"River Of Dreams" (1993)

No Man's Land Lyrics - Billy Joel

I've seen those big machines come rolling through the quiet pines
Blue suits and bankers with their Volvos and their valentines
Give us this day our daily discount outlet merchandise
Raise up a multiplex and we will make a sacrifice
Now we're gonna get the big business
Now we're gonna get the real thing
Everybody's all excited about it

Who remembers when it all began - out here in No Man's Land
Before they passed the master plan - out here in No Man's Land
Low supply and high demand - here in No Man's Land

There ain't much work out here in our consumer power base
No major industry, just miles and miles of parking space
This morning's paper says our neighbor's in a cocaine bust
Lots more to read about Lolita and suburban lust
Now we're gonna get the whole story
Now we're gonna be in prime time
Everybody's all excited about it

Who remembers when it all began - out here in No Man's Land
We've just begun to understand - out here in No Man's Land
Low supply and high demand - here in No Man's Land

I see these children with their boredom and their vacant stares
God help us all if we're to blame for their unanswered prayers
They roll the sidewalks up at night this place goes underground
Thanks to the Condo Kings there's cable now in Zombietown
Now we're gonna get the closed circuit
Now we're gonna get the Top 40
Now we're gonna get the sports franchise
Now we're gonna get the major attractions

Who remembers when it all began - out here in No Man's Land
Before the whole world was in our hands - out here in No Man's Land
Before the banners and the marching bands - out here in No Man's Land
Low supply and high demand - here in No Man's Land

The Great Wall Of China Lyrics - Billy Joel

Advice is cheap you can take it from me
It's yours to keep 'cause opinions are free
Nobody knows about the trouble I've seen
Nobody's perfect, mister, nobody's clean
It cost too much and takes too long to find out too late
Some words are not heard 'til after they're spoken
Your role was protective, your soul was too defective
Some people just don't have a heart to be broken

We could have gone all the way to the Great Wall of China
If you'd only had a little more faith in me
In lieu of diamonds, gold and platinum reminders will still shine bright
All the king's men and all the king's horses
Can't put you together the way you used to be
We could have been standing on the Great Wall of China

You take a piece of whatever you touch
Too many pieces means you're touching too much
You never win if you can't play it straight
You only beat me if you get me to hate
It must be so lonely to think that you have only
Somebody else's life to live if they let you
I ain't too selective, but it don't take no detective
To find out how fast your friends will forget you

We could have gone all the way to the Great Wall of China
Now all you're going to be is history
Help yourself, it's all you can eat at the Empire Diner tonight
You coulda had class, you coulda have been a contender
Charlie, you shoulda looked out for me
You could have been standing, standing on the Great Wall of China

This was not your calling, just look how far you've fallen
I heard your story, man, you've got to be joking
Keep things in perspective, this is my true objective
Why tear this heart out if it's only been broken?
We could have gone all the way to the Great Wall of China
If you'd only had a little more faith in me
In lieu of diamonds, gold and platinum reminders will still shine bright
All the king's men and all the king's horses
Can't put you together the way you used to be
We could have been standing, standing on the Great Wall of China

Blonde Over Blue Lyrics - Billy Joel

Some days when I'm far away
In a lonely room in a cold seclusion
Some nights when I'm wound so tight
There is no release, there is no solution
In hell there's a big hotel
Where the bar just closed and the windows never opened
No phone so you can't call home
And the T.V. works, but the clicker is broken
But in the darkness I see your light turned on
You know my weakness, you know how I respond to

Blonde over blue...your hands are cold, your eyes are fire
Blonde over blue...they shine as though you're burning inside
One word from you is all I need to be inspired
Blonde over blue...I need your inspiration tonight

These days there's a million ways
To be pulled and torn, to be misdirected
These times there are sins and crimes
On the morning shows for the disconnected
I look and I write my book
And I walk away with the wrong impressions
I don't care 'cause I've done my share And I need some time for my own obsessions
It doesn't matter, I've let that life go by
It's been forgotten 'cause all I wanted was you

Blonde over blue...your hands are cold, your eyes are fire
Blonde over blue...they shine as though you're burning inside
One word from you is all I need to be inspired
Blonde over blue...I need your inspiration tonight

These days not a damn soul prays
And there is no faith 'cause there's nothing to believe in
These days only good luck pays
If we don't get paid then we try to get even
I look and I write my book
And I have my say and I draw conclusions
Some nights when I'm wound so tight
There is no release there is no solution
But in the darkness I see your light turned on
You know my weakness, you know how I respond to

Blonde over blue...your hands are cold, your eyes are fire
Blonde over blue...they shine as though you're burning inside
One word from you is all I need to be inspired
Blonde over blue...I need your inspiration tonight

A Minor Variation Lyrics - Billy Joel

Some days I have to give right in to the blues
Despite how I try to keep fightin'
It's a sure shot I'm going to lose
And I'll tell you why
You think I'm crazy
It's such a sad composition
But can you blame me
For what's been causing my bad disposition?
Ain't nothing new with my blue situation
And nothing's fine, it's just a minor variation

When troubles want to find me, I ain't hard to find
They know where I am
Like a hungry pack of wolves when it's feeding time
They tear up a man
And it's a strange thing
"Cause now it don't really matter
More of the same thing
Don't even hurt it's been part of the pattern
But still in all it's a small consulation
I just define it as a minor variation

Ain't now way to fight 'em darling
Ain't no way around 'em baby
Ain't now way to take 'em honey
Nowhere to hide and believe me I've tried to shake 'em

I'm getting to the point where I don't feel the pain
And I've had enough
I'm ready for the next time it hits me again
"Cause I've gotten tough
It doesn't faze me
And now I've made my decision
I may be crazy
It's not as though I don't know that condition
Until I'm through with this blue situation
Pass me the wine, it's just a minor variation

Ain't nobody's business, baby
Ain't nobody's worry darlin'
Ain't nobody's problem
No way to win when you've already been forgotten

And it's a strange thing
"Cause now it don't really matter
More of the same thing
Don't even hurt, it's a part of the pattern
Until I'm through with this blue situation
Pass me the wine, it's just a minor variation

Shades Of Grey Lyrics – Billy Joel

Some things were perfectly clear, seen with the vision of youth
No doubts and nothing to fear, I claimed the corner on truth
These days it's harder to say I know what I'm fighting for
My faith is falling away
I'm not that sure anymore

Shades of grey wherever I go
The more I find out the less that I know
Black and white is how it should be
But shades of grey are the colors I see

Once there were trenches and walls and one point of every view
Fight 'til the other man falls
Kill him before he kills you
These days the edges are blurred, I'm old and tired of war
I hear the other man's words
I'm not that sure anymore

Shades of grey are all that I find
When I come to the enemy line
Black and white was so easy for me
But shades of grey are the colors I see

Now with the wisdom of years I try to reason things out
And the only people I fear are those who never have doubts
Save us all from arrogant men, and all the causes they're for
I won't be righteous again
I'm not that sure anymore

Shades of grey wherever I go
The more I find out the less that I know
Ain't no rainbows shining on me
Shades of grey are the colors I see

All About Soul Lyrics – Billy Joel

She waits for me at night, she waits for me in silence
She gives me all her tenderness and takes away my pain
And so far she hasn't run, though I swear she's had her moments
She still believes in miracles while others cry in vain

