Ha Ha World
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Version 1: Capitol / Beechwood mix
The stereo image is reversed on We Wish You A Larry Christmas |
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Version 2 is a relatively minor remix of version 1. The mix is slightly different, and the song is about twenty seconds shorter - the introduction is removed and the ending shortened. There are no lyrical differences - the Larry Norman mix
Note: the South African Impact LP and the Kingsway CD reverse the stereo image |
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Version 3 is a much less produced version than on Upon This Rock, with just acoustic guitar and Larry's voice. The vocals are at least double tracked through most if not all of the song
Note that the UK vinyl has a reversed stereo image compared to the US vinyl releases Note: this track on the collector's edition of Upon This Rock is denoted as a demo |
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Version 4 is the same recording as version 1, but with the end fading out rather than abruptly stopping
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Upon This Rock [Radio Promo and Illegal Noise CD versions]
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Version 5 is the same recording as version 3, but faded out about two seconds earlier, removing most of the whispering at the end
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Bootleg [Illegal Noise and 2005 CD]
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Version 6 is the same recording as version 1, but edited and in mono, and with Larry talking over a section of it. This is from a 1970 radio broadcast
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Upon This Rock [Collector's Edition CD]
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lyrics versions 1, 2 and 4
Ha ha world
Every day I used to write you a letter
But you never wrote back
And you never made me feel any better
Always sat in here
Fretting and getting confused
Halfway desperate
For a headline of hope in the news
When the telephone rang
I spilled it all over my sweater
Oh yeah
The call was for me
And I answered the phone in the kitchen (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
But the room was too hot
I forgot I was cooking my chicken (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I was burning like hell
But the stove wasn't on
Then the voice on the line
Says the chicken is gone
The receiver goes dead and it
Hums while the plot starts to thicken
Oh oh yeah oh
Would I have hung up the phone had I known
The whole room would start swaying (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I was instantly cold
And I knew why my life wasn't paying (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I had money and fame
But my wealth wasn't wise
What good are the coins on a dead man's eyes
And the ringing of chimes in my head
Said it's time to start praying
Oh oh yeah oh
I’ve been sitting here praying
And laying up treasures in heaven (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I was home and the front door was locked
When the clock struck eleven (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I heard the bride outside yell millennium
Though the sun was still up
The twelfth hour has come
The bible says
Without a vision the people perish
Every day I used to write you a letter
But you never wrote back
And you never made me feel any better
Always sat in here
Fretting and getting confused
Halfway desperate
For a headline of hope in the news
When the telephone rang
I spilled it all over my sweater
Oh yeah
The call was for me
And I answered the phone in the kitchen (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
But the room was too hot
I forgot I was cooking my chicken (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I was burning like hell
But the stove wasn't on
Then the voice on the line
Says the chicken is gone
The receiver goes dead and it
Hums while the plot starts to thicken
Oh oh yeah oh
Would I have hung up the phone had I known
The whole room would start swaying (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I was instantly cold
And I knew why my life wasn't paying (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I had money and fame
But my wealth wasn't wise
What good are the coins on a dead man's eyes
And the ringing of chimes in my head
Said it's time to start praying
Oh oh yeah oh
I’ve been sitting here praying
And laying up treasures in heaven (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I was home and the front door was locked
When the clock struck eleven (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I heard the bride outside yell millennium
Though the sun was still up
The twelfth hour has come
The bible says
Without a vision the people perish
lyrics versions 3 and 5
Ha ha world
Every day I used to write you a letter
But you never wrote back
And you never made me feel any better
Always sat in here
Fretting and getting confused
Halfway desperate
For a headline of hope in the news
When the telephone rang
Well I spilled it all over my sweater
Ah ah
The call is for me
And I answer the phone in the kitchen
The room was too hot
I forgot I was cooking a chicken
It was burning like hell
But the stove wasn't on
And the voice on the line
Says the chicken is gone
The receiver goes dead and it
Hums while the plot starts to thicken
Oh oh yeah oh-oh-ah-ah
Would I have hung up the phone had I known
The whole room would start swaying
It was instantly cold
And I knew why my life wasn't paying
I had money and fame
But my wealth wasn't wise
What good are the coins on a dead man's eyes
And the ringing of chimes in my head
Said it's time to start (praying) praying
Yeah
Yeh yeh yeh yehyaoo
Badabadidandee-ah-na
I’ve been sitting here praying
And laying up treasures in heaven
I was home and the front door was locked
When the clock struck eleven
I heard the bride outside yell millennium
Though the sun was still up
The twelfth hour has come
(One, two) The bible says
(Three, four, five, six, seven) Without a vision the people perish (perish)
Shhh [Whispers something]
Every day I used to write you a letter
But you never wrote back
And you never made me feel any better
Always sat in here
Fretting and getting confused
Halfway desperate
For a headline of hope in the news
When the telephone rang
Well I spilled it all over my sweater
Ah ah
The call is for me
And I answer the phone in the kitchen
The room was too hot
I forgot I was cooking a chicken
It was burning like hell
But the stove wasn't on
And the voice on the line
Says the chicken is gone
The receiver goes dead and it
Hums while the plot starts to thicken
