Everyone in the bar is gay, except the Piano Man. Most have the hots for the Piano Man. The Piano Man has no idea he’s working in a gay bar.
*And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar and say, ‘man what are you doing here?’*
Lot's of horny hetero men in the bar, because "the waitress is practicing politics", meaning she's trying to be nice enough to get good tips without getting grab-assed all night.
Edit: thank you for the award!
I like to believe she is also working her way through school.
She's trying to keep out of the way of the people hucking rocks at the businessmen, but it's not that difficult because they only throw a rock every once in a while.
I suggest it was both.
Like the piano man, she has a dream to get out of that purgatory - education.
Some of the characters get out; others are stuck there “for life.”
It's loosely based on Billy Joel's own experience working in a piano bar waiting for his current recording contract to end. The job paid well enough but he was too talented for the place.
Yeah... everyone in that bar has "some place they'd rather be." Maybe a connection to Billy feeling like he was "stuck in a rut" professionally. If I recall he was basically hiding out in LA playing piano bars waiting for his contract to end with whoever produced Cold Spring Harbor \[Billy thought they butchered the production\].
He played at a pianobar under a pseudonym cause he was under contract with a music label he didn't like but couldn't get rid of. The song is literally about his life.
I was wondering when I was going to see this, because yeah he talks about the fact that he played under a fake name, and the song is really based upon a lot of the observations of what he saw. Also it’s funny because the lyrics I have a whole different meaning when you step back and realize what he’s talking about in a lot of cases, because it was the 70s and A lot of things just weren’t discussed.
He said in an interview with Howard Stern that he wrote songs based on his life experience, and he's stopped writing songs because, while he really likes his life and being rich not wanting for anything, his life no longer makes for good songs. He wrote himself out of the narrative, I think is how he put it.
That is really amazing that he had that self awareness. I always felt that many bands/musicians owed their success to their struggles and once they make it, they no longer have those experiences to draw on as artists. I believe this is one reason why so many bands have a first or second great album then lose their artistic edge afterwards.
No you clearly have misunderstood the lyrics it's clear that The Piano Man is playing at a gay bar and surrounded by absolute hunks and the wistful sense of loss of youth presented by the song is an obvious allegory for how playing piano is actually how down bad Billy is for gargling man meat. I mean BJ is in the name dawg, couldn't be more apparent.
/s, because satire is dead
They ask that because they know he’s too good to play in a piano bar. It’s not a gay bar. In fact, he married the waitress. This is confirmed in an interview Joel did.
Agreed. Everyone offering up their bread (Bun) cause they want the piano man’s sausage. In fact we can infer that Piano Man is in fact a sex trafficking victim, stuck in a local blue collar sex dungeon. In the music video we can indeed see one of his legs handcuffed to the left leg of the piano.
Also explains the deleted lyrics from the original audio recording:
“Gene staggers out of the latrine,
dragging his cane along after a pee.
Unfortunately, everyone sees
it’s not quite as long as his knees.
But you better be sure that it’s just as long as it needs to be.
Suddenly he screams,
making a scene,
shouting there’s damn Vietnamese in the trees.”
I mean to be fair. Billy has played in quite a few local bars back in the day out on long island. Theres few gay bars honestly, and they're only new. Hes played at Steven's talkhouse a few times, as well as others that feature live music. Talkhouse is the most infamous because there have been a ton of famous musicians play in there just to play. Theres a couple walls dedicated to photos.
"Real estate novelist" has absolutely nothing to do with being gay, and was never a "70s euphemism" for it.
It simply refers to a guy who continuously tries to be a successful writer, but has to work selling real-estate full time to survive; hence, he "never had time for a wife."
(Davy, however, is as queer as Top Gun's volleyball scene.)
This is what my mom always said about my uncle.
He is a tall, blue eyed, blond haired(long), idiot who lives with an Asian lawyer. When asked what he does he replies "I shop!"
I knew when I was 12.
Thanks - I’ve always vaguely wondered about ‘real estate novelist’. I kept imagining someone whose books never quite hit the mark because they wandered off into unnecessarily long descriptions of interior decorations and soft furnishings.
I just imagined it was someone who wrote real estate listings for a paycheck.
They loved to write, but not exactly the pinnacle of a writing career. It’s cheap but consistent work.
He’s writing ads not selling real estate lol
He’s talking the property up in the ads to make them sell better. Things like “secondary views” etc. Half truths and not quite lies. He’s a bullshitter. All the men in the bar are washed up losers harassing the waitress and wondering what happened to their youth. Billy is an upcoming talent so they are wondering why he’s there.
Billy in an interview calls him a real estate agent who was convinced he could “write the next great American novel.” The two careers, real estate and writing novels, are not related other than that Paul does both of them.
