It’s not that funny is it
When you don’t know what it is
But you can’t get enough of it
It’s not that funny is it?
Don’t blame me
Please, please, please
I didn’t wanna bleed so
I didn’t wanna be this late
So don’t make me wait
And it’s not that funny is it
No one to turn you on
All your hope is gone
And it’s not that funny is it
Hey, yeah
So don’t blame me
Please, please, please
You’re here ’cause I say so
Didn’t wanna be this late
So don’t make me
Don’t make me wait
Here comes the nightime
Looking for a little more
Working on checking out
Somebody outside the door
Yeah
Ah huh
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Ah huh
Ah huh
Ah huh
It’s not that funny is it
You can’t get enough of it
It’s not that funny is it
Not that funny
Not that funny
Can’t get enough of it
Not that funny is it
Not that funny is it
Not too funny, huh
It’s not that funny is it, not!
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
(Lindsey Buckingham) © 1979 Now Sounds Music (ASCAP)
About the Song
Lindsey’s sarcastic rocking with a distinctive, plangent guitar sound was extended into an eight-minute tour de force at subsequent live shows. A slightly remixed version was issued as a single in the U.K. but didn’t chart.
Lindsey: “This was directed at Stevie a little bit. There’s something we are still having to deal with as a band: ‘What’s important here? People thinking you’re cool or thinking you’re cool yourself?’ It’s more how you feel about yourself, isn’t it? This is a classic pitfall of the entertainment industry. It draws people to it who are looking for a Band-Aid to fix things that have happened in their lives. The celebrity culture we live in is a very Roman manifestation of something gone a little wrong with the value system. It doesn’t speak of substance; it only speaks of visibility. It’s about not buying into other people’s idea of you — that’s the important thing.
The guitar sound is just a Stratocaster; but I love using the VSO (Variable Sound Oscillation, or Varispeed, allows you to incrementally speed up or slow down a taper recorder). I just slow the machine down, come up with a picking part like that, double or triple it and tweak the VSO on either side so that it’s slightly out of tune, and the whole thing comes out with all this phasing.”
—Tusk Deluxe Edition (2015) liner notes
Chart Performance
In February 1980, a remixed version of “Not The Funny” was released as the third single from Tusk in the UK. “Save Me a Place” was the b-side song.
In 2015, the single remix was reissued on the deluxe and expanded editions of Tusk.
