Don't call pretty Peggy, she can't hear you no more
Don't leave no message 'round her back door.
They say the old laughing lady been here before
She don't keep time, she don't count score.

You can't have a cupboard if there ain't no wall.
You got to move there's no time left to stall.
They say the old laughing lady dropped by to call
And when she leaves, she leaves nothing at all.

See the drunkard of the village falling on the street.
Can't tell his ankles from the rest of his feet.
He loves his old laughing lady 'cause her taste is so sweet.
But his laughing lady's loving ain't the kind he can keep.

There's a fever on the freeway, blacks out the night.
There's a slipping on the stairway, just don't feel right
And there's a rumbling in the bedroom and a flashing of light
There's the old laughing lady, everything is all right.