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Billy Joel - Famous Last Words

Billy Joel - Famous Last Words Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: River Of Dreams
Released: 1993

Famous Last Words Lyrics

Sitting here in Avalon, looking at the pouring rain
Summertime has come and gone and everybody's home again

Closing down for the season, I found the last of the souvenirs
I can still taste the wedding cake and it's sweet after all these years

These are the last words I have to say
That's why this took so long to write
There will be other words some other day
But that's the story of my life

There's comfort in my coffee cup and apples in the early fall
They're pulling all the moorings up and gathering at the Legion Hall
They swept away all the streamers after the Labor Day parade
Nothing left for a dream now, only one final serenade

And these are the last words I have to say
Before another age goes by
With all those other songs I'll have to play
But that's the story of my life

And it's so clear standing here where I am
Ain't that what justice is for?
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn anymore

Stack the chairs on the table tops
Hang the sheets on the chandeliers
It slows down but it never stops
Ain't it sweet after all these years

And these are the last words I have to say
It's always hard to say goodbye
But now it's time to put this book away
And that's the story of my life

These are the last words I have to say
That's why this took so long to write
There will be other words some other day
Ain't that the story of my life

These are the last words I have to say
Before another age goes by
With all those other songs I'll have to play
Ain't that the story of my life

Writer/s: BILLY JOEL
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Famous Last Words

By the time Billy Joel came to record River Of Dreams, he had become disillusioned with the music business. He sings on the album's closing track:.

"These are the last words I have to say
That's why this took so long to write
There will be other words some other day
But that's the story of my life"

Co-producer Danny Kortchmar explained in Mojo magazine: "He was intimating that he might be running out of ideas and becoming less happy with writing Pop songs. That's why the last song on the album is called 'Famous Last Words.'"

Billy Joel - The Longest Time

Billy Joel - The Longest Time Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: An Innocent Man
Released: 1983

The Longest Time Lyrics

Oh, oh, oh
For The Longest Time
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest
If you said goodbye to me tonight
There would still be music left to write
What else could I do
I'm so inspired by you
That hasn't happened for the longest time

Once I thought my innocence was gone
Now I know that happiness goes on
That's where you found me
When you put your arms around me
I haven't been there for the longest time

Oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest
I'm that voice you're hearing in the hall
And the greatest miracle of all
Is how I need you
And how you needed me too
That hasn't happened for the longest time

Maybe this won't last very long
But you feel so right
And I could be wrong
Maybe I've been hoping too hard
But I've gone this far
And it's more than I hoped for

Who knows how much further we'll go on
Maybe I'll be sorry when you're gone
I'll take my chances
I forgot how nice romance is
I haven't been there for the longest time

I had second thoughts at the start
I said to myself
Hold on to your heart
Now I know the woman that you are
You're wonderful so far
And it's more than I hoped for

I don't care what consequence it brings
I have been a fool for lesser things
I want you so bad
I think you ought to know that
I intend to hold you for the longest time

Writer/s: BILLY JOEL
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Longest Time

This song would be considered "next-to" a cappella - it contains only one actual instrument, that being a bass guitar. Everything else is voice, finger snaps and claps.

The song is a tribute to the Doo-Wop sounds of the '50s that Joel loved, complete with lyrics about being crazy in love with a girl. The song began, however, as a classical piano piece Joel was working on, which is also how is song "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" came about.

Joel did all the vocal tracks himself, which required him to cover a lot of range. The original plan was to bring in a vocal group to sing it with him, but that didn't work out. Joel's producer Phil Ramone told Billy that their best option was for him to do it all himself.

On the TV show Family Guy, this song was used in a flashback to discuss the invention of singing. It showed several cavemen sitting around grunting, until they all spontaneously break out into this song.

The song got a lot of airplay in Philadelphia, where Joel was always a very popular artist. It was even played on Soul stations there, and the song became a favorite of the guys who would later form the vocal group Boyz II Men. When Howard Stern hosted a Billy Joel town hall special in 2014, Boyz II Men performed this song. They explained that when they were going to high school, most of the selections for acapella groups were much older songs, but this one was "the most contemporary song we could sing and still be cool."