It's all about soul
It's all about faith and a deeper devotion
It's all about soul
'Cause under the love is a stronger emotion
She's got to be strong
'Cause so many things getting out of control
Should drive her away
So why does she stay?
It's all about soul

She turns to me sometimes and asks me what I'm dreaming
And I realize I must have gone a million miles away
And I ask her how she knew to reach out for me that moment
ANd she smiles because it's understood there are no words to say

It's all about soul
It's all about knowing what someone is feeling
The woman's got soul
The power of love and the power of healing
This life isn't fair
It's gonna get dark, it's gonna get cold
You've got to be tough, but that ain't enough
It's all about soul

There are people who have lost every trace of human kindness
There are many who have fallen, there are some who still survive
She comes to me at night and she tells me her desires
And she gives me all the love I need to keep my faith alive

It's all about soul
It's all about joy that comes out of sorrow
It's all about soul
Who's standing now and who's standing tomorrow
You've got to be hard
Hard as the rock in that old rock 'n' roll song
But that's only part, you know in your heart
It's all about soul

Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) Lyrics – Billy Joel

Goodnight, my angel
Time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Wherever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away

Goodnight, my angel
Now it's time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
WHen we went sailing on an emerald bay
ANd like a boat out on the ocean
I'm rocking you to sleep
THe water's dark
And deep inside this ancient heart
You'll always be a part of me

Goodnight, my angel
Now it's time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child may cry
And if you sing this lullabye
Then in your heart
There will always be a part of me

Someday we'll all be gone
But lullabyes go on and on...
They never die
That's how you
And I
Will be

The River Of Dreams Lyrics – Billy Joel

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

Two Thousand Years Lyrics – Billy Joel

In the beginning
There was the cold and the night
Prophets and angels gave us the fire and the light
Man was triumphant
Armed with the faith and the will
THat even the darkest ages couldn't kill

Too many kingdoms
Too many flags on the field
So many battles, so many wounds to be healed
Time is relentless
Only true love perseveres
It's been a long time and now I'm with you
After two thousand years

This is our moment
Here at the crossroads of time
We hope our children carry our dreams down the line
They are the vintage
What kind of life will they live?
Is this a curse or a blessing that we give?

Sometimes I wonder
Why are we so blind to fate?
Without compassion, there can be no end to hate
No end to sorrow
Caused by the same endless fears
Why can't we learn from all we've been through
After two thousand years?

There will be miracles
After the last war is won
Science and poetry rule in the new world to come
Prophets and angels
Gave us the power to see
What an amazing future there will be

And in the evening
After the fire and the light
One thing is certain: Nothing can hold back the light
Timme is relentless
And as the past disappears
We're on the verge of all things new
We are two thousand years

Famous Last Words Lyrics – Billy Joel

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 comfot 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
Ain't that the story of my life

Eric Wincentsen
Glendale Community College
Glendale, Arizona
"I'm just marking my territory..."

"Storm Front" (1989)

That's Not Her Style Lyrics – Billy Joel

Some people think that she's one of those mink-coated ladies
They say she wakes up at one
And she makes the paparazzi run till dawn
She wines and dines with Argentines and Kuwaitis
After she sips margaritas on the White House lawn

That's not her style I can tell you
That ain't my woman
It's just not her style I can tell you
Because I'm her man

The papers say she was seen in LA with a stranger
She found a perfect body with Maserati right outside
And then she chartered a Lear
When she heard her career was in danger
And gave the pilot somethin' extra for a perfect ride

That's not her style I can tell you
That ain't my woman
That's not her style I can tell you
Because I'm her man

That's not her style I can tell you
That ain't my woman
It's just not her style I can tell you
Because I'm her man

Not that she's never done something crazy or done something wild
It's just that she's better at doing whatever suits her style
And that's not her style
I've read where it's said that she sleeps in a bed made of satin
She's had her face done in every place you can try
They say she gets a piece of every lease in Manhattan
And says she's thirty when she's really pushing forty-five

That's not her style I can tell you
That ain't my woman
It's just not her style I can tell you
Because I'm her man
You know it's not her style I can tell you
That ain't my woman
It's just not her style I can tell you
Because I'm her man

We Didn't Start The Fire Lyrics – Billy Joel

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye

Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dancron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge On The River Kwai

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkwether, Homicide, Children of Thalidomide
Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichman, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

The Downeaster 'Alexa Lyrics – Billy Joel

Well I'm on the Downeaster Alexa
And I'm cruising through Block Island Sound
I have charted a course to the Vineyard
But tonight I am Nantucket bound

We took on diesel back in Montauk yesterday
And left this morning from the bell in Gardiner's Bay
Like all the locals here I've had to sell my home
Too proud to leave I worked my fingers to the bone

So I could own my Downeaster Alexa
And I go where the ocean is deep
There are giants out there in the canyons
And a good captain can't fall asleep

I've 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

So if you see my Downeaster Alexa
And if you work with the rod and the reel
Tell my wife I am trolling Atlantis
And I still have my hands on the wheel

Now I drive my Downeaster Alexa
More and more miles from shore every year
Since they tell me I can't sell no stripers
And there's no luck in swordfishing here

I was a bayman like my father was before
Can't make a living as a bayman anymore
There ain't much future for a man who works the sea
But there ain't no island left for islanders like me

I Go To Extremes Lyrics – Billy Joel

Call me a joker, call me a fool
Right at this moment I'm totally cool
Clear as a crystal, sharp as a knife
I feel like I'm in the prime of my life
Sometimes it feels like I'm going too fast
I don't know how long this feeling will last
Maybe it's only tonight

Darling I don't know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens
And if I stand or I fall
It's all or nothing at all
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes

Sometimes I'm tired, sometimes I'm shot
Sometimes I don't know how much more I've got
Maybe I'm headed over the hill
Maybe I've set myself up for the kill
Tell me how much do you think you can take
Until the heart in you is starting to break?
Sometimes it feels like it will

Darling I don't know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens
You can be sure when I'm gone
I won't be out there too long
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes

Out of the darkness, into the light
Leaving the scene of the crime
Either I'm wrong or I'm perfectly right every time
Sometimes I lie awake, night after night
Coming apart at the seams
Eager to please, ready to fight
Why do I go to extremes?

Darling I don't know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens
And if I stand or I fall
It's all or nothing at all
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes
No I don't know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens
You can be sure when I'm gone
I won't be out there too long
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes

Shameless Lyrics – Billy Joel

Well I'm shameless when it comes to loving you
I'd do anything you want me to
I'd do anything at all

And I'm standing here for all the world to see
There ain't that much left of me
That has very far to fall

You know I'm not a man who has ever been
Insecure about the world I've been living in
I don't break easy, I have my pride
But if you need to be satisfied

I'm shameless, baby I don't have a prayer
Anytime I see you standing there
I go down upon my knees

And I'm changing, I swore I'd never compromise
But you convinced me otherwise
I'll do anything you please

You see in all my life I've never found
What I couldn't resist, what I couldn't turn down
I could walk away from anyone I ever knew
But I can't walk away from you

I have never let anything have this much control over me
Cause I worked too hard to call me life my own
Yes I made myself a world and it worked so perfectly
But it's your world now, I can't refuse
I never had so much to lose
I'm shameless...shameless

You know it should be easy for a man who's strong
To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong
I've never lost anything I ever missed
But I've never been in love like this...
It's out of my hands
I'm shameless, I don't have the power now
But I don't want it anyhow
So I've got to let it go

I'm shameless, shameless as a man can be
You can make a total fool of me
I just wanted you to know

I am shameless
Shameless...
Shameless...