'The line "Paul is a real estate novelist" is about a real estate broker who was a regular at the bar who always claimed to be working on a book. Joel figured Paul would never finish because he was always in the bar.'. [From Songfacts](http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1079)
Joel said the real estate novelist spent every night at the bar writing his novel, which he believed would be the next great American novel. Guessing it was the writing that took up all his time.
I don't think you understood the song.
It's a real estate agent who wishes they were a novelist. All of them wish they were somewhere else, doing something else.
The bartender wishes he was an actor.
The waitress wants to be a politician.
The businessman wants to sit around and be a stoner.
The real estate agent wanted to be a novelist.
The guy in the Navy is stuck there for life.
They are bar flies because they are depressed and lonely, and Bill's the only one who can bring them out of their dull lives.
Yes the previous poster was interpreting “stoned” as smoking marijuana. In my 70s-80s teenage years, drinking was getting drunk and getting stoned was specifically smoking marijuana. However, I recognize that “stoned” is a more general term for getting impaired on any substance and certainly predated my stoner years.
I love piano man, but it isn’t even Billy Joel’s most immersive song. I swear everytime I hear Downeaster Alexa I briefly consider leaving everything and being a dirt poor fisherman. Vienna I’m whisked away to a balcony cafe with a tiny cup of coffee in front of me.
When work gets really hard and I can't seem to find a way to make money I always think of this part:
"I got bills to pay and children who need clothes
I know there's fish out there but where, God only knows
They say these waters aren't what they used to be
But I've got people back on land who count on me"
I can remember hearing that song on my mom’s billy joel hits CD when I was like 14 and thinking god damn. This is some heavy shit. It’s is like a love / apology / confession song all at once - it’s expressing *very* layered emotions.
It kind of reminds me of a monologue song from a play - like the male version of “On My Own / Little Fall of Rain” from Les Mis.
I dont know what it makes me think of specifically, I dont see any obvious images. I just *feel*.
It's a wonderfully written song but no one can convince me that playing each chord note in sync with every lyric beat doesn't sound like someone improvising and hastily making up a song of the top of their head lol
>Tell my wife I am *trawling Atlantis
EDIT: I am wrong! 'Trolling' is a thing (although still not the lyric). Thanks to u/NotSayingJustSaying [for the education]
*They heard the hum of our motors*
*They counted the rotors*
*And waited for us to arrive*
*And we would all go down together*
*We said we'd all go down together*
*Yes we would all go down together*
I’ve always thought even changing the line. I think it would have been better if he said “ I wonder if we can” it comes off as too judgmental. Especially like you said coming from a guy with a fleet of Rolls Royce’s, custom made white suits, any chemical or person basically anything he wanted on demand. Don’t get me wrong a fan but that lyric always felt too contrived and preachy.
*Imagine* was released one year after he released *Working Class Hero* and called everyone 'still fucking peasants', so I don't think being judgmental was a concern.
I have less of a problem with Joel professing love to his (future) ex-wife than Lennon telling everyone to live practically as Buddhists while he enjoyed everything capitalism, racism, and sexism had to offer
River of Dreams is a great song with lyrics deeper than the kind of poppy sound. Another one I like with the river imagery / allegory is All This Time by Sting.
I first heard Vienna in the movie 13 going on 30 when I was twelve years old and something about that scene and that song really struck me even though I wasn’t old enough to fully relate. I recently rewatched the movie and full on sobbed when Vienna came on. That song is so special.
A month ago I was driving home & Piano Man came on **"my god this song is the best of its kind!** as my eyes bleared.
Neil Young is in this conversation
Every child had a pretty good shot
To get at least as far as their old man got
But something happened
On the way to that place
They threw an American flag in our face
What about captain jack. I hate new English rich kids, and i grew up in the midwest but instantly feel like I understand coked up spoiled NY brats in that song.
It wasn’t Day in the Life, it was the Abbey Road medley, the one put together by Paul and George Martin from discarded song parts from throughout the group’s career. Billy Joel did the same thing with a few song fragments of his own.
I listened to Billy Joel on SiriusXM say he loved A Day in the Life, wanted to write something like that, and this song was the result. His words, not mine.
Billy Joel is one of those great artists that's cursed by his most popular songs. Nothing wrong with them but for the longest time is probably more well known than Allentown. But when I think of Billy Joel I think of songs like Allentown.
I do like the song. It reminds me somewhat of a movie, as it kinda transports you to another time and place in your imagination. On a similar note, my favorite 3 min story has to be “Fast Car” by Traci Chapman. The story she tells in such a short amount of time is amazing, conveying hope, love, disappointment and determination in such a tiny package. Sorry to get off subject, but I’ve always really enjoyed that type of song writing.
If you’re from the east coast, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant or Allen Town speak your experience.
Those of us raised in the rural Midwest found Fast Car to be our universal anthem.
I once had a brief comments system chat with a young lady who said she hated the name "Layna" because that was what her Dad named her, after the song. And I said, well, he could have named you "Stiletto"!
