyone can relate to

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

��Everyone at some point in their life has been picked on, made fun of or put down." He told ''

'' magazine that the song is "one of the strongest songs I've ever recorded in terms of dealing with life in general."

Music video

The music video was directed by Jim Hershleder and premiered in mid-1998. It features Wills performing the song at a school playground at night, witnessing scenes of bullying as depicted in the song.

Chart performance

"Don't Laugh at Me" debuted at number 69 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of July 18, 1998. The song peaked at number 2 on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart on October 10, 1998, for two weeks and was kept out of the top spot by "

Where the Green Grass Grows "Where the Green Grass Grows" is a song written by Jess Leary and Craig Wiseman, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released on July 13, 1998 as the fifth single from McGraw's '' Everywhere'' album. The song reached n ...

" by

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

Year-end charts

Peter, Paul and Mary version

Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938) is an American singer and songwriter who found fame for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote (with Leonard Lipton) one of the group's best known hits, " Puff, the Magic Dragon". H ...

attended a performance by co-writer Seskin at the

Kerrville Folk Festival The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The Kerrville Folk Festival was founded in 1972 by the husband-wife team of Rod Kennedy an ...

, which led to his recording the song with

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...

. Their version appeared as the sole new recording on their compilation album

Songs of Conscience and Concern ''Songs of Conscience and Concern: A Retrospective Collection'' is a 1999 compilation album by American folk group Peter, Paul and Mary. It was the group's second compilation, following 1970's ''Ten Years Together: The Best of Peter, Paul & Mary ...

. The song helped inspire Yarrow to found the non-profit organization

Operation Respect Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938) is an American singer and songwriter who found fame for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote (with Leonard Lipton) one of the group's best known hits, "Puff, the Magic Dragon". He is ...

, promoting tolerance and civility programs in education. The organization distributes curriculum programs under the "Don't Laugh At Me" name. In conjunction with this program, the song has been made into a

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

including an

afterword An afterword is a literary device that is often found at the end of a piece of literature. It generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or of how the idea for the book was developed. An afterword may be written by someone other ...

by Yarrow. Part of the proceeds from the book go to Operation Respect.

Lagwagon version

In 2014

Lagwagon Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara. They formed in 1989, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the band's tour van, which can ...

recorded a punk rock version of this song which was published as "bonus track" from their record Hang.

References

{{authority control Songs about bullying 1998 singles 1998 songs Mark Wills songs Songs written by Steve Seskin Songs written by Allen Shamblin Song recordings produced by Carson Chamberlain Mercury Records singles 1990s ballads Country ballads