Storm Front Lyrics – Billy Joel

Safe at harbor, everything is easy
Off to starboard, daylight comes up fast
Now I'm restless for the open water
Red flags are flying from the Coast Guard mast

They told me to stay, I heard all the information
I motored away and steered straight ahead
Though the weatherman said

There's a storm front coming (mood indigo)
White water running and the pressure is low
Storm front coming (mood indigo)
Small craft warning on the radio

I've been sailing a long time on this ocean
Man gets lonesome, all those years at sea
I've got a woman, my life should be easy
Most men hunger for the life I lead

The morning was grey, but I had the motivation
I drifted away and ran into more
Heavy weather off shore

There's a storm front coming (mood indigo)
White water running and the pressure is low
Storm front coming (mood indigo)
Small craft warning on the radio

We've got a low pressure system and a northeast breeze
We've got a falling barometer and rising seas
We've got the cumulonimbus and a possible gale
We've got a force nine blowing on the Beaufont scale

I'm still restless for the open water
Though she gives me everything I need
She asked me to stay, but I'd done my navigation
I drove her away, but I should have known
To stay tied up at home

There's a storm front coming (mood indigo)
White water running and the pressure is low
Storm front coming (mood indigo)
Small craft warning on the radio

Leningrad Lyrics – Billy Joel

Viktor was born in the spring of '44
And never saw his father anymore
A child of sacrifice, a child of war
Another son who never had a father after Leningrad

Went off to school and learned to serve the state
Followed the rules and drank his vodka straight
The only way to live was drown the hate
A Russian life was very sad
And such was life in Leningrad

I was born in '49
A cold war kid in McCarthy time
Stop 'em all at the 38th Parallel
Blast those yellow reds to hell
And cold war kids were hard to kill
Under their desks in an air raid drill
Haven't they heard we won the war
What do they keep on fighting for?

Viktor was sent to some Red Army town
Served out his time, became a circus clown
The greatest happiness he'd ever found
Was making Russian children glad
And children lived in Leningrad

But children lived in Levittown
And hid in the shelters underground
Until the Soviets turned their ships around
And tore the Cuban missiles down
And in that bright October sun
We knew our childhood days were done
And I watched my friends go off to war
What do they keep on fighting for?

And so my child and I came to this place
To meet him eye to eye and face to face
He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced
We never knew what friends we had
Until we came to Leningrad

State Of Grace Lyrics – Billy Joel

There you go, slipping away into a state of grace
I know the look that comes across your face
It's so familiar to me
Here I am, trying to keep you in my line of sight
I'm never certain that you read me right
Sometimes you don't want to see
Here we are, both of us know we're in love
But that isn't always enough
I never could rise above it all, down I fall

But darling there you go, slipping away into a state of grace
Granted, this world is not a perfect place
Still it's the world that I'm in
Here I am talking while you don't hear a word I say
Knowing you're watching me from far away
Somewhere that I've never been

Don't you see, you lived a different life than me
It doesn't mean you have to be afraid of how
We're not the same, don't leave me now

But darling there you go, slipping away

How can I get you to stay where you are
Keep you for going too far
Holding you here is so hard to do...I'm losing you

And darling there you go, slipping away into a state of grace
Drifting away into your sacred place
Someplace that I've never been
There you go, slipping away, slipping away, into a state of grace
There you go, slipping away into a state of grace
There you go...drifting away...

When In Rome Lyrics – Billy Joel

Well I see you in the morning
Putting on your pretty clothes
And I watch you do your makeup
Like they do in all those fashion shows
Then you turn to me so that I can see
If you put your self together right
Then you go away and you're gone all day
But I know you're coming home tonight
And when you're home, darling all you've got to be is you
But when in Rome, do as the Romans do

Well it's alright if you're tired when your day is done
You can see when you look at me, you're not the only one
It's a cold, cruel world for a working girl
But you can't let them see you cry
It's a fact of life, now a man and wife
Work full time to just get by
And when we're home all it's gonna be is me and you
But when in Rome, do as the Romans do

I've done some strange things I never thought I'd do before
But if the strain brings happiness, more or less...

Then I don't mind masquerading with all those other fools
I don't mind the games I'm playing,
Because I've learned the rules
And when times are tough, I've got just enough
If you're standing right by my side
Darling more and more I get hungry for
All the ways you keep me satisfied
On our own there ain't nothing that we can't get thru
But when in Rome, do as the Romans do

Then I don't mind masquerading with all those other fools
I don't mind the games I'm playing,
Because I've learned the rules
It doesn't matter when we're home, all alone
All we've got to be is me and you
On our own there ain't nothing that we can't get thru
But when in Rome, do as the Romans do

And So It Goes Lyrics – Billy Joel

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

"The Bridge" (1986)

Running On Ice Lyrics – Billy Joel

There's a lot of tension in this town
I know it's building up inside of me
I've got all the symptoms and the side effects
Of city life anxiety

I could never understand why the urban attitude
Is so superior
In a world of high rise ambition
Most people's motives are ulterior

Sometimes I feel as though I'm running on ice
Paying the price too long
Kind of get the feeling that I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong

I'm a cosmopolitan sophisticate
Of culture and intelligence
The culmination of technology
And civilized experience

But I'm carrying the weight of all the useless junk
A modern man accumulates
I'm a statistic in a system
That a civil servant dominates

And all that means is that I'm running on ice
Caught in the vise so strong
I'm slipping and sliding, cause I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong

You've got to run
You've got to run

As fast as I can climb
A new disaster every time I turn around
As soon as I get one fire put out
There's another building burning down

They say this highway's going my way
But I don't know where it's taking me
It's a bad waste, a sad case, a rat race
It's breaking me

I get no traction cause I'm running on ice
It's taking me twice as long
I get a bad reaction cause I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong

You've got to run
You've got to run

Running on ice
Running on ice
Running on ice
Running on ice

This Is The Time Lyrics – Billy Joel

We walked on the beach beside that old hotel
They're tearing it down now
But it's just as well
I haven't shown you everything a man can do
So stay with me baby
I've got plans for you

This is the time to remember
Cause it will not last forever
These are the days
To hold on to
Cause we won't
Although we'll want to
This is the time
But time is gonna change
You've given me the best of you
And now I need the rest of you

Did you know that before you came into my life
It was some kind of miracle that I survived
Some day we will both look back
And have to laugh
We lived through a lifetime
And the aftermath

This is the time to remember
Cause it will not last forever
These are the days
To hold on to
Cause we won't
Although we want to
This is the time
But time is gonna change
I know we've got to move somehow
But I don't want to lose you know

Sometimes it's so easy
To let a day
Slip on by
Without even seeing each other at all
But this is the time you'll turn back and so will I
And those will be the days you can never recall

And so we embrace again
Behind the dunes
This beach is cold
On winter afternoons
But holding you close is like holding the summer sun
I'm warm from the memory of days to come

This is the time to remember
Cause it will not last forever
These are the days
To hold on to
But we won't
Although we'll want to
This is the time
But time is gonna change
You've given me the best of you
But now I need the rest of you

