How a Soap Opera Hijacked the Meaning of a Personal Christopher Cross Song in 1983

When you release a song into the world, you generally lose control of the life it takes on from that point. There are many examples throughout music history where the songwriter’s intent has far diverged from the perceived meaning.

Christopher Cross can likely relate to this scenario. He wrote the song “Think Of Laura” in reference to a real-life tragedy. And then a soap opera plot took it in an entirely different direction.

Tragedy Begets a Song

Following up a massive success like the one that Christopher Cross enjoyed with his self-titled debut album was never going to be easy. Maybe that’s why Cross took four years to come back with Another Page in 1983. In the interim, the huge movie single “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” kept him in the limelight.

Cross included “Think Of Laura” as an album track on Another Page. He likely didn’t consider it single material because it was such a personal song. After all, he wrote it about a young woman named Laura Carter, an innocent bystander who was killed by a bullet fired during a gang shootout nearby.

Carter was best friends with Cross’ girlfriend at the time, which is why he was inspired to write the track. “Think Of Laura” might have remained in the realm of beloved album cuts. But then the producers of General Hospital came along and utterly changed the trajectory of the song.

A Soapy Connection

It might be hard to imagine now, considering that soap operas are hardly clinging to relevance these days. But once upon a time, they could actually be kingmakers of sorts for musicians who landed songs on them. Even better if the song became a kind of anthem, which is what “Think Of Laura” became for General Hospital.

Circa 1983, which is when “Think Of Laura” emerged, the show’s supercouple, Luke and Laura, had been split up because Laura had gone missing. As such, Cross’ song made for a kind of emotional shorthand for the storyline. Realizing what was happening, Cross’ record company hustled it out as a single.

Sure enough, the song caught fire. It landed at No. 9 on the pop charts. As it turned out, it proved to be a kind of milestone in Cross’ career. Fans soon moved away from the pop-rock genre that he represented. His popularity declined in kind, resulting in “Think Of Laura” being his final Top 40 hit.

Behind the Lyrics of “Think Of Laura”

“Think Of Laura” pays tribute to Laura Carter with Cross’ first-hand account of the impact that she made. “A girl with those eyes could see through the lies,” he sings. “And see what your heart was saying.” Cross hints at the tragedy, mentioning how this “friend of a friend” was “taken away without warning.”

“I know you, and you’re here,” Cross testifies. “In every day we live.” As for those left behind, he offers this bit of advice: “Think of Laura, but laugh, don’t cry/I know she’d want it that way.” Cross wisely underplays the sorrow, knowing that his plainspoken approach will uncork the emotions well enough.

Maybe Christopher Cross couldn’t have foreseen this song turning into the soundtrack of an over-the-top plot on a daytime soap. But he’s likely grateful that it did. That turn of events exposed “Think Of Laura” and, by proxy, the subject of the lyrical tribute to a much wider audience than otherwise might have occurred.

(Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)

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