When Robin Gibb took the stage to perform “I Started a Joke,” audiences were captivated by the haunting beauty of the song, yet Robin himself experienced profound pain with every note. This Bee Gees classic, written in 1968, carried a weight far beyond its melancholic melody and cryptic lyrics, embodying a deeply personal confession from Robin that he later revealed would bring him to his knees each time he sang it.
The song’s mournful tone spoke volumes of loneliness, misunderstanding, and quiet despair. To the fans, it was poetic artistry; to Robin, it reflected his own inner sadness—a sense of shedding tears silently while the world around him laughed. He once shared that the lyrics seemed to emerge from “somewhere else,” as if they had chosen him rather than the other way around.
As the Bee Gees found massive fame, Robin’s emotional fragility only intensified, exacerbated by tensions within the group, particularly with his brother Barry. Feeling overshadowed and underappreciated, Robin made the difficult decision to leave the band briefly in 1969. Although the brothers eventually reconciled, the emotional scars lingered beneath the surface.
Throughout the rollercoaster of the disco era and the years that followed, “I Started a Joke” remained a song audiences clamored for, played at weddings, funerals, and moments marked by sorrow and reflection. Its sorrowful message offered comfort to many, but for Robin, every rendition was a reopening of old wounds. A close friend explained,
“It wasn’t just a song,” said Mark Thompson, a longtime family friend. “It was his soul. Every time he sang it, you could feel the raw emotion that no lights or applause could mask.”
The song gained additional layers of meaning after the tragic death of Robin’s twin brother, Maurice, in 2003. The lyric, “I finally died, which started the whole world living,” suddenly resonated as an echo of loss, grief, and resilience intertwined with love. This personal connection made each performance even more heart-rending.
Until his final days, Robin’s voice would tremble with the weight of decades of emotion. The sorrow that “I Started a Joke” carried was a cruel irony: it was a song born from sadness, yet it became the anthem that immortalized Robin Gibb’s legacy.
Music historian Dr. Janet Ellis remarked on the enduring impact of the song and Robin’s delivery,
“Robin’s voice on this song was imbued with a rare vulnerability. It’s what made his performances unforgettable and deeply moving. Listeners don’t just hear the music; they feel the man’s pain and soul through every word.”
The poignancy of “I Started a Joke” remains an indelible part of Robin Gibb’s story—a confession etched in melody and emotion, echoing long after his voice has faded.