A Matter Of Trust Lyrics – Billy Joel

Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
And they may not want it to end
But it will it's just a question of when
I've lived long enough to have learned
The closer you get to the fire the more you get burned
But that won't happen to us
Because it's always been a matter of trust

I know you're an emotional girl
It took a lot for you to not lose your faith in this world
I can't offer you proof
But you're going to face a moment of truth
It's hard when you're always afraid
You just recover when another belief is betrayed
So break my heart of you must
It's a matter of trust

You can't go the distance
With too much resistance
I know you have doubts
But for God's sake don't shut me out

This time you've got nothing to lose
You can take it, you can leave it
Whatever you choose
I won't hold back anything
And I'll walk a way a fool or a king
Some love is just a lie of the mind
It's make believe until its only a matter of time
And some might have learned to adjust
But then it never was a matter of trust

I'm sure you're aware love
We've both had our share of
Believing too long
When the whole situation was wrong

Some love is just a lie of the soul
A constant battle for the ultimate state of control
After you've heard lie upon lie
There can hardly be a question of why
Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
But that can't happen to us
Because it's always been a matter of trust

Modern Woman Lyrics – Billy Joel

You see her sitting with her coffee and her paper
With her high top sneakers of italian design
With a long cool stare she aggravates the tension
Makes up her face while she makes up her mind

Now you're in trouble, maybe she's an intellectual
What if she figures out you're not very smart
Or maybe she's the quiet type who's into heavy metal
Boy, you got to get it settled
Cause she's breaking your heart

Don't try to put on an act
You can't do that to a modern woman
And you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman

She looks sleek and she seems so professional
She's got a lot of confidence, it's easy to see
You want to make a move
But you feel so inferior
Cause under that exterior
Is someone who's free

She's got style and she's got her own money
So she's not another honey you can quickly disarm
She's got the eyes that make you realize
She won't be hypnotized by your usual charm

You've got your plan of attack
That won't attract the modern woman
Whe you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman

Time goes by and you're sharing an apartment
She says she loves you but she doesn't know why
In the morning she leaves you with your coffee and your paper
It's a strange situation for an old fashioned guy

But times have changed
Things are not the same, baby
You overcame such a bad attitude
Rock and roll just used to be for kicks
And nowadays it's politics
And after 1986 what else could be new

You got to learn to relax
And face the facts of modern woman
And you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman

Baby Grand Lyrics – Billy Joel

Late at night
When it's dark and cold
I reach out
For someone to hold
When I'm blue
When I'm lonely
She comes through
She's the only one who can
My baby grand
Is all I need

In my time
I've wandered everywhere
Around this world
She would always be there
Any day
Any hour
All it takes
Is the power in my hands
This baby grand's
Been good to me

I've had friends
But they have slipped away
I've had fame
But it doesn't stay
I've made fortunes
Spent them fast enough
As for woman
They don't last with just one man
But baby grand
Will stand by me

They say that no one's gonna play this on the radio
They said the melancholy blues were dead and gone
But only songs like these
Played in minor keys
Keep those memories holding on

I've come far
From the life I've strayed in
I've got scars
From those dives I've played in
Now I'm home
And I'm weary
In my bones
Every dreary one night stand
But baby grand
Came home with me

Ever since this gig began
My baby grand's
Been good to me

Big Man On Mulberry Street Lyrics – Billy Joel

Why can't I lay low
Why can't I say what I mean
Why don't I stay home
And get myself into some boring routine

Why can't I calm down
Why is it always a fight
I can't get unwound
Why do I throw myself into the night

I'm on the outside
I don't fit into the groove
Now I ain't a bad guy
So tell me what am I trying to prove

Why can't I cool out
Why don't I button my lip
Why do I lash out
Why is it I always shoot from the hip

I cruise from Houston to canal street
A misfit and a rebel
I see the winds talking to themselves
And I can understand
Why is it everytime I go out
I always seem to get in trouble
I guess I made an impression on somebody
North of hester and south of grand

And so in my small way
I'm a big man on Mulberry street
I don't mean all day
Only at night when I'm light on my feet

What else have I got
That I'd be trying to hide
Maybe a blind spot
I haven't seen from the sensitive side

But you know in my own heart
I'm a big man on Mulberry street
I play the whole part
I leave a big tip with every receipt

I'm so romantic
I'm such a passionate man
Sometimes I panic
What if nobody finds out who I am

Temptation Lyrics – Billy Joel

It's time for me to be on my way I know
I've got business to conduct
And I've got places to go
But I can't help looking at her sleeping instead
Another morning I'll have trouble climbing out of this bed
Because - she's such a temptation

It's driving me crazy
And it's my fascination
That's making me act this way
And I know what all my friends say
They're afraid that I'm losing my touch
But she's such a temptation

I look so tired cause I don't get much sleep
And I've got too many commitments that are too hard to keep
And I try to be rational
And I try to be wise
But it all gets blown to pieces
When I look in her eyes
Because - She's such a temptation
And nothing can save me

And my only salvation
Is tearing myself away
And I know what all of my friends say
There's a danger in wanting too much
But she's such a temptation

I should be leaving
But I can't cut loose
I have my reasons for resistance
But I have no excuse
And I lose my composure
I could use some restraint
I never claimed to be a hero
And I never said I was a saint
She's such a temptation
It's driving me crazy
And it's my fascination
That's making me act this way
And I can just hear all my friends say
"Better watch out, you're losing your touch"
But she's such a temptation

Yes she is
She's such a temptation
Yes she is
Yes she is
She's such a temptation

Code Of Silence Lyrics – Billy Joel

Everybody's got a million questions
Everybody wants to know the score
What you went through
It's something you
Should be over now

Everybody wants to hear the secrets
That you never told a soul before
And it's not that strange
Because it wouldn't change
what happened anyhow

But you swore to yourself a long time ago
There were some things that people never needed to know
Guess there's one that you keep
That you bury so deep
No one can tear it out

And you can't talk about it
Because you're following a code of silence
You're never gonna to lose the anger
You just deal with it a different way

And you can't talk about it
And isn't that a kind of madness
To be living by a code of silence
When you've really got a lot to say

You don't want to lose a friendship
There's nothing that you have to hide
And a little dirt
Couldn't hurt no one anyway

And you still have a rage inside you
That you carry with a certain pride
In the only part of the broken heart
That you could ever save

But you've been through it once
You know how it ends
You don't see the point
Of going through it again
And this ain't the place
And this ain't the time
And neither's any other day

So you can't talk about it
Because you're following a code of silence
You're never gonna to lose the anger
You just deal with it a different way

So you can't talk about it
And isn't that a kind of madness
To be living by a code of silence
When you've really got a lot to say

I know you well enough to tell you've got your reasons
That's not the kind of code you're inclined to break
Some things unknown are best left alone forever
And if a vow is what it takes
Haven't you paid for your mistakes

After the moment passes
And the impulse disappears
You can still hold back
Because you don't crack very easily

It's a time honored resolution
Because the danger is always near
It's with you now
But that ain't how it was supposed to be

And it's hard to believe after all these years
That it still gives you pain and it still brings tears
And you feel like a fool
Because it's part of your rules
You've got a memory

But you can't talk about it
Because you're following a code of silence
You're never gonna to lose the anger
You just deal with it a different way