In the music video, directed by Jay Dubin, Joel sits alone after his high school reunion, class of '59, and recalls the good old days with his doo-wop group. Fans have been wondering about the janitor in the clip for years. Was he an old-school doo-wop star making a sly cameo? Dubin told us the answer , along with an unfortunate reminder of black stereotypes in the '80s:

"No, that's all bulls--t," he said of the rumors. "This is how that guy gets hired: There was this black guy who got us all this talent on one of the other music videos, I think 'Tell Her About It.' I remember he used to come in the office all the time saying, 'Hey, you got any work for me?'

[Producer] Jon Small said, 'No, but I need an older guy who looks like a janitor.' He said, 'No problem.' He gets on the phone: 'Uncle Willy? you want to be on TV?'

'Yeah, Uncle Willy'll do it.' He says to Jon, 'How much?' Jon says, 'A hundred dollars.' He says, 'Uncle Willy, I'll make you fifty dollars!' He took fifty and gave Uncle Willy fifty. That's all I remember about that. [Laughing]

Who the guy was, I have no idea. Was it racist? Absolutely. Back then, 8 out of 10 janitors at the local schools were black. They wanted to do that.

All I had to do was make sure the pictures looked good, he was in sync, and it was edited well. That was all I had to do. It was easy."

This is the only song with the word "Longest" in the title ever to chart on the Hot 100.

Billy Joel - And So It Goes

Billy Joel - And So It Goes Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Storm Front
Released: 1989

And So It Goes Lyrics

In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense

And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And So It Goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose

But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows.

Writer/s: JOEL, BILLY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

And So It Goes

Joel started writing this song in the early 1980s about a relationship he was having with supermodel Elle MacPherson. Their backgrounds (and heights) were so different that he knew the relationship would fail, which it did. He predicted the end of the affair with the line, "And you can have this heart to break."

The title comes from television journalist Linda Ellerbee's signature line and best-selling book title.

When Joel appeared on The Howard Stern Show in 2010, he said that this was his least-appreciated song - the best one that casual fans aren't aware of.

Billy Joel - The River Of Dreams

Billy Joel - The River Of Dreams Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: River Of Dreams
Released: 1993

The River Of Dreams Lyrics

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
From the mountains of faith
To a river so deep

I must be looking for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it's too hard to cross

And even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and I stand on the shore
And try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find out what I've been looking for

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the valley of fear
To a river so deep

And I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I would never lose
Something somebody stole

I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is that I've been looking for

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To a river so deep

I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind

In the middle of the night

I'm not sure about a life after this
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That runs to the promised land

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep

We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By The River Of Dreams

In the middle of the night

Writer/s: JOEL, BILLY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The River Of Dreams

Billy Joel gets a lot of song ideas in his dreams, and often struggles to remember them when he wakes up. For this song, however, he woke up with the song in his head, but tried NOT to write it. He explained on The Howard Stern Show in 2010: "I thought, Who the hell am I to try to pull off this gospel song, so I took a shower to wash this song away. I sang it in the shower and knew I had to do it."

In Joel's dream, he was "walking in his sleep," which inspired that lyric.

Joel has said that the phrase "River of Dreams" is a play on the phrase "Stream of Consciousness."

This is a very spiritual song where Joel, who identifies himself as an atheist, includes some biblical imagery, including the line, "Through the valley of fear," which is a reference to Psalm 23:4 - "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Joel also says that the river is a religious image, as "there's baptizing in a river and you have to cross the river - people are getting dunked in the river and there's rivers of blood."

The cover of the River Of Dreams album was painted by supermodel Christie Brinkley, who was Joel's second wife.

Danny Kortchmar co-produced this song with Joe Nicolo, who was also the engineer. In the '70s, Kortchmar toured and recorded with James Taylor, and also played on popular albums by Jackson Browne, David Crosby/Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt and many others. Some of his other production credits include the albums Blaze of Glory by Jon Bon Jovi and End Of The Innocence by Don Henley. In our interview with Kortchmar , he talked about his production philosophy, which suited the introspective nature of this track:

"Get the most out of the artists you're working for. And get something that's true to them and that represents them and is also catchy and is going to attract people - attract ears. So it's really just a matter of being true to the artist's original vision of himself, because I'm not one of these people that wants to be a svengali and wants to change somebody into something else."