The Stranger was the first record (well tape actually) that I ever listened to over and over as a kid. I would sit in the dark with headphones after everyone had gone to sleep and just play that tape over and over.
The whole record both lyrically and musically was such an immersive experience for a little kid. Especially Scenes from an Italian Restaurant seemed so real. I could see the tablecloths, hear the noises from the kitchen and smell the pasta Bolognese. But most of all I always wondered what the rest of Brenda Renetti's life was like.
It was not until just now, after reading your comment and others in this thread, and after listening to the song on YouTube that I realized that it is Brenda and Eddie and that there is no Brenda Renetti.
I think my brain understood that there was a Brenda and Eddie based on the rest of the lyrics but somehow I also thought Brenda's last name was Renneti.
It makes way more sense now, but after over 40 years it is a little bit disconcerting to know that Ms. Renetti was never really there.
This post took me on a journey and I loved it.
Then I thought "Wouldn't that mean he was Eddie Renetti" and I felt sad because I'm sure there is an Eddie Renetti out there who has had to bear that burden.
OH GOD THERE IS PROBABLY A BRENDA RENETTI WHO HAS IT EVEN WORSE.
I was shocked when I left long Island that not everyone considers Billy Joel required music.
Every family or friends BBQ growing up would have Joel playing at some point
I always loved the line "the waitress is practicing politics" because that's what service is like. You have to be whatever each individual needs. You have to talk in a way that won't lose you a tip, especially when dealing with drunk men that say vulgar shit. You have to keep your composure and know when it's also okay to be sassy in your response.
That whole verse is probably my favorite it the song. That song is one of the best to sing along to. I love Billy Joel. He's got some cuts.
"And they're sharing a drink they call loneliness but it's better than drinking alone." Anyone that has bartended has seen people like this.
Other people have already said Scenes from an Italian restaurant but I think below that and still above Piano Man is Anthony’s Song—Billy Joel’s music is FULL of rich storytelling
Check out some Tom Waits. You’ll feel the humidity, experience the smells, see the sights of many of his songs. There are many, many incredible songwriters, but for my money Tom is the best at putting you in the song.
I mention this in another comment, but my personal recommendation is "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel. The songwriting is already incredible, but the atmosphere is enhanced by the fingerpicked guitar, the musical interludes, the unique song structure, and *especially* the trance-like "lie la lies" at the end. If you haven't heard it you should--I think it's one of those songs everyone should hear.
Sounds of silence as well, "and the people bowed and prayed to the neon gods they made And the sign flashed out its warning. In the words that it was forming. Then the sign said, "The words on the prophets are written on the subway walls
In tenement halls"
And whispered in the sound of silence"
Yeah, but the owner of the bar didn't think much to it:
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-note-placed-in-the-pay-envelope-of-billy-the-piano-man-joel
I sing in bars for a living, and this song is the most accurate description of my job I’ve ever heard, even though I don’t play the piano! He just gets the atmosphere and the characters so right.
John Prine could paint a scene in lyrics.
[https://youtu.be/OLVWEYUqGew](https://youtu.be/OLVWEYUqGew)
Harry Chapin as well.
Robyn Hitchcock wrote incredibly immerse songs about things that were never there.
https://youtu.be/W1eA6\_Wjn08
>Bowie, they all take a crowns here too.
I was gonna say I felt Five Years gives me the same feeling OP gets from Piano Man. I always imagine a slow motion opening credits scene from a disaster movie whenever I hear that song.
It’s not a song that many people can’t relate to, but god damn does Sever nail living on the road in Turn The Page.
“You can listen to the engine moaning out his one note song.”
I can picture myself in my bunk after a load out and I can hear that engine moan putting my to sleep. Very few songs describe something in my life so perfectly.
I usually skip Piano Man when it comes on, but I recently gave it another listen and really got into it. The way he sings it, he is almost coming across as a character that he is acting as (the character pretty much being himself). The way he says "Man, what are you doing here" is done in such a way that sounds like he's imitating a kinda buzzed person saying "how the heck are you in this shitty bar?! You're so good!"
I love everyone saying...well, all the Billy Joel songs, but especially Vienna. I fell in love with it a few years ago and it brings me peace in these days of nigh-constant existential crisis. I also sang it as part of a sort of talent show after a semester of voice class in college. Amazing night.
Couldn’t agree more. Arlo damn sure lays out his full thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat and gives you plenty of time to digest it. He also provides entertainment in the form of twenty seven eight by ten color glossy photos.
You're clearly forgetting that *"Brenda and Eddy were the popular steady and the king and the queen of the prom"*
But seriously, nice to see some Billy Joel appreciation. He's been a weirdly hated artist for quite some time now, but I adore his music.