But you can't talk about it
And isn't that a kind of madness
To be living by a code of silence
When you've really got a lot to say

Getting Closer Lyrics – Billy Joel

I went searching for the truth
But in my innocence I found
All the con men and their acrobats
Who stomped me in the ground
If I count up their percentages
I know they're getting rich
But they haven't taken everything
Those paybacks are a bitch

Though I've lost quite a lot
I am still in control
They can keep what they've got
But they can't have my soul
And if I don't have this all worked out
Still I'm getting closer, getting closer
I still have far to go no doubt
But I'm getting closer, getting closer

What was ripped off by professionals
Is not all that it seems
While I must live up to contracts
I did not give up my dreams
If I see it as experience
It hasn't gone to waste
Lately all the missing pieces
Have been falling into place

And if I could go back and start over somehow
I would not change that much
Knowing what I know now
Thought there have been sins
I will regret
Still I'm getting close, getting closer
I don't have all the answers yet
But I'm getting closer, getting closer

I'm a mark for every shyster
From Topanga to Berlin
And I should have learned to kick them out
As soon as they crawled in
So to every bank in Switzerland
That stores my stolen youth
I'm alright because despite the laws
You cannot hide the truth

And although you will say
I am still too naive
But I have not lost faith
In the things I believe

And if I don't have a this all worked out
Still I'm getting closer, getting closer
I still have far to go no doubt
But I'm still getting closer, getting closer

"An Innocent Man" (1983)

Easy Money Lyrics – Billy Joel

You don't have to talk all night
I'm a man who can't say no
You don't have to twist my arm
Just point me where you want me to go
Take me to the action
Take me to the track
Take me to a party if they're bettin' in the back
I've been working all my life
Can't afford to wait
Let me call my wife so I can tell her I'll be late

I want easy money
Easy money
Easy money
I could get lucky
Oh, things could go right

I want the easy
Easy money
Easy money
Maybe this one time
Maybe tonight

You don't have to try too hard
I don't need a song and dance
I don't need an invitation
If you've got a game of chance
Take me to the tables
Take me to the fights
Run me like the numbers
Roll me like the dice

When you're counting on a killing
Always count me in
Talk to me into losin' just as long as I can win

I want the easy
Easy money
Easy money
I want the good times
Oh, I never had
I want the easy
Easy money
I want the good life
I want it bad

Easy money
You say I fool myself
But better me than someone else
I got a hot slot machine of a system
Ready to go
Easy money
I got a one track mind
And a good reputation laying on the line
I'll either come back a bum or a king
Baby, I don't know

You don't have to start a fight
I'm a man who can't say no
If you've got a little risky business
Just point me where you want to go
Take me to the power
Take me to the heat
Take me to the cleaners
If it's open to the street
Something's got to pay off
Something's got to break
Someone's got a fortune that they're begging
Me to take

I want the easy
Easy money
Easy money
I could get lucky
Things could go right
I want the easy
Easy money
Easy money
Maybe just this time
Oh maybe tonight
Easy money
Oh I don't want no hard cash
I just want the easy money
I could get lucky

An Innocent Man Lyrics – Billy Joel

Some people stay far away from the door
If there's a chance of it opening up
They hear a voice in the hall outside
And hope that it just passes by

Some people live with the fear of a touch
And the anger of having been a fool
They will not listen to anyone
So nobody tells them a lie

I know you're only protecting yourself
I know you're thinking of somebody else
Someone who hurt you
But I'm not above
Making up for the love
You've been denying you could ever feel
I'm not above doing anything
To restore your faith if I can
Some people see through the eyes of the old
Before they ever get look at the young
I'm only willing to hear you cry
Because I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am

Some people say they will never believe
Another promise they hear in the dark
Because they only remember too well
They heard somebody tell them before
Some people sleep all alone every night
Instead of taking a lover to bed
Some people find that's it's easier to hate
Than to wait anymore
I know you don't want to hear what I say
I know you're gonna keep turning away
But I've been there and if I can survive
I can keep you alive
I'm not above going through it again
I'm not above being cool for a while
If you're cruel to me I'll understand

Some people run from a possible fight
Some people figure they can never win
And although this is a fight I can lose
The accused is an innocent man
Oh yes I am
An innocent man

You know you only hurt yourself out of spite
I guess you'd rather be a martyr tonight
That's your decision
But I'm not below
Anybody I know
If there's a chance of resurrecting a love
I'm not above going back to the start
To find out where the heartache began

Some people hope for a miracle cure
Some people just accept the world as it is
But I'm not willing to lay down and die
Because I am an innocent man

I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am
An innocent man

Uptown Girl Lyrics – Billy Joel

Uptown girl
She's been living in her uptown world
I bet she never had a backstreet guy
I bet her mama 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 and 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

This Night Lyrics – Billy Joel

Didn't I say
I wasn't ready for a 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

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 such a long time away
This night can last forever

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

Tell Her About It Lyrics – Billy Joel

Listen boy
Don't want to see you let a good thing
Slip away
You know I don't like watching
Anybody make the same mistakes
I made

She's a real nice girl
And she's always there for you
But a nice girl wouldn't tell you what you should do

Listen boy
I'm sure that you think you got it all
Under control

You don't want somebody telling you
The way to stay in someone's soul

You're a big boy now
You'll never let her go
But that's just the kind of thing
She ought to know

Tell her about it
Tell her everything you feel
Give her every reason to accept
That you're for real

Tell her about it
Tell her all your crazy dreams
Let her know you need her
Let her know how much she means

Listen boy
It's not automatically a certain guarantee
To insure yourself
You've got to provide communication constantly

When you love someone
You're always insecure
And there's only one good way
To reassure

Tell her about it
Let her know how much you care
When she can't be with you
Tell her you wish you were there
Tell her about it
Every day before you leave
Pay her some attention
Give her something to believe

Cause now and then
She'll get to worrying
Just because you haven't spoken
For so long
Though you may not have done anything
Will that be a consolation when she's gone

Listen boy
It's good information from a man
Who's made mistakes
Just a word or two that she gets from you
Could be the difference that it makes

She's a trusting soul
She's put her trust in you
But a girl like that won't tell you
What you should do

Tell her about it
Tell her everything you feel
Give her every reason
To accept that you're for real
Tell her about it
Tell her all your crazy dreams
Let her know you need her
Let her know how much she means

Tell her about it
Tell her how you feel right now
Tell her about it
The girl don't want to wait too long
You got to tell her about it
Tell her now and you won't go wrong
You got to tell her about it
Before it gets too late
You got to tell her about it
You know the girl don't want
To wait - you got to
Tell her about it

The Longest Time Lyrics – Billy Joel

Oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
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 time
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 that 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 that 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

Careless Talk Lyrics – Billy Joel

Careless talk
That's what you heard about me
Jealous talk
That's what I heard about you
Everybody's telling lies
I don't even know why
Why can't people
Find something better to do

Careless talk
I don't believe what they say
I heard them talk
They say you've been putting me down

In the shadows on the phone
They won't leave us alone
They've been talking
Ever since you came around

Careless talk
Telling you I'm doing wrong
Jealous talk
Follows wherever you go

I'm aware of what you heard
Every terrible word
Everybody's making believe that they know
All of the intimate things
That we might have said