Joel performed this song at the Grammy Awards ceremony in 1994, where it was up for Record of the Year (it lost to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You"). Joel, backed by a large gospel choir on a set designed to look like a church, used the false ending about two-and-a-half minutes into the song as an opportunity to make a point: instead of waiting a beat and continuing the song, he stopped cold, looked at his watch and said, "Valuable advertising time going by... dollars." Joel later said that he was protesting because producers cut off Frank Sinatra's acceptance speech earlier in the telecast when Sinatra was given a Legend Award.

The video was directed by Andy Morahan, who also did Joel's clip for "The Downeaster Alexa." It was shot in Connecticut; the bridge scenes were done at the Providence & Worcester railroad bridge in Middletown, which crosses the Connecticut River. Joel's daughter, Alexa Ray, and wife, Christie Brinkley, appear in the video along the riverbank with Brinkley painting the album cover.

Billy Joel - You're My Home

Billy Joel - You're My Home Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Piano Man
Released: 1975

You're My Home Lyrics

When you look into my eyes
And you see the crazy gypsy in my soul
It always comes as a surprise
When I feel my withered roots begin to grow

Well I never had a place
That I could call my very own
But that's all right my love
'Cause You're My Home

When you touch my weary head
And you tell me everything will be all right
You say use my body for your bed
And my love will keep you warm throughout the night

Well I'll never be a stranger
And I'll never be alone
Wherever we're together
That's my home

Home could be the Pennsylvania turnpike
Indiana's early morning dew
High up in the hills of California
Home is just another word for you

Well I never had a place that I could call my very own
But that's all right my love 'cause you're my home

If I travel all my life
And I never get stop and settle down
Long as I have you by my side
There's a roof above and good walls all around
You're my castle, you're my cabin
And my instant pleasure dome
I need you in my house
'Cause you're my home
You're my home

Writer/s: JOEL, BILLY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

You're My Home

Joel wrote this for his wife as a Valentine's Day present because he couldn't afford chocolate or flowers.

This was released as the B-side of the "Piano Man" single.

When you ask most songwriters if there are any cover songs they particularly despise, they usually dodge the question, since these covers put money in their pockets. Joel, however, gave an honest answer when asked this question by Uncut magazine in 1998. Said Joel: "Helen Reddy once cut something of mine, a song called 'You're My Home,' which wasn't great. I did it at a gig once and introduced it sayin,' 'This is a song of mine Helen Reddy cut... to pieces.' Turns out her husband or her manager was in the audience, and they were talkin' about suing me. Then Helen got in touch and said she was never recording one of my songs again, and I was like, 'D'you promise?' Kind of a smart-ass reply – maybe I shoulda just shut up. I gotta let these things go, it shouldn't bother me. I mean, I hear my stuff in elevators and I think somebody actually went to the trouble of putting together this really trite arrangement between jingle sessions. I get a kick out of it, it means the music has a life of its own."

Billy Joel - Only The Good Die Young

Billy Joel - Only The Good Die Young Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Stranger
Released: 1977

Only The Good Die Young Lyrics

Come out Virginia, don't let 'em wait
You Catholic girls start much too late
Aw but sooner or later it comes down to faith
Oh I might as well be the one

Well, they showed you a statue, told you to pray
They built you a temple and locked you away
Aw, but they never told you the price that you pay
For things that you might have done
Only The Good Die Young
That's what I said
Only the good die young
Only the good die young

You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd
We ain't too pretty we ain't too proud
We might be laughing a bit too loud
Aw but that never hurt no one

So come on Virginia show me a sign
Send up a signal and I'll throw you the line
The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind
Never let's in the sun
Darlin' only the good die young
Woah
I tell ya
Only the good die young
Only the good die young

You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation
You got a brand new soul
Mmm, and a cross of gold
But Virginia they didn't give you quite enough information
You didn't count on me
When you were counting on your rosary
(Oh woah woah)

They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better but I say it ain't
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
The sinners are much more fun

You know that only the good die young
I tell ya
Only the good die young
Only the good die young

Well your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation
Aw she never cared for me
But did she ever say a prayer for me? oh woah woah

Come out come out come out Virginia don't let 'em wait
You Catholic girls start much too late
Oh sooner or later it comes down to faith
Oh I might as well be the one
You know that only the good die young

I'm telling you baby
You know that only the good die young
Only the good die young
Only the good
Only the good die young

Writer/s: JOEL, BILLY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Only The Good Die Young

Virginia was Virginia Callaghan, a girl Billy had a crush on when he first started playing in a band. She didn't even know he existed until she saw him in a gig, but thirteen years later he used her as the main character in this song about a Catholic girl who won't have premarital sex.