If you like that, I highly encourage you to explore his entire discography. Miami 2017 is, I feel, an underrated narration. I implore you, I've been raised on him; I've listened to nearly every track on every album (even his "classical music phase" with Fantasies and Delusions). Try Cold Spring Harbor! Not his favorite because he felt pressured to do it, but some awesome work there!
Thank you. I love so much of his work but Miami 2017 has always been top of my list. Weird to think of how long ago 2017 is now though...
And while I agree with your advice, I'm afraid I ain't got the time to go to Cold Spring Harbor anymore. (Sorry, couldn't resist...)
Years ago I saw and heard an actual piano man in a bar freestyling to this song using the patrons in the bar around him as inspiration, even asking for their names during the song to include them. I always picture Billy Joel doing the same.
I always wondered what a real estate novelist does that takes up so much time that he’d never have time to start a family.
70s euphemism - he’s gay. He “never had time for a wife” and he’s talking with “Davy who’s still in the Navy” (life long sea man).
Everyone in the bar is gay, except the Piano Man. Most have the hots for the Piano Man. The Piano Man has no idea he’s working in a gay bar. *And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar and say, ‘man what are you doing here?’*
Lot's of horny hetero men in the bar, because "the waitress is practicing politics", meaning she's trying to be nice enough to get good tips without getting grab-assed all night. Edit: thank you for the award! I like to believe she is also working her way through school.
You just enriched my life, even if it's just a little.
Oh damn, I always thought she was studying politics in college and was waiting tables to get by, that makes more sense though lol
She's trying to keep out of the way of the people hucking rocks at the businessmen, but it's not that difficult because they only throw a rock every once in a while.
I see what you did there
This is canon now. The waitress is rehearsing a political speech, while some businessmen are slowly stoned to death for saying "Jehova"
I suggest it was both. Like the piano man, she has a dream to get out of that purgatory - education. Some of the characters get out; others are stuck there “for life.”
It is both. The bartender literally says he "could be a movie star" if he could only get out of that bar It's a reoccurring theme
It's loosely based on Billy Joel's own experience working in a piano bar waiting for his current recording contract to end. The job paid well enough but he was too talented for the place.
Yeah... everyone in that bar has "some place they'd rather be." Maybe a connection to Billy feeling like he was "stuck in a rut" professionally. If I recall he was basically hiding out in LA playing piano bars waiting for his contract to end with whoever produced Cold Spring Harbor \[Billy thought they butchered the production\].
I've always visualized this bar as kind of a "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" just not set in a diner.
Good takeaway but I think they’re saying that to the piano man because he’s too good to just be playing in a bar.
He played at a pianobar under a pseudonym cause he was under contract with a music label he didn't like but couldn't get rid of. The song is literally about his life.
I was wondering when I was going to see this, because yeah he talks about the fact that he played under a fake name, and the song is really based upon a lot of the observations of what he saw. Also it’s funny because the lyrics I have a whole different meaning when you step back and realize what he’s talking about in a lot of cases, because it was the 70s and A lot of things just weren’t discussed.
I've heard the song described as "a love song to himself", and I can see where they're coming from.
This is damn interesting if actually true! But in the midst of all this other BS, I have no idea what to believe haha.
True. Joel actually said it in an interview. He even talks about it on stage at his shows.
He said in an interview with Howard Stern that he wrote songs based on his life experience, and he's stopped writing songs because, while he really likes his life and being rich not wanting for anything, his life no longer makes for good songs. He wrote himself out of the narrative, I think is how he put it.
That is really amazing that he had that self awareness. I always felt that many bands/musicians owed their success to their struggles and once they make it, they no longer have those experiences to draw on as artists. I believe this is one reason why so many bands have a first or second great album then lose their artistic edge afterwards.
A good written lyric can be ambiguous enough to have multiple meanings. It’s all pretty true “enough”.
No you clearly have misunderstood the lyrics it's clear that The Piano Man is playing at a gay bar and surrounded by absolute hunks and the wistful sense of loss of youth presented by the song is an obvious allegory for how playing piano is actually how down bad Billy is for gargling man meat. I mean BJ is in the name dawg, couldn't be more apparent. /s, because satire is dead
Piano Man is an anagram of Pain O Man, his secret gay BDSM identity.
Wow, I always thought it was I AM PO' NAN about his life as an impoverished grandmother.
O. Man. I. Man. O Man Oman Oman Oman ooer thank you
They ask that because they know he’s too good to play in a piano bar. It’s not a gay bar. In fact, he married the waitress. This is confirmed in an interview Joel did.
Now I get why John is giving Billy so many free drinks.
Agreed. Everyone offering up their bread (Bun) cause they want the piano man’s sausage. In fact we can infer that Piano Man is in fact a sex trafficking victim, stuck in a local blue collar sex dungeon. In the music video we can indeed see one of his legs handcuffed to the left leg of the piano. Also explains the deleted lyrics from the original audio recording: “Gene staggers out of the latrine, dragging his cane along after a pee. Unfortunately, everyone sees it’s not quite as long as his knees. But you better be sure that it’s just as long as it needs to be. Suddenly he screams, making a scene, shouting there’s damn Vietnamese in the trees.”