In the heat of a passionate moment
In a conversation shared
For the ears of nobody else
There are some things they will never hear
There are secrets I'll never tell
Careless talk
Going around on the street
Jealous talk
I know how bad it can be

Let them stand where they fall
They don't know us at all
All that talking won't make a difference to me

Christie Lee Lyrics – Billy Joel

Let me tell you a story
About a woman and a man
Maybe you will find familiar
Maybe you won't understand

The man's name I don't remember
He was always Joe to me
But I can't forget the woman
She was always Christie Lee

He was working in a night club
That's where he played the saxophone
He used to fake stock arrangements
He left the customers alone
But one night before the last song
About a quarter to three
He saw her standing at the coat check

And made his move on Christie Lee
Christie Lee, Christie Lee
Christie Lee, Christie Lee

She was a nice piece of music
She had a rhythm all her own
He blew a solo like a blind man
She really dug his saxophone
She wanted more than just an encore
And he could play in every key
He left the stage and packed his alto
And took it home with Christie Lee

Oh I heard the man knew "the Bird" like the bible
You know the man could blow an educated axe
He couldn't see that Christie Lee was a woman
Who didn't need another lover
All she wanted was the sax
It took a while for him to notice
It took a while for him to see
He was never in control here
It was always Christie Lee

Christie Lee, Christie Lee
Christie Lee, Christie Lee

Oh the man took a calculated gamble
Yes the man had the power to perform
But Christie Lee was more than he knew how to handle
She didn't need him as a man
All she wanted was the horn

They say that Joe became a wino
They say he always drinks alone
They say he stumbles like a blind man
They say he sold his saxophone

Even the band must face the music
That's what the moral is to me
The only time you hit the high note
Is when you play for Christie Lee

Christie Lee, Christie Lee
Christie Lee, Christie Lee

Leave A Tender Moment Alone Lyrics – Billy Joel

Even though I'm in love
Sometimes I get so afraid
I'll say something so wrong
Just to have something to say

I know the moment isn't right
To tell the girl a comical line
To keep the conversation light
I guess I'm just frightened out of my mind
But if that's how I feel
Then it's the best feeling I've ever known
It's undeniably real
Leave a tender moment alone

Yes I know I'm in love
But just when I ought to relax
I put my foot in my mouth
Cause I'm just avoiding the facts

If the girl gets too close
If I need some room to escape
When the moment arose
I'd tell her it's all a mistake

But that's not how I feel
No that's not the woman I've known
She's undeniably real
So leave a tender moment alone

But it's not only me
Breaking down when the tension gets high
Just when I'm in a serious mood
She is suddenly quite and shy

Leave a tender moment alone
Leave it alone

I know the moment isn't right
To hold my emotions inside
To change the attitude tonight
I've run out of places to hide
And if that's how I feel
Then it's the best feeling I've ever known
It's undeniably real
Leave a tender moment alone
You got to leave a tender moment alone
Leave a tender moment alone
Leave it alone
You got to leave a tender moment alone
Leave a tender moment alone

Keeping The Faith Lyrics – Billy Joel

If it seems like I've been lost
In let's remember
If you think I'm feeling older
And missing my younger days
Oh, then you should have known me much better
'Cause my past is something that never
Got in my way
Oh no

Still I would not be here now
If I never had the hunger
And I'm not ashamed to say
The wild boys were my friends
Oh
'Cause I never felt the desire
'Til their music set me on fire
And then I was saved, yeah
That's why I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith

We wore old matador boots
Only Flagg Brothers had them with a Cuban heel
Iridescent socks with the same color shirt
And a tight pair of chinos
Oh
I put on my shark skin jacket
You know the kind with the velvet collar
And ditty-bop shades
Oh yeah
I took a fresh pack of Luckies
And a mint called Sen-Sen
My old man's Trojans
And his Old Spice after shave
Oh
Combed my hair in a pompadour
Like the rest of the Romeos wore
A permanent wave, Yeah
We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
You can get just so much
From a good thing
You can linger too long
In your dreams
Say goodbye to the
Oldies but goodies
'Cause the good ole days weren't
Always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems

Learned stickball as a formal education
Lost a lot of fights
But it taught me how to lose O.K.
Oh, I heard about sex
But not enough
I found you could dance
And still look tough anyway
Oh yes I did
I found out a man ain't just being macho
Ate an awful lot of late night drive-in food
Drank a lot of take home pay
I thought I was the Duke of Earl
When I made it with a red-haired girl
In the Chevrolet. Oh yeah
We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith

You know the good ole days weren't always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems

I told you my reasons
For the whole revival
Now I'm going outside to have
An ice cold beer in the shade
Oh, I'm going to listen to my 45's
Ain't it wonderful to be alive
When the rock 'n' roll plays, yeah
When the memory stays, yeah
I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
I'm keeping the faith,
Yes I am

"The Nylon Curtain" (1982)

Allentown Lyrics – Billy Joel

Well we're living here in Allentown
And they're closing all the factories down
Out in Bethlehem they're killing time
Filling out forms
Standing in line
Well our fathers fought the Second World War
Spent their weekends on the Jersey Shore
Met our mothers in the USO
Asked them to dance
Danced with them slow
And we're living here in Allentown

But the restlessness was handed down
And it's getting very hard to stay

Well we're waiting here in Allentown
For the Pennsylvania we never found
For the promises our teachers gave
If we worked hard
If we behaved
So the graduations hang on the wall
But they never really helped us at all
No they never taught us what was real
Iron and coke
And chromium steel
And we're waiting here in Allentown

But they've taken all the coal from the ground
And the union people crawled away

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

Well I'm living here in Allentown
And it's hard to keep a good man down
But I won't be getting up today

And it's getting very hard to stay
And we're living here in Allentown

Laura Lyrics – Billy Joel

Laura
Calls me
In the middle of the night

Passes on her
Painful information
Then these careless fingers
They get caught in her vice

Til they're bleeding
On my coffee table
Living alone isn't all that
It's cracked up to be

I'm on her side
Why does she push the poison on me?

Laura
Has a very hard time
All her life has
Been one long disaster
Then she tells me
She suddenly believes she's seen
A very good sign
She'll be taking
Some aggressive action
I fight her wars
While she's slamming her doors
In my face

Failure to break
Was the only mistake
That she made

Here I am
Feeling like a fucking fool
Do I react the way exactly
She intends me to?

Everytime I think I'm off the hook
She makes me lose my cool
I'm her machine
And she can punch all the keys
And she can push any button I was programmed through

Laura
Calls me
When she needs a good fix
All her questions
Will get sympathetic answers
I should
Be so
Immunized
To all of her tricks

She's surviving
On her second chances
Sometimes I feel like this
Godfather deal is all wrong

How can she hold an umbilical chord
For so long?

I've done everything I can
What else am I supposed to do
I'm her machine
And she can punch all the keys
And she can push any button
I was programmed through

Laura
Loves me
Even if I don't care

That's my problem
That's her sacred absolution
If she had to
She would put herself in my chair
Even though I
Faced electrocution
She always says
I'm the best friend that
She's ever had

How do you
Hang up on someone
Who needs you that bad?