Many musicians join bands to meet girls, but few overachieve the way Joel did, dating models and even marrying one of them (Christie Brinkley). Virginia Callaghan was the first of these girls that thought differently of Joel when she saw him perform. Billy explained to Uncut in 1998: "I originally started in bands just to meet girls – it was round the time The Beatles first hit America – but I didn't know you could actually make a living out of it. My first gig was in a church, about '64 – we did Beatles songs, and this girl I had a crush on, Virginia Callaghan, who normally wouldn't look twice at me, just stared at me through the whole gig. And I thought, 'This is so cool!' And then all these other girls were lookin' at me as well. Then, at the end of the night, the priest comes up and gives us like 15 dollars apiece, which in '64 was a fortune! Girls and money! Man, I was hooked."

This song was originally recorded with a Reggae groove, which can be heard on some bootlegs that were inadvertently leaked via drummer Liberty DeVito's camp. DeVito didn't like the Reggae beat, which is why Joel changed it. (thanks, Barry Kesten - Bellmore, United States)

This didn't do very well until church officials around the US heard it and condemned the song. The controversy was great publicity and sent the song up the charts. Joel recalled to the Metro newspaper July 6, 2006 about the controversy stirred up by this number: "That song was released as a single back in 1977, I think. It was not really doing very well, just languishing in the charts. Then it was banned by a radio station in New Jersey at a Catholic university. The minute the kids found out it was banned, they ran out in droves and it became a huge hit. If you tell kids they can't have something, that's what they want. I don't understand the problem with the song. It's about a guy trying to seduce a girl but, at the end of the song, she's still chaste and pure and he hasn't got anything. So I never understood what the furor was about. But I did write a letter to the archdiocese who'd banned it, asking them to ban my next record."

Joel told USA Today July 9, 2008: "Jewish guilt is visceral it's in the stomach. Catholic guilt is in the belfry of the cerebrum, it's gothic and its got incense, bells tolling, and it has all to do with sin. I wanted to write a song about it, about a guy trying to seduce a Catholic girl. I don't know what all the fuss was about, because she stayed chaste. I remember taking it over to the drummer, Liberty (DeVitto). 'Well, it's true,' he said, 'but I don't know how people are going to respond to it!"

Melissa Etheridge did a particularly prurient version of this song at a 2014 Billy Joel town hall event hosted by Howard Stern. Etheridge explained that she grew up playing Joel's songs in piano bars and cover bands, but she never had the chance to perform this one, which was one of her favorites. She explained: "It was the end of the '70s, and a girl could not sing this song. But of all of his songs, this one really resonated with me. When I was a senior in high school, it hit really close to home. The song is about pure lust. It's the physical, carnal pleasure: let's do it."

Billy Joel - Summer, Highland Falls

Billy Joel - Summer, Highland Falls Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Turnstiles
Released: 1976

Summer, Highland Falls Lyrics

They say that these are not the best of times
But they're the only times I've ever known
And I believe there is a time for meditation
In cathedrals of our own

Now I have seen that sad surrender in my mother's eyes
I can only stand apart and sympathize
For we are always what our situations hand us
Its either sadness or euphoria

So we'll argue and we'll compromise
And realize that nothing's ever changed
For all our mutual experience
Our separate conclusions are the same

Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
A reason coexists with our insanity
Though we choose between reality and madness
Its either sadness or euphoria

How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies
Perhaps we'll help fulfill each other's fantasies
And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives with our respective similarities
Its either sadness or euphoria

Writer/s: JOEL, BILLY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Summer, Highland Falls

A track from Billy Joel's fourth album, this song is about manic depression. He wrote it in 1975 during a transitional period in his life when he was moving back to New York after spending the previous three years in California. At a Howard Stern Town Hall event in 2014, Joel explained: "It was more about manic depression than depression. That song was about a relationship that wasn't really working out. It was very disappointing - you want everything to work out and when it doesn't, how do you deal with that?"

Joel wrote the music to reflect the highs and lows of manic depression. The song has a musical piano theme: the left hand plays the "depression" part, going slowly up and down, while the right hand is the "manic" part, playing a bouncy bit. "It actually describes manic depression in the music," says Joel.