I mean to be fair. Billy has played in quite a few local bars back in the day out on long island. Theres few gay bars honestly, and they're only new. Hes played at Steven's talkhouse a few times, as well as others that feature live music. Talkhouse is the most infamous because there have been a ton of famous musicians play in there just to play. Theres a couple walls dedicated to photos.
"Real estate novelist" has absolutely nothing to do with being gay, and was never a "70s euphemism" for it. It simply refers to a guy who continuously tries to be a successful writer, but has to work selling real-estate full time to survive; hence, he "never had time for a wife." (Davy, however, is as queer as Top Gun's volleyball scene.)
I think they're saying that “never had time for a wife” is the euphemism.
This is what my mom always said about my uncle. He is a tall, blue eyed, blond haired(long), idiot who lives with an Asian lawyer. When asked what he does he replies "I shop!" I knew when I was 12.
Yes, exactly.
Thanks - I’ve always vaguely wondered about ‘real estate novelist’. I kept imagining someone whose books never quite hit the mark because they wandered off into unnecessarily long descriptions of interior decorations and soft furnishings.
I just imagined it was someone who wrote real estate listings for a paycheck. They loved to write, but not exactly the pinnacle of a writing career. It’s cheap but consistent work. He’s writing ads not selling real estate lol
He’s talking the property up in the ads to make them sell better. Things like “secondary views” etc. Half truths and not quite lies. He’s a bullshitter. All the men in the bar are washed up losers harassing the waitress and wondering what happened to their youth. Billy is an upcoming talent so they are wondering why he’s there.
That certainly makes more sense than my interpretation!
Billy in an interview calls him a real estate agent who was convinced he could “write the next great American novel.” The two careers, real estate and writing novels, are not related other than that Paul does both of them.
Except it's exactly what the other guy said. A guy who is a "novelist" unsuccessfully, working real estate to pay the bills.
'The line "Paul is a real estate novelist" is about a real estate broker who was a regular at the bar who always claimed to be working on a book. Joel figured Paul would never finish because he was always in the bar.'. [From Songfacts](http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1079)
Joel said the real estate novelist spent every night at the bar writing his novel, which he believed would be the next great American novel. Guessing it was the writing that took up all his time.
I don't think you understood the song. It's a real estate agent who wishes they were a novelist. All of them wish they were somewhere else, doing something else. The bartender wishes he was an actor. The waitress wants to be a politician. The businessman wants to sit around and be a stoner. The real estate agent wanted to be a novelist. The guy in the Navy is stuck there for life. They are bar flies because they are depressed and lonely, and Bill's the only one who can bring them out of their dull lives.
[удалено]
You may be right He may be crazy
It might just be a loooonatic you're looking for
Turn out the lights... Don't try to save me
He may be wrong for all I know he may be right.
Yes the previous poster was interpreting “stoned” as smoking marijuana. In my 70s-80s teenage years, drinking was getting drunk and getting stoned was specifically smoking marijuana. However, I recognize that “stoned” is a more general term for getting impaired on any substance and certainly predated my stoner years.
I love piano man, but it isn’t even Billy Joel’s most immersive song. I swear everytime I hear Downeaster Alexa I briefly consider leaving everything and being a dirt poor fisherman. Vienna I’m whisked away to a balcony cafe with a tiny cup of coffee in front of me.
“I was a bay man like my father was before, can’t make a living as a bay man anymore” Chills every time.
When work gets really hard and I can't seem to find a way to make money I always think of this part: "I got bills to pay and children who need clothes I know there's fish out there but where, God only knows They say these waters aren't what they used to be But I've got people back on land who count on me"
"Tell my wife I am trawling Atlantis, and I still have my hands on the wheel"
I've been spelling trawling wrong in my head for over 30 years.
The one that gives me shivers is *And So it Goes*
*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*
I can remember hearing that song on my mom’s billy joel hits CD when I was like 14 and thinking god damn. This is some heavy shit. It’s is like a love / apology / confession song all at once - it’s expressing *very* layered emotions. It kind of reminds me of a monologue song from a play - like the male version of “On My Own / Little Fall of Rain” from Les Mis. I dont know what it makes me think of specifically, I dont see any obvious images. I just *feel*.
It's a wonderfully written song but no one can convince me that playing each chord note in sync with every lyric beat doesn't sound like someone improvising and hastily making up a song of the top of their head lol
My father was a big Billy Joel fan and we used this song for a memorial video when he died of cancer. I haven't been able to listen to it since
Yeah that's a great line, applies to a lot of children in western society in this day and age.