Pressure Lyrics – Billy Joel

You have to learn to pace yourself
Pressure
You're just like everybody else
Pressure
You've only had to run so far
So good
But you will come to a place
Where the only thing you feel
Are loaded guns in your face
And you'll have to deal with
Pressure

You used to call me paranoid
Pressure
But even you cannot avoid
Pressure
You turned the tap dance into your crusade
Now here you are with your faith
And your Peter Pan advice
You have no scars on your face
And you cannot handle
Pressure

All grown up and no place to go
Psych 1, Psych 2
What do you know?
All your life is channel 13
Sesame Street
What does it mean?

(I'll tell you what it means)
Pressure
Pressure

Don't ask for help
You're all alone
Pressure
You'll have to answer
To your own
Pressure
I'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationale
But here you are in the ninth
Two men out and three men on
Nowhere to look but inside
Where we all respond to
Pressure
Pressure

All your life is Time Magazine
I read it too
What does it mean?

Pressure

I'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationale
But here you are with your faith
And your Peter Pan advice
You have no scars on your face
And you cannot handle
Pressure
Pressure
Pressure
One, two, three, four
Pressure

Goodnight Saigon Lyrics – Billy Joel

We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives

We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight

We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy
They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all of our might

We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe
And played our Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight

We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand
They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island

We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
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

She's Right On Time Lyrics – Billy Joel

Turn on all the Christmas lights
Cause baby's coming home tonight
I can hear her footsteps in the street

Turn the choral music higher
Pile more wood upon the fire
That should make the atmosphere complete

I've had to wait forever
But better late than never
She's just in time for me
She's right on time
She's right where she should be
She's right on time

I'm a man with so much tension
Far too many sins to mention
She don't have to take it anymore

But since she said she's coming home
I've torn out all my telephones
Soon she will be walking through that door

I may be going nowhere
But I don't mind if she's there
She's just in time for me
She's right on time
She's right where she should be
She's right on time

Left to my own device
I can always make believe
That there's nothing wrong

Still I will choose to live
In the complicated world
That we share for so long
Good or bad
Right or wrong
And it occurred to me
While I set up my Christmas tree
She never missed a cue
Or lost a beat

Everytime I lost the meter
There she was when I would need her
Greeting me with footsteps in the street

I guess I should have known it
She'd find the perfect moment
She's just in time for me
She's right on time
She's right where she should be
She's right on time

Turn the choral music higher
Pile more wood upon the fire
That will make the atmosphere complete

I've had to wait forever
But better late than never
She's just in time for me
She's right on time
She's right where she should be
She's right on time
She's right on time
She's right on time

A Room Of Our Own Lyrics – Billy Joel

You've got diamonds and
I've got spades
You've got pills
And I've got razor blades

You've got yoga honey
I've got beer
You got overpriced
And I got weird

But it's alright
We're the same even though we're alone
It's alright
Yes we all need a room of our own

You've got love, darlin'
I've got sex
You've got cash, mama
And I've got checks

You've got business, baby
I've got the kids
You got crowded just the way I did

But it's alright
Cause we all need a place to call home
It's alright
Yes we all need a room of our own

I can still remember packed together
Like a can of sardines
No, no, no

Pushin', shovin'
That's when lovin'
Starts to come apart at the seams
Oh no, no, no, no
You've got the day shift
I've got nights
We go wrong at times
But we've got rights

You've got TV shows
I've got crime
But you've got your room honey
And I've got mine

It's alright
It's the one thing that we should have known
Yes, it's alright
Yes, we all need a room of our own

And it's alright
Yes we all need a place to call home
It's alright
It's alright
To have a room of your own

No, no, no, it's alright
Yeah it's alright mama
To have a room of our own
Sometimes you've got to get away
Got to get away
Got to get away
Got to get away to a room of our own

Got to have a room
Got to have a little elbow room of my own

Surprises Lyrics – Billy Joel

Don't get excited
Don't say a word
Nobody noticed
Nothing was heard
It was committed discreetly
It was handled so neatly
And it shouldn't surprise you at all
You know

Break all the records
Burn the cassettes
I'd be lying if I told you
That I had no regrets
There were so many mistakes
And what a difference it makes
But still it shouldn't surprise you at all
You know

I said it shouldn't surprise you at all
You know

Don't look now but you have changed
Your best friends wouldn't tell you

Now it's apparent
Now it's a fact
So marshal your forces
For another attack You were so young and naive
I know it's hard to believe
But now it shouldn't surprise you at all
You know

No it shouldn't surprise you at all
You know

What has it cost you
What have you won
The sins of the fathers
Are the sins of the sons
It was always within you
It will always continue
But it shouldn't surprise you at all
You know
I said it shouldn't surprise you at all
You know

Scandinavian Skies Lyrics – Billy Joel

The sins of Amsterdam
Were still a recent surprise
And we were flying over
Scandinavian skies

We climbed towards the sun
We turned and cursed as one
We pulled the shades
And closed our eyes

The Stockholm city lights
Were slowly starting to rise
And we were strapped against
Those Scandinavian skies

The landing gear came down
And touched the Swedish ground
And we were all so paralyzed

On the plane
We were mainly sound and lights
In the veins
We could play the blues all night

The tour of Germany
Was bleeding into our eyes
And we were sailing over
Scandinavian skies

We had the Midas touch
Until we met the Dutch
And they exhausted our supplies

Who's to pay?
For this international flight
Who could stay
We were only there for the night
We watched the power fall
Inside the Oslo hall
While all the cold Norwegians cried

Who could say
What was left and where was right?
By the way
I could play the blues all night

Where's The Orchestra? Lyrics – Billy Joel

Where's the orchestra?
Wasn't this supposed to be a musical?
Here I am in the balcony
How the hell could I have missed the overture?
I like the scenery
Even though I have absolutely no
Idea at all
What is being said
Despite the dialogue
There's the leading man
The movie star who never faced an audience

Where's the orchestra?
After all
This is my big night on the town
My introduction to the theatre crowd
I assumed that the show would have a song
So I was wrong
At least I understand
All the innuendo and the irony
And I appreciate
The roles the actors played
The point the author made
And after the closing lines
And after the curtain calls
The curtain falls
On empty chairs
Where's the orchestra?

"Glass Houses" (1980)

You May Be Right Lyrics – Billy Joel

Friday night I crashed your party
Saturday I said I'm sorry
Sunday came and trashed me out again
I was only having fun
Wasn't hurting anyone
And we all enjoyed the weekend for a change

I've been stranded in the combat zone
I walked through Bedford Stuy alone
Even rode my motorcycle in the rain
And you told me not to drive
But I made it home alive
So you said that only proves that I'm insane

You may be right
I may be crazy
But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
Turn out the light
Don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right

Remember how I found you there
Alone in your electric chair
I told you dirty jokes until you smiled
You were lonely for a man
I said take me as I am
'Cause you might enjoy some madness for awhile

Now think of all the years you tried to
Find someone to satisfy you
I might be as crazy as you say
If I'm crazy then it's true
That it's all because of you
And you wouldn't want me any other way

You may be right
I may be crazy
But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
It's too late to fight
It's too late to change me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right

You may be right
I may be crazy
But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
Turn out the light
Don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right

Sometimes A Fantasy Lyrics – Billy Joel

I didn't want to do it but I got too lonely
I had to call you up in the middle of the night
I know it's awful hard to try to make love long distance
But I really needed stimulation
Though it was only my imagination

It's just a fantasy
It's not the real thing
It's just a fantasy
It's not the real thing
But sometimes a fantasy
Is all you need