Many yearbooks have been filled with the opening lines to this song:

They say that these are not the best of times
But they're the only times I've ever known

It's a very unusual song in that the title doesn't appear in the lyric and there's no chorus. This limited its hit potential, but the song has endured as a favorite for many of Joel's ardent fans.

Highland Falls is the village in the southern part of New York State where Joel lived at the time.

Billy Joel - It's Still Rock And Roll To Me

Billy Joel - It's Still Rock And Roll To Me Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Glass Houses
Released: 1980

It's Still Rock And Roll To Me Lyrics

What's the matter with the clothes I'm wearing?
"Can't you tell that your tie's too wide? "
Maybe I should buy some old tab collars?
"Welcome back to the age of jive.
Where have you been hidin' out lately, honey?
You can't dress trashy till you spend a lot of money."
Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound
Funny, but It's Still Rock And Roll To Me

What's the matter with the car I'm driving?
"Can't you tell that it's out of style? "
Should I get a set of white wall tires?
"Are you gonna cruise the miracle mile?
Nowadays you can't be too sentimental
Your best bet's a true baby blue Continental."
Hot funk, cool punk, even if it's old junk
It's still rock and roll to me

Oh, it doesn't matter what they say in the papers
'Cause it's always been the same old scene.
There's a new band in town
But you can't get the sound from a story in a magazine
Aimed at your average teen

How about a pair of pink sidewinders
And a bright orange pair of pants?
"You could really be a Beau Brummel baby
If you just give it half a chance.
Don't waste your money on a new set of speakers,
You get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers."
Next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways
It's still rock and roll to me

What's the matter with the crowd I'm seeing?
"Don't you know that they're out of touch? "
Should I try to be a straight 'A' student?
"If you are then you think too much.
Don't you know about the new fashion honey?
All you need are looks and a whole lotta money."
It's the next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways
It's still rock and roll to me

Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound
Funny, but it's still rock and roll to me

Writer/s: JOEL, BILLY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

It's Still Rock And Roll To Me

In this song, Billy Joel was making a comment on musical styles and trends. At the end of the Disco era, the music press began touting the "New Wave" sound, which included bands like The Police and The Cars. Joel thought that this new sound was just a variation on Power-Pop that had been around since the '60s. He didn't have a problem with music, just the way it was being categorized. "I like it, but it's not particularly new," he said.

Around this time, Joel was often abased in the music press as a provider of middle-of-the-road dreck. Popular artists are often targets for journalist derision, but while most of these artists choose to ignore it, Joel responded in this song. The lines, "It doesn't matter what they say in the papers, 'cause it's always been the same old scene." and "There's a new band in town, but you can't get the sound from a story in a magazine," were specifically written to attack the press that was bringing him down by pointing out that the only way to know what a band sound like is to listen to it.

"Sometimes the press gave me a hard time, and liked giving them a hard time back," Joel told Howard Stern in 2014. "In my neighborhood, somebody hits you, you hit them right back."

One of Joel's most popular songs, this was his first #1 hit on the Hot 100, spending two weeks at the top spot in July, 1980. The single was certified Platinum, which at the time meant sales in excess of 2 million.

Joel would score two more #1 hits in America: "Tell Her About It" and "We Didn't Start The Fire."

"Miracle Mile," as mentioned in the line "Should I get a set of white wall tires? Are you gonna cruise a miracle mile?" is a stretch of road (about a mile long) full of various stores in Manhasset, Long Island near where Joel grew up. (thanks, Nicole - Garden City, NY)

After he wrote this song, Joel says he realized that the chords were the same ones Bob Dylan used on "Lay Lady Lay."

Billy Joel - This Night

Billy Joel - This Night Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: An Innocent Man
Released: 1983

This Night Lyrics

Didn't I say
I wasn't ready for romance?
Didn't we promise
We would only be friends?
And so we danced
Though it was only a slow dance,
I started breaking my promises right there and then

Didn't I swear
There would be no complications?
Didn't you want
Someone who's seen it all before?
Now that you're here
It's not the same situation,
Suddenly I don't remember the rules anymore

This Night is mine
It's only you and I
Tomorrow is a long time away
This night can last forever

I've been around
Someone like me should know better
Falling in love
Would be the worst thing I could do
Didn't I say
I needed time to forget her?
Aren't you running
From someone who's not over you?