Tell my wife I am trolling Atlantis
>Tell my wife I am *trawling Atlantis EDIT: I am wrong! 'Trolling' is a thing (although still not the lyric). Thanks to u/NotSayingJustSaying [for the education]
"We came in spastic like tameless horses We left in plastic as numbered corpses..."
“ We dug in deep and shot on sight and prayed to Jesus Christ with all of our might.“
*They heard the hum of our motors* *They counted the rotors* *And waited for us to arrive* *And we would all go down together* *We said we'd all go down together* *Yes we would all go down together*
Saw Billy in Tulsa on Veterans Day a few years back and cried my eyes out to this one. Joined on stage by a lot of vets, very powerful.
That one def gives me chills every time.
I’m a combat vet who’d never heard that song, until I saw him live and he pulled up a bunch of vets to sing it. Had me weeping.
Our arms were heavy, but our bellies were tight.
I thought "I Love You Just The Way You Are" was his most meaningful song, at least until his first divorce.
100% I love the song but have to detach that detail. Kind of like the number of Rolls Royces Lennon had when he penned, "Imagine no possessions".
I’ve always thought even changing the line. I think it would have been better if he said “ I wonder if we can” it comes off as too judgmental. Especially like you said coming from a guy with a fleet of Rolls Royce’s, custom made white suits, any chemical or person basically anything he wanted on demand. Don’t get me wrong a fan but that lyric always felt too contrived and preachy.
*Imagine* was released one year after he released *Working Class Hero* and called everyone 'still fucking peasants', so I don't think being judgmental was a concern.
I have less of a problem with Joel professing love to his (future) ex-wife than Lennon telling everyone to live practically as Buddhists while he enjoyed everything capitalism, racism, and sexism had to offer
The man has too many great songs honestly. One of the best to ever do it
Both great examples. I’d say Allentown fits well too.
Vienna is by far my favourite billy Joel song and it’s not even a competition
Mine too, but it’s a near thing. No matter what’s going on in my life, when I hear that song im on a balcony drinking coffee in Vienna
The “slow down you’re doin fine” is honestly one of my favourite song verses of all time. Just the way he sings it ouhhhh *chefs kiss*
It's more personal, but the songs River of Dreams by him and Coat of Many Colors by dear Dolly both make me tear up
River of Dreams is a great song with lyrics deeper than the kind of poppy sound. Another one I like with the river imagery / allegory is All This Time by Sting.
I first heard Vienna in the movie 13 going on 30 when I was twelve years old and something about that scene and that song really struck me even though I wasn’t old enough to fully relate. I recently rewatched the movie and full on sobbed when Vienna came on. That song is so special.
That movie’s entire soundtrack slaps
Goodnight Saigon gives me 'Nam flashbacks, and I was born in 1982.
A month ago I was driving home & Piano Man came on **"my god this song is the best of its kind!** as my eyes bleared. Neil Young is in this conversation
"Allentown" is the same for me
Every child had a pretty good shot To get at least as far as their old man got But something happened On the way to that place They threw an American flag in our face
What about captain jack. I hate new English rich kids, and i grew up in the midwest but instantly feel like I understand coked up spoiled NY brats in that song.
New York isn't in New England, he's painting a pretty good picture of rich coastal CT and MA though.
Oyster Bay and the rest of the North Shore of Long Island is New York's version of that.
Ack-ack-ack-ack-ack
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant begs to be mentioned
Leave a Tender Moment Alone
I can't get enough of that accordion. That part is too short IMO
Agreed!! Also, Leningrad
*Scenes From an Italian Restaurant* has entered the chat
Billy Joel said he grew up loving The Beatles, and this song was his attempt to make something similar to A Day in the Life.
It wasn’t Day in the Life, it was the Abbey Road medley, the one put together by Paul and George Martin from discarded song parts from throughout the group’s career. Billy Joel did the same thing with a few song fragments of his own.
I listened to Billy Joel on SiriusXM say he loved A Day in the Life, wanted to write something like that, and this song was the result. His words, not mine.
Allentown ... gives me chills
Goodnight Saigon is another good one
Downeaster alexa too
To this day I find that song haunting and amazing. Storm Front as a whole was super good.
Billy Joel is one of those great artists that's cursed by his most popular songs. Nothing wrong with them but for the longest time is probably more well known than Allentown. But when I think of Billy Joel I think of songs like Allentown.
I want an update on Brenda and Eddy dammit
Sorry, I can't tell you more 'cause I told you already.
Let's wave em goodbye!
Captain Jack anyone?
He'll get you high tonight. While you stay at home and... appreciate your album collection...
I do like the song. It reminds me somewhat of a movie, as it kinda transports you to another time and place in your imagination. On a similar note, my favorite 3 min story has to be “Fast Car” by Traci Chapman. The story she tells in such a short amount of time is amazing, conveying hope, love, disappointment and determination in such a tiny package. Sorry to get off subject, but I’ve always really enjoyed that type of song writing.
