Piano Man - Billy Joel
I love this song... it's one of my favourites. It has a beautiful melody but it's really the lyrics that get me. I didn't pay attention to the lyrics until the time I was driving through Massachusetts towards Boston... or was it North Adams? Anyway, I was with Kari. The snow was on the ground and in the bare, leafless branches of the trees. We were driving through the mountains and past Victorian era houses and it all looked so 'Little Women'. I was holding Kari's hand on her thigh as she drove along and we'd look at each other and everything would just be perfect. Sometimes I'd think I wanted to freeze that moment in time and just be able to look back on it like that forever... always be going along in my life with her by my side and in my hand and in my ears and my eyes... with us like that always. Just happy to be together. And in the midst of it all was Billy Joel, blasting away on the car stereo. Kari could sing all the words and although I knew the tune and the chorus, I'd never listened properly to it, so I pulled out the lyrics and had a look. I was really amazed by the beauty in the lines... they're not your usual, let's have a boppy song that will make money type of lines. They have not just got meaning, but they have a real charisma to them. They flow and they catch onto something in your soul and make you stop and listen; make you stop and reevaluate. They make you think of yourself in the same situation, or to listen to the song in relation to the situation that you're currently in. My favourite line is: 'As a smile ran away from his face'. To me, that line is perfection. :)
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Making love to his tonic and gin
He says, "Son can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet
And I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes"
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's some place that he'd rather be
He says "Bill, I believe this is killing me,"
As a smile ran away from his face
"Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talking with Davy who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinking alone
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say "Man, what are you doing here?"
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Making love to his tonic and gin
He says, "Son can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet
And I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes"
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's some place that he'd rather be
He says "Bill, I believe this is killing me,"
As a smile ran away from his face
"Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talking with Davy who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinking alone
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say "Man, what are you doing here?"
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright