Introduction:
Robin Gibb and the Song That Broke Him
When Robin Gibb stepped onto the stage to sing “I Started a Joke,” the crowd heard beauty — but he felt pain. Behind one of the Bee Gees’ most haunting ballads lay a confession so personal that Robin later admitted, “Every time I sing it, it brings me to my knees.”
Written in 1968, the song’s mournful tone and cryptic lyrics spoke of loneliness, misunderstanding, and quiet despair. To fans, it was poetic. To Robin, it was a reflection of his own sadness — the feeling of crying while the world laughed. He once said the words seemed to come from “somewhere else,” as if they had chosen him.
As fame grew, Robin’s fragility deepened. Within the Bee Gees, tension often flared between him and his brother Barry. Feeling overshadowed, Robin briefly left the group in 1969. Though they reconciled, the emotional wounds never fully healed.
Through the disco era and beyond, audiences continued to request “I Started a Joke.” They played it at weddings, funerals, and moments of grief, finding comfort in its sorrow. But for Robin, each performance reopened the wound. “It wasn’t just a song,” one friend recalled. “It was his soul.”
After the death of his twin brother Maurice in 2003, the song took on even deeper meaning. Every lyric — “I finally died, which started the whole world living” — became a mirror of loss and love.
Robin’s voice trembled until the end, carrying decades of emotion that no stage lights could hide. The irony was cruel yet beautiful: a song born from sadness became the anthem that gave him immortality.
“I Started a Joke” wasn’t just music. It was Robin Gibb’s confession — one that still echoes long after his voice has faded.