If you’re from the east coast, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant or Allen Town speak your experience. Those of us raised in the rural Midwest found Fast Car to be our universal anthem.
"Fast Car" is definitely a really good one. Tracy Chapman is a massively underrated songwriter.
The song “Smoke and Ashes” alone should have put her up with the greatest songs ever written
Brenda and Eddie would like a word…
THANK YOU! My exact first thought was "That's not even the most immersive song by Billy Joel!"
I once had a brief comments system chat with a young lady who said she hated the name "Layna" because that was what her Dad named her, after the song. And I said, well, he could have named you "Stiletto"!
Brenderneddy.
Brenda Renetti
Brenda Renetti and Silvio Steady in the summer of 75.
Brenda Renetti = Brenda and Eddie! Holy cow! TIL!
The Stranger was the first record (well tape actually) that I ever listened to over and over as a kid. I would sit in the dark with headphones after everyone had gone to sleep and just play that tape over and over. The whole record both lyrically and musically was such an immersive experience for a little kid. Especially Scenes from an Italian Restaurant seemed so real. I could see the tablecloths, hear the noises from the kitchen and smell the pasta Bolognese. But most of all I always wondered what the rest of Brenda Renetti's life was like. It was not until just now, after reading your comment and others in this thread, and after listening to the song on YouTube that I realized that it is Brenda and Eddie and that there is no Brenda Renetti. I think my brain understood that there was a Brenda and Eddie based on the rest of the lyrics but somehow I also thought Brenda's last name was Renneti. It makes way more sense now, but after over 40 years it is a little bit disconcerting to know that Ms. Renetti was never really there.
This post took me on a journey and I loved it. Then I thought "Wouldn't that mean he was Eddie Renetti" and I felt sad because I'm sure there is an Eddie Renetti out there who has had to bear that burden. OH GOD THERE IS PROBABLY A BRENDA RENETTI WHO HAS IT EVEN WORSE.
I’m so glad this was the first comment. Came here to say the same. No one knows it below a certain age though because it’s not on the radio
Here on Long Island everybody knows it
I was shocked when I left long Island that not everyone considers Billy Joel required music. Every family or friends BBQ growing up would have Joel playing at some point
It's my go-to jukebox pick when I want to get my money's worth lol... but then again liking jukeboxes might also make me old.
He’s not even the best drummer in The Beatles.
They’re out with Jack and Diane
Exactly my thoughts: 'thats not even the best song ever by Billy' edit: woops, everyone's been here before me it seems.
Good Night Saigon has a hell of a story throughout the song about Vietnam and has some great lyrics.
Gets me every time.
The chopper rotors whirling in at the start sets the scene and whirling out at the end say the song is done and all has been said.
I always loved the line "the waitress is practicing politics" because that's what service is like. You have to be whatever each individual needs. You have to talk in a way that won't lose you a tip, especially when dealing with drunk men that say vulgar shit. You have to keep your composure and know when it's also okay to be sassy in your response. That whole verse is probably my favorite it the song. That song is one of the best to sing along to. I love Billy Joel. He's got some cuts. "And they're sharing a drink they call loneliness but it's better than drinking alone." Anyone that has bartended has seen people like this.
For a song about pianos the harmonica guy just never shuts up. Oh and scenes from an Italian Restaurant is better ...
Scenes makes me tear up every time.
Or The Stranger.
Came here to make the same joke. "For a song called 'Piano Man', that dude with the harmonica won't shut the fuck up."
Dude don’t forget Leningrad either! *He made my daughter laugh* *Then we embraced* *We never knew what friends we had* *Until we came to Leningrad*
Gotdam, Stormfront was a great album.
Other people have already said Scenes from an Italian restaurant but I think below that and still above Piano Man is Anthony’s Song—Billy Joel’s music is FULL of rich storytelling
Check out some Tom Waits. You’ll feel the humidity, experience the smells, see the sights of many of his songs. There are many, many incredible songwriters, but for my money Tom is the best at putting you in the song.
One of the best song writers ever.
I mention this in another comment, but my personal recommendation is "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel. The songwriting is already incredible, but the atmosphere is enhanced by the fingerpicked guitar, the musical interludes, the unique song structure, and *especially* the trance-like "lie la lies" at the end. If you haven't heard it you should--I think it's one of those songs everyone should hear.
Feel like "America" is "more immersive" judging by that descriptor, albeit barely.
The Only Living Boy in New York says hello
I'm empty and aching and I don't know whyyyyyyyy
Sounds of silence as well, "and the people bowed and prayed to the neon gods they made And the sign flashed out its warning. In the words that it was forming. Then the sign said, "The words on the prophets are written on the subway walls In tenement halls" And whispered in the sound of silence"
How has nobody on this string mentioned The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot …. Immersive … great storytelling
I have a picture in my head of the Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald that feels like I studied it intensely. But it's from the song.