How many nights
Have I been lonely without you?
I tell myself
How much I really don't care
How many nights
Have I been thinking about you?
Wanting to hold you
But knowing you would not be there

But this night you're mine
It's only you and I
I'll tell you to forget yesterday
This night we are together

This night is mine
It's only you and I
Tomorrow is a long time away
This night can last forever

This night
Ooh
Ooh

Tomorrow is such a long time away
This night can last forever

Writer/s: JOEL, BILLY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

This Night Song Chart

The chorus is an adaptation of a passage from the Beethoven sonata "Pathetique." "L. V. Beethoven" is credited in the album notes. (thanks, Jen - Urbana, IL)

Billy Joel - Uptown Girl

Billy Joel - Uptown Girl Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: An Innocent Man
Released: 1983

Uptown Girl Lyrics

Uptown Girl
She's been living in her uptown world
I bet she's never had a backstreet guy
I bet her momma never told her why

I'm gonna try for an uptown girl
She's been living in her white bread world
As long as anyone with hot blood can
And now she's looking for a downtown man
That's what I am

And when she knows what
She wants from her time
And when she wakes up
And makes up her mind

She'll see I'm not so tough
Just because
I'm in love with an uptown girl
You know I've seen her in her uptown world
She's getting tired of her high class toys
And all her presents from her uptown boys
She's got a choice

Uptown girl
You know I can't afford to buy her pearls
But maybe someday when my ship comes in
She'll understand what kind of guy I've been
And then I'll win

And when she's walking
She's looking so fine
And when she's talking
She'll say that she's mine

She'll say I'm not so tough
Just because
I'm in love
With an uptown girl
She's been living in her white bread world
As long as anyone with hot blood can
And now she's looking for a downtown man
That's what I am

Uptown girl
She's my uptown girl
You know I'm in love
With an uptown girl
My uptown girl
You know I'm in love
With an uptown girl
My uptown girl
You know I'm in love
With an uptown girl
My uptown girl
You know I'm in love
With an uptown girl

Writer/s: JOEL, BILLY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Uptown Girl Song Chart

Billy Joel married the supermodel Christie Brinkley less than two years after this song was released, but he wasn't even dating her when he started writing the song - he was actually dating another supermodel: Elle McPherson. Asked about his relationship with Elle on The Howard Stern Show in 2010, Joel explained: "We dated on and off. We weren't like engaged or anything. We just kind of dated. She was 19."

Joel went on to explain that he and Elle parted ways when she went off to Europe, which is around the time he started dating Brinkley. He reworked the lyrics, and by the time he finished the song, it was about Brinkley.

On Australian TV in 2006, Joel said: "The song was originally called 'Uptown Girls' not 'Uptown Girl.' I know its associated with Christie but when I started to write that song I had recently divorced prior to meeting her, all the sudden I'm a rock star and divorced. All these women were going to go out with me."

As he explained to Howard Stern, Billy Joel was on vacation in the Caribbean when he was playing the piano, looked up, and saw Elle McPherson, Christie Brinkley and Whitney Houston (who was more a model than a musician at that point) standing over his piano in wonderment watching him play. Joel thanked his creator for his good fortune, and began dating Elle. His first attempt at the song had the lyrics, "Uptown girls, I've been around the world." The music was more of a classical piece when it started.

Joel is from Long Island, New York, and always considered himself a working-class, regular guy. This song reflects his surprise at his ability to attract such beautiful, glamorous women. In a 1987 interview with Q magazine, Joel said: "The fact that I can attract such a beautiful woman as Christie should give hope to every ugly guy in the world!"

The whole album, especially this song, was a musical tribute to '60s pop music. Specifically, this one is done in the style of The Four Seasons, with Joel trying to sound like Frankie Valli . He had their song "Rag Doll" in mind both musically and lyrically; on that track Valli sings about a poor girl that he loves anyway. In fact, he loves her "just the way she is."

Christie Brinkley was in the video, playing the Uptown Girl. Joel portrayed a mechanic working on her car. The clip was directed by Jay Dubin, who also helmed Joel's videos for "Tell Her About It" and "The Longest Time."

Brinkley and Joel remained married for nine years. She drew the cover art for his 1993 album River of Dreams. They eventually separated due to Joel's busy schedule.

This was Joel's only #1 single in the UK. It's also one of his best-selling in the US.