Oh oh yeah oh-oh-ah-ah
Would I have hung up the phone had I known
The whole room would start swaying
It was instantly cold
And I knew why my life wasn't paying
I had money and fame
But my wealth wasn't wise
What good are the coins on a dead man's eyes
And the ringing of chimes in my head
Said it's time to start (praying) praying
Yeah
Yeh yeh yeh yehyaoo
Badabadidandee-ah-na
I’ve been sitting here praying
And laying up treasures in heaven
I was home and the front door was locked
When the clock struck eleven
I heard the bride outside yell millennium
Though the sun was still up
The twelfth hour has come
(One, two) The bible says
(Three, four, five, six, seven) Without a vision the people perish (perish)
Shhh [Whispers something]
lyrics version 6
He calls it Ha Ha World and unless you really listen you'll think Larry Norman is putting us on [Spoken by host]
Ha ha world
Every day I used to write you a letter
But you never wrote back
And you never made me feel any better
Always sat in here
Fretting and getting confused
Halfway desperate
For a headline of hope in the news
When the telephone rang
I spilled it all over my sweater
Oh yeah
Would I have hung up the phone had I known
The whole room would start swaying (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I was instantly cold
And I knew why my life wasn't paying (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I had money and fame
But my wealth wasn't wise
What good are the coins on a dead man's eyes
And the ringing of chimes in my head
Said it's time to start praying
Oh oh yeah oh
I’ve been sitting here praying
And laying up treasures in heaven (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I was home and the front door was locked
When the clock struck eleven (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I heard the bride outside yell millennium
Though the sun was still up
The twelfth hour has come
The bible says
Without a vision the people perish
[Continues with reduced volume]
Larry why don't you explain your underlying thought in Ha Ha World? [Spoken by host]
A man organises his life the way he thinks it's best and he goes through his life and at the end of a, a portion of his life he discovers he's not happy. Perhaps he discovers God. In this case in Ha Ha World he discovers God and he discovers that without a vision the people perish, without God the world can't hope to find peace [Spoken by Larry]
Ha ha world
Every day I used to write you a letter
But you never wrote back
And you never made me feel any better
Always sat in here
Fretting and getting confused
Halfway desperate
For a headline of hope in the news
When the telephone rang
I spilled it all over my sweater
Oh yeah
Would I have hung up the phone had I known
The whole room would start swaying (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I was instantly cold
And I knew why my life wasn't paying (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I had money and fame
But my wealth wasn't wise
What good are the coins on a dead man's eyes
And the ringing of chimes in my head
Said it's time to start praying
Oh oh yeah oh
I’ve been sitting here praying
And laying up treasures in heaven (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I was home and the front door was locked
When the clock struck eleven (Ha ha world, ha ha world)
I heard the bride outside yell millennium
Though the sun was still up
The twelfth hour has come
The bible says
Without a vision the people perish
[Continues with reduced volume]
Larry why don't you explain your underlying thought in Ha Ha World? [Spoken by host]
A man organises his life the way he thinks it's best and he goes through his life and at the end of a, a portion of his life he discovers he's not happy. Perhaps he discovers God. In this case in Ha Ha World he discovers God and he discovers that without a vision the people perish, without God the world can't hope to find peace [Spoken by Larry]
When I was living alone in Hollywood, in a one room apartment with a refrigerator inside the closet, I wrote this song, picturing myself as a man who was trying to fit into the world and finding no acceptance. Every day he tries to "write a letter" to the world; trying to achieve significance but never receiving any acknowledgment. He begins to despair, giving up hope of ever finding happiness.
There is an intervention from a disembodied voice on the phone. It is an announcement, a prophetic disruption in his desperate existence. He tries to avoid the force of truth by escaping into his isolation. He hangs up the phone but finds himself in an alternate state, suddenly seeing himself as a sinner and hedonist. He realizes that he has built his life in a wasteland and that his pursuit of materialism has burdened him and caused him to be hardened against kindness and patience.
He sees that his pursuits have led him down a dead-end street. He begins crying out to God for help. He starts to see his life and human history in perspective, even coming to understand that God has devised an end, just as He had created a beginning; that without knowledge the people suffer; without a vision the people perish. Without true understanding of spiritual truth, there is no cause for hope. He ends up praying and laying up true treasures in Heaven, instead of the accumulation of worldly wealth which leads to hopelessness.
There is an intervention from a disembodied voice on the phone. It is an announcement, a prophetic disruption in his desperate existence. He tries to avoid the force of truth by escaping into his isolation. He hangs up the phone but finds himself in an alternate state, suddenly seeing himself as a sinner and hedonist. He realizes that he has built his life in a wasteland and that his pursuit of materialism has burdened him and caused him to be hardened against kindness and patience.
He sees that his pursuits have led him down a dead-end street. He begins crying out to God for help. He starts to see his life and human history in perspective, even coming to understand that God has devised an end, just as He had created a beginning; that without knowledge the people suffer; without a vision the people perish. Without true understanding of spiritual truth, there is no cause for hope. He ends up praying and laying up true treasures in Heaven, instead of the accumulation of worldly wealth which leads to hopelessness.
A man organises his life the way he thinks is best and he goes through his life and at the end of a portion of his life he discovers he's not happy. Perhaps he discovers God. In this case, in Ha Ha World he discovers God and he discovers that without a vision the people perish. Without God, the world can't hope to find peace.
