Song Lyric of the Day (Hall and Oates, on Those Who Laugh at Love)

“Everybody always laughs at love

But what they want is to be proven wrong.” —Daryl Hall and John Oates, “Did It in a Minute,” written by Sara Allen, Janna Allen, and Daryl Hall, from the Hall and Oates Private Eyes LP (1981)

It’s funny, but I’ve heard this song countless times over the years, but—perhaps because the intonation of the line differed from the rest of the song—never really paid attention to these particular lyrics. It’s only within the past week or so, in a moment of absolute stillness and concentration, that I finally heard and understood them.

Daryl Hall, by the way, wrote the song with his longtime girlfriend Sara Allen (inspiration for “Sara Smile”) and her sister Janna—who, tragically, died of leukemia at age 36.