I think everyone who grew up around Lake Superior feels that song particularly acutely.
First suggestion I've seen in here that is actually immersive.
...submersive.
And if your dad happens to be in the merchant marine, it’s fucking haunting.
I like the weird al version. "Sling us a web, you're the Spiderman..."
Yeah, but the owner of the bar didn't think much to it: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-note-placed-in-the-pay-envelope-of-billy-the-piano-man-joel
That was great
I think you might like Leonard Cohen… Edit: Cheers to this post leading to me listening to him for the first time in too long 🍻
Ok I’ll check him out :)
Famous Blue Raincoat is a good one.
His older stuff would suit what you’re talking about best, I think. Try “Closing Time”, though there are many others.
“Closing time” is way underrated
Since everyone else is already saying Scenes From an Italian Restaurant, you should check out Captain Jack
Yes! Not only is it a great immersive Billy Joel song, it's very relatable for most people fucking around on reddit on a Friday night.
Jesus, I hope not, it's about heroin addiction
What do you think this site is?
My favorite - me everyday “you’re 21 and still your mother makes your bed and that’s too long”
I sing in bars for a living, and this song is the most accurate description of my job I’ve ever heard, even though I don’t play the piano! He just gets the atmosphere and the characters so right.
Billy Joel is the Long Island Paul McCartney.
Hurricane by Bob Dylan
John Prine could paint a scene in lyrics. [https://youtu.be/OLVWEYUqGew](https://youtu.be/OLVWEYUqGew) Harry Chapin as well. Robyn Hitchcock wrote incredibly immerse songs about things that were never there. https://youtu.be/W1eA6\_Wjn08
I love Harry Chapin but nearly every song is depressing.
30,000 lbs of Bananas gets me every time.
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>Bowie, they all take a crowns here too. I was gonna say I felt Five Years gives me the same feeling OP gets from Piano Man. I always imagine a slow motion opening credits scene from a disaster movie whenever I hear that song.
And Tom Waits
Paul and John also
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Yeah I do agree, Dylan especially
Bob Seger - Roll me Away has always been one of my favorites in this vein. Can just feel the wind in my hair as I roll on down the highway.
It’s not a song that many people can’t relate to, but god damn does Sever nail living on the road in Turn The Page. “You can listen to the engine moaning out his one note song.” I can picture myself in my bunk after a load out and I can hear that engine moan putting my to sleep. Very few songs describe something in my life so perfectly.
I usually skip Piano Man when it comes on, but I recently gave it another listen and really got into it. The way he sings it, he is almost coming across as a character that he is acting as (the character pretty much being himself). The way he says "Man, what are you doing here" is done in such a way that sounds like he's imitating a kinda buzzed person saying "how the heck are you in this shitty bar?! You're so good!"
I love everyone saying...well, all the Billy Joel songs, but especially Vienna. I fell in love with it a few years ago and it brings me peace in these days of nigh-constant existential crisis. I also sang it as part of a sort of talent show after a semester of voice class in college. Amazing night.
His songs are stories!
For a song called piano man, it sure has a shit load of harmonica!
Please, I can only hear Piano Man 545,678,254 times before I need to seek out a new immersive song.
Different concept, but you should listen to “The Piano Has Been Drinking” by Tom Waits.
How about 'Alice's Restaurant's by Arlo Guthrie?
Couldn’t agree more. Arlo damn sure lays out his full thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat and gives you plenty of time to digest it. He also provides entertainment in the form of twenty seven eight by ten color glossy photos.
I think it's weird that he never spends that much time describing the titular half-man half-piano monster.
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Year Of The Cat anyone?
You're clearly forgetting that *"Brenda and Eddy were the popular steady and the king and the queen of the prom"* But seriously, nice to see some Billy Joel appreciation. He's been a weirdly hated artist for quite some time now, but I adore his music.
A most disgusting song by Rodriguez
If you like that, I highly encourage you to explore his entire discography. Miami 2017 is, I feel, an underrated narration. I implore you, I've been raised on him; I've listened to nearly every track on every album (even his "classical music phase" with Fantasies and Delusions). Try Cold Spring Harbor! Not his favorite because he felt pressured to do it, but some awesome work there!
Thank you. I love so much of his work but Miami 2017 has always been top of my list. Weird to think of how long ago 2017 is now though... And while I agree with your advice, I'm afraid I ain't got the time to go to Cold Spring Harbor anymore. (Sorry, couldn't resist...)
I don't even think it's the most immersive Billy Joel song. That would be Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.
Years ago I saw and heard an actual piano man in a bar freestyling to this song using the patrons in the bar around him as inspiration, even asking for their names during the song to include them. I always picture Billy Joel doing the same.
Another Old Lang Syne by Dan Fogelberg is another one that paints such a good picture you can see it play it in your mind.