In an episode of The Simpsons in which Homer decides to hang out with the band of hippies his mother was once part of in the 1960s, Homer breaks into singing a fragment of this song at one point. (thanks, Vincent - Fayetteville, AR)

In 2001 the Irish boy band Westlife covered "Uptown Girl," topping the UK charts for a week. It was recorded as the official song for the 2001 BBC Comic Relief charity appeal. Screenwriter Richard Curtis, one of the founders of the Comic Relief campaign, knew supermodel Claudia Schiffer's agent and obtained her cooperation to be the Uptown Girl in the video, which mimicked Billy Joel's original that featured his model wife Christie Brinkley. In addition to Schiffer and Westife themselves, the video also featured the actors Tim McInnery, James Wilby, Ioan Gruffudd, Robert Bathurst and Crispin Bonham Carter as a chorus of city workers.

The owner of the Rolls Royce in this video tried to pull a fast one on Jay Dubin's team. The director said in our interview : "The guy who owned the car was a little crazy. His radiator went out. His radiator had a leak in it and he was trying to shake us down. He said he needed a new radiator, and a Rolls Royce radiator was $2,000. So I remember my guy, Bruce, that handled that went up to him and said, 'Hey, no problem at all. I'll give you $2,000, but before I give you money, you've got to take the old radiator out of the car and give it to me.' And he goes, 'What do you mean?' Bruce said, 'I'm buying a $2,000 radiator for you, I'm taking the old one.' And suddenly the problem with the car went away."

This song is a topic of discussion in the 2015 movie Trainwreck, where Bill Hader plays a surgeon who is dating Amy Schumer's character. When Hader operates, he listens to this song; the two have this exchange:

Schumer: Why Billy Joel? Why "Uptown Girl"?

Hader: I love that song.

Schumer: That's probably the worst Billy Joel song. I'm pretty sure even
Billy Joel hates that song.

Hader: He shouldn't, it's great.

Later in the film, Hader is stitching up Schumer's equally churlish father, played by Colin Quinn, who wonders why he is humming this song. They share Billy Joel stories:

Quinn: That's the only thing that'll save you. I like Billy Joel. I saw him at Nassau Coliseum. Nylon Curtain tour.

Hader: That's awesome. I saw him with Elton John at Shea Stadium. It was great.

Quinn: Of course you did. Nothing better than down to earth blue collar Billy Joel with Elton John, the Queen of England.

At the end of the film, after a dance number that brings Hader and Schumer back together, another Billy Joel song plays: "A Matter Of Trust."

Billy Joel - Say Goodbye To Hollywood

Billy Joel - Say Goodbye To Hollywood Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Turnstiles
Released: 1976

Say Goodbye To Hollywood Lyrics

Bobby's driving through the city tonight
Through the lights
In a hot new rent a car
He joins the lover in his heavy machine
It's a scene down on Sunset Boulevard

Say Goodbye To Hollywood
Say goodbye my baby
Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye my baby

Johnny's taking care of things for awhile
And his style is so right for troubadours
They got him sitting with his back to the door
Now he won't be my fast gun anymore

Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye my baby
Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye my baby

Moving on is a chance that you take every time
You try to stay together
Say a word out of line and you find
That the friends you had are gone
Forever, forever
So many faces in and out of my life
Some will last, some will just be now and then
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again

Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye my baby
Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye my baby

Moving on is a chance that you take every time
You try to stay together
Say a word out of line and you find
That the friends you had are gone
Forever, forever
So many faces in and out of my life
Some will last, some will just be now and then
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again

Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye my baby
Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye my baby

Writer/s: JOEL, BILLY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Say Goodbye To Hollywood Song Chart

Joel wrote this with Ronnie Spector in mind, which he talked about on The Howard Stern Show, where he also explained that it's written in a high key and challenging to sing - he had an easier time hitting those notes when he wrote the song. As for Spector, he was a big fan of her and loved the girl-group sound she exemplified. He met her a few times over the years, but only after he wrote the song.

Joel had recently moved from Los Angeles to New York, which helped inspire this song. He is from Long Island, and did not like life on the West Coast.

This was released in the US as the B-side to "I've Loved These Days" a month before it was put out as an A-side. Neither song charted, but in 1981, a live version recorded at the Milwaukee Arena was released on Joel's Songs In The Attic album and hit #17 in the US. Songs In The Attic was the first digitally-recorded live album.