When am I gonna take control get a hold of my emotions
Why does it only seem to hit me in the middle of the night
You told me there's a number I can always dial for assistance
I don't want to deal with outside action
Only you can give me satisfaction

It's just a fantasy
It's not the real thing
It's just a fantasy
It's not the real thing
But sometimes a fantasy
Is all you need

Sure it would be better if I had you here to hold me
Be better baby but believe me it's the next best thing
I'm sure there's many times you've wanted me to hear your secrets
Don't be afraid to say the words that move me
Anytime you want to tell them to me

It's just a fantasy
It's not the real thing
It's just a fantasy
It's not the real thing
But sometimes a fantasy
Is all you need
It's just a fantasy
It's not the real thing
It's just a fantasy
It's not the real thing

Don't Ask Me Why Lyrics – Billy Joel

All the waiters in your grand cafe
Leave their tables when you blink
Every dog must have his everyday
Every drunk must have his drink
Don't wait for answers
Just take your chances
Don't ask me why

All you life you had to stand in line
Still you're standing on your feet
All your choices made you change your mind
Now your calender's complete
Don't wait for answers
Just take your chances
Don't ask me why

You can say the human heart
Is only make-believe
And I am only fighting fire with fire
But you are still a victim
Of the accidents you leave
As sure as I'm a victim of desire

All the servants in your new hotel
Throw their roses at your feet
Fool them all but baby I can tell
You're no stranger to the street
Don't ask for favors
Don't talk to strangers
Don't ask me why

Yesterday you were an only child
Now your ghosts have gone away
You can kill them in the classic style
Now you, "parlez vous francais"
Don't look for answers
You took your chances
Don't ask me why
Don't ask me why

It's Still Rock And Roll To Me Lyrics – Billy Joel

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 while 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

All For Leyna Lyrics – Billy Joel

She stood on the tracks
Waving her arms
Leading me to that third rail shock
Quick as a wink
She changed her mind

She gave me a night
That's all it was
What will it take until I stop
Kidding myself
Wasting my time

There's nothing else I can do
'Cause I'm doing it all for Leyna
I don't want anyone new
'Cause I'm living it all for Leyna
There's nothing in it for you
'Cause I'm giving it all to Leyna

We laid on the beach
Watching the tide
She didn't tell me there were rocks
Under the waves
Right off the shore
Washed up on the sand
Barely alive
Wishing the undertow would stop
How can a man take anymore

There's nothing else I can do
'Cause I'm doing it all for Leyna
I don't want anyone new
'Cause I'm living it all for Leyna
There's nothing in it for you
'Cause I'm giving it all to Leyna

I'm failing in school
Losing my friends
Making my family lose their minds
I don't want to eat
I don't want to sleep
I only want Leyna one more time

Now I'm in my room
Watching the tube
Telling myself she still may drop
Over to say
She's changed her mind

So, I wait in the dark
Listening for her,
Instead of my old man saying stop...
Kidding yourself,
Wasting your time

There's nothing else I can do
'Cause I'm doing it all for Leyna
I don't want anyone new
'Cause I'm living it all for Leyna
There's nothing in it for you
'Cause I'm giving it all to Leyna

All for Leyna
All for Leyna

I Don't Want To Be Alone Lyrics – Billy Joel

She said she'd meet me in the bar
At the Plaza Hotel
"Wear a jacket and a tie"
"What's the occasion?"
She just smiled and she wouldn't say why
So here I am standing, waiting in the lobby
Sweating bullets in this stupid old suit
And when she sees me she busts out laughing
"You're a sad sight honey, but you look so cute" and

I don't want to be alone anymore
I was checking you out
I was just making sure
No, I don't want to be alone anymore
And, I want you tonight
Although you hurt me before
It didn't matter that I felt like a fool
'Cause I forgot when she walked through the door
I said I'm sorry, but she said it was cool
And I don't want to be alone anymore

It's so confusing choosing sides
In the heat of the moment
Just to see if it's real
It's so erotic having you
Tell me how it should feel
But I'm avoiding all the hard cold facts
That I've got to face
So ask me just one question
When this magic night is through
Could it have been just anyone
Or did it have to be you

I don't want to be alone anymore
I was checking you out
I was just making sure
No, I don't want to be alone anymore
And, I want you tonight
Although you hurt me before
It didn't matter that I felt like a fool
'Cause I forgot when she walked through the door
I said I'm sorry, but she said it was cool
And I don't want to be alone anymore

But, don't you know that it's wrong
It's wrong, it's wrong...
But like the song
Being caught by the wink of an eye
I can't be sure we'll get along
But I'm willing to try
As long as you can tell me

I don't want to be alone anymore
I was checking you out
I was just making sure

No, I don't want to be alone anymore
And, I want you tonight
Although you hurt me before
It didn't matter that I felt like a fool
'Cause I forgot when she walked through the door
I said I'm sorry, but she said it was cool
And I don't want to be alone anymore

Sleeping With The Television On Lyrics – Billy Joel

I've been watching you waltz all night Diane
Nobody's found a way behind your defenses
They never notice the zap gun in your hand
Until you're pointing it and stunning their senses

All night long, all night long
You'll shoot 'em down because you're waiting for somebody good to come on
All night long, all night long
But you'll be sleeping with the television on

You say you're looking for someone solid here
You can't be bothered with those `just for the night' boys
Tonight unless you take some kind of chances dear
Tomorrow morning you'll wake up with the white noise

All night long, all night long
You're only standing there 'cause somebody once did somebody wrong
All night long, all night long
But you'll be sleeping with the television on

Your eyes are saying talk to me, talk to me
But your attitude is "don't waste my time"
Your eyes are saying talk to me, talk to me
But you won't hear a word 'cause it just might be the same old line

This isn't easy for me to say Diane
I know you don't need anybody's protection
I really wish I was less of a thinking man
And more a fool who's not afraid of rejection

All night long, all night long
I'll just be standing here 'cause I know I don't have the guts to come on
All night long, all night long
And I'll be sleeping with the television on

Your eyes are saying talk to me, talk to me
But my attitude is "boy, don't waste your time"
Your eyes are saying talk to me, talk to me
But I won't say a word 'cause it just might be somebody else's same old line

All night long, all night long
We're only standing here 'cause somebody might do somebody wrong
All night long, all night long
And we'll be sleeping with the television on
Sleeping with the television on
Sleeping with the television on

C'etait Toi (You Were The One) Lyrics – Billy Joel

Here I am again
In this smoky place
With my brandy eyes
I'm talking to myself
You were the one
You were the one

Here I go again
Looking for your face
And I realize
That I should look for someone else
But you were the one
You were the one

I'm looking for comfort
That I can take
From someone else
But after all
I know there is no one
That can save me from myself
You were the only one

Me revoici
Dans ce bar enfume
Avec mes yeux iures
Je me parle a moi meme
C'etait toi
C'etait toi

Me revoici
Cherchant ton visage
Et je realise
Que je devrais en chercher une autre
C'etait toi
You were the one

Je recherche l'affection
Qu'une autre pourrait me donner
Mais apres tout
Je sais qu'il n'y a personne
Personne qui puisse me sauver
Tu etais la seule

I'm looking for comfort
That I can take
From someone else
But after all
I know there is no one
That can save me, save me from myself
You were the only one

Followers