Ronnie Spector, who was the inspiration for this song and leader of the popular girl-group, The Ronettes, recorded this song in 1977. She said at the time: "In a way it's my life story 'cause I was married in Hollywood, I lived in Hollywood, my life fell apart in Hollywood and now I am saying goodbye to Hollywood."
Spector's version was produced by Little Steven Van Zandt, who she met while singing backup for Bruce Springsteen in 1976. Springsteen's E-Street Band played backup for her.

Billy Joel - Just The Way You Are

Billy Joel - Just The Way You Are Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Stranger
Released: 1977

Just The Way You Are Lyrics

Don't go changing to try and please me
You never let me down before
Don't imagine you're too familiar
And I don't see you anymore

I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble
We never could have come this far
I took the good times; I'll take the bad times
I'll take you Just The Way You Are

Don't go trying some new fashion
Don't change the color of your hair
You always have my unspoken passion
Although I might not seem to care

I don't want clever conversation
I never want to work that hard
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are

I need to know that you will always be
The same old someone that I knew
What will it take till you believe in me
The way that I believe in you?

I said I love you and that's forever
And this I promise from the heart
I could not love you any better
I love you just the way you are

Writer/s: JOEL, BILLY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Just The Way You Are Song Chart

Joel wrote this song about his first wife, Elizabeth. A pure expression of unconditional love, he gave it to her as a birthday present.

Sadly, after nine years of marriage, Joel and Elizabeth divorced in 1982. Joel's next two marriages didn't work out either: he was married to Christie Brinkley from 1985-1994, and to Katie Lee from 2004-2010.

"Every time I wrote a song for a person I was in a relationship with, it didn't last," Joel said. "It was kind of like the curse. Here's your song - we might as well say goodbye now."

This won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the 1979 ceremony. It was a breakthrough for Joel, whose biggest hit to this point was "Piano Man," which reached #25 in the US.

Joel told USA Today July 9, 2008: "I was absolutely surprised it won a Grammy. It wasn't even rock 'n' roll, it was like a standard with a little bit of R&B in it. It reminded me of an old Stevie Wonder recording." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

After Joel recorded this, he didn't think much of it, considering it a "gloppy ballad" that would only get played at weddings. He credits his producer, Phil Ramone, with convincing him that it was a great song. Ramone brought Linda Ronstadt and Phoebe Snow into the recording studio to hear the song, and of course they loved it, which was good enough for Billy. On Australian TV in 2006, Joel confirmed: "We almost didn't put it on an album. We were sitting around listening to it going naaah, that's a chick song."

Phil Woods, who is a prominent jazz player, played the alto saxophone for this song. (thanks, Alex - Grand Blanc, MI)

Barry White's cover version hit #12 in the UK in 1978. The song was also covered by Frank Sinatra and Isaac Hayes, whose version is in 6/8 time with a long introductory rap.

Joel played a Fender Rhodes electric piano on this track, using the instrument's phase shifter effect. This same setup can be heard on the Paul Simon song "Still Crazy After All These Years."

This was the first single off The Stranger, which was Billy Joel's sixth album.

On a July 16, 2006 blog for the Australian newspaper The Herald Sun, Joel said that he dreamt the melody and chord progression and wrote the lyrics over a few days after the dream recurred. He added that the drum pattern was suggested by his producer at the time, Phil Ramone.

Joel expanded to USA Today: "I dreamt the melody, not the words. I remember waking up in the middle of the night and going, 'This is a great idea for a song.' A couple of weeks later, I'm in a business meeting, and the dream reoccurs to me right at that moment because my mind had drifted off from hearing numbers and legal jargon. And I said, 'I have to go!' I got home and I ended up writing it all in one sitting, pretty much. It took me maybe two or three hours to write the lyrics."

This was Joel's first chart entry in the UK.

In his 2014 appearance on a Howard Stern town hall special, Joel explained that the original sheet music printed for this song was wrong, with an extra chord in the intro. He says that he often hears people playing it the wrong way, and has even corrected some of them when he hears it.

Paul McCartney has delivered high praise for this song, stating in his Club Sandwich newsletter that it's one of the few songs he wished he had written ("Stardust" is his first selection).

Joel performed this on Saturday Night Live in 1977, three months before it was released.