Billy Joel |
 |
|
Piano Man It's nine o'clock on a Saturday The regular crowd shuffles in There's an old man sitting next to me Making love to his tonic and gin He says, "Son can you play me a memory I'm not really sure how it goes But it's sad and it's sweet And I knew it complete When I wore a younger man's clothes" Chorus Sing us a song, you're the piano man Sing us a song tonight Well we're all in the mood for a melody And you've got us feeling alright Now John at the bar is a friend of mine He gets me my drinks for free And he's quick with a joke Or to light up your smoke But there's someplace that he'd rather be He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me" As the smile ran away from his face "Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star If I could get out of this place" Repeat Chorus Now Paul is real estate novelist Who never had time for a wife And he's talking with Davy Who's still in the Navy And probably will be for life And the waitress is practicing politics As the businessmen slowly get stoned Yes they're sharing a drink they call loneliness But it's better than drinking alone Repeat Chorus It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday And the manager gives me a smile Cause he knows that it's me They've been coming to see To forget about life for awhile And the piano sounds like a carnival And the microphone smells like a beer And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar And say "Man, what are you doing here?" Repeat Chorus |
|
Just The Way You Are Don't go changing, to try and please me You never let me down before Don't imagine you're too familiar And I don't see you anymore I would not leave you in time of trouble We never could have come this far I took the good times, I'll take the bad times I'll take you just the way you are Don't go trying some new fashion Don't change the color of your hair You always have my unspoken passion Although I might not seem to care I don't want clever conversation I never want to work that hard I just want someone that I can talk to I want you just the way you are I need to know that you will always be The same old someone that I knew What will it take till you believe in me The way that I believe in you I said I love you and that's forever And this I promise from the heart I could not love you any better I love you just the way you are |
|
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) Anthony works in the grocery store Savin' his pennies for someday Mama Leone left a note on the door, She said "Sonny, move out to the country" Workin too hard can you a heart attack You oughta know by now Who needs a house out in Hackensack? Is that what you get for your money? It seems such a waste of time If that's what it's all about If that's movin' up then I'm movin' out Sargeant O'Leary is walkin' the beat At night be becomes the bartender He works at Mr. Caccitore's down on Sullivan Street Across from the medical center He's tradin' in his Chevy for a Cadillac You oughta know by know And if he can't drive with a broken back At least he can polish the fenders It seems such a waste of time If that's what it's all about Mama, if that's movin' up then I'm movin' out You should never argue with a crazy mind You oughta know by now You can pay Uncle Sam with the overtime Is that all you get for your money? And if that's what you have in mind Yeah, that's what you're all about Good luck movin' up 'cuz I'm movin out |
|
Only The Good Die Young Come out Virginia, don't let me wait You Catholic girls start much too late Aw, but sooner or later it comes down to fate I might as well be the one They showed you a statue and told you to pray They built you a temple and locked you away Aw, but they never told you the price that you pay For things that you might have done Only the good die young You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd We ain't too pretty we ain't too proud We might be laughing a bit too loud Aw, but that never hurt no one So, come on Virginia show me a sign Send up a signal I'll throw you the line The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind Never lets in the sun Darlin, only the good die young You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation You got a brand new soul and a cross of gold But Virginia they didn't give you quite enough information You didn't count on me When you were counting on your rosary They say there's a heaven for those who'll wait Some say it's better but I say it ain't I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints The sinners are much more fun You know that only the good die young You say your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation Aw, she never cared for me But did she ever say a prayer for me? Come out, come out, come out Virginia don't let me wait You Catholic girls start much to late But sooner or later it comes down to fate I might as well be the one You know that only the good die young |
|
She's Always A Woman She can kill with a smile She can wound with her eyes She can ruin your faith with her casual lies And she only reveals what she wants you to see She hides like a child But she's always a woman to me She can lead you to love She can take you or leave you She can ask for the truth But she'll never believe you And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free She steals like a thief But she's always a woman to me Chorus Oh- she takes care of herself She can wait if she wants She's ahead of her time Oh-and she never gives out And she never gives in She just changes her mind She will promise you more than the Garden of Eden Then she'll carelessly cut you And laugh while you're bleeding But she'll bring out the best And the worst you can be Blame it all on yourself Cause she's always a woman to me Repeat Chorus She is frequently kind And she's suddenly cruel She can do as she pleases She's nobody's fool But she can't be convicted She's earned her degree And the most she will do Is throw shadows at you But she's always a woman to me |
|
My Life Got a call from an old friend We used to be real close Said he couldn't go on the American way Closed the shop, sold the house Bought a ticket to the West Coast Now he gives them a stand-up routine in LA Chorus I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life Go ahead with your own life and leave me alone I never said I was a victim of circumstance I still belong, don't get me wrong You can speak your mind But not on my time They will tell you you can't sleep alone In a strange place Then they'll tell you you can't sleep With somebody else But sooner or later you sleep In your own space Either way it's okay You wake up with yourself Repeat Chorus |
|
You May Be Right 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's 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 |
|
It's Still Rock And Roll To Me What's the matter with the clothes I'm wearin? "Can't you tell that's your tie's too wide?" Maybe I should buy some old tab collars? "Welcome back to the age of jive. Where have you been hangin out lately, honey? You can't dress trashy till you spend a lot of money." Everybody's talkin about the new sound Funny, but it's still rock and roll to me. What's the matter with the car I'm driveing? "Can't you tell that it's out of style?" Should I get a set of white wall tires? "Are you gonna cruise the miracle mile? Nowadays you can't be too sentimental Your best bet's a true baby blue continental." Hot funk, cool punk, even if it's old junk It's still rock and roll to me. Oh, it doesn't matter what they say in the papers Cause it's always in 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 cheap pair 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 you're out of touch?" Should I try to be a staight 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 |
|
Don't Ask Me Why 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 your life you had to stand in line Still you're standing on your feet All your choices made you change your mind Now your calendar'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 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 answers You took your chances Don't ask me why Don't ask me why |
|
Allentown 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 hand 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 |
|
You're Only Human (Second Wind) You're having a hard time and lately you don't feel so good You're getting a bad reputation in your neighborhood It's alright, It's alright Sometimes that's what it takes You're only human, you're allowed to make your share of mistakes You better believe there will be times in your life When you'll be feeling like a stumbling fool So take it from me you'll learn more from your accidents Than anything that you could ever learn in school Don't forget your second wind Sooner or later you'll get your second wind It's not always easy to be living in this world of pain You're gonna be crashing into stone walls again and again It's alright, It's alright Though you feel your heart break You're only human, you're gonna have to deal with heartache Just like a boxer in a title fight You got to walk in that ring all alone You're not the only one who's made mistakes But they're the only things that you can truly call your own Don't forget your second wind Wait in the corner until that breeze blows in You've been keeping to yourself these days Cause you're thinking everything's gone wrong Sometimes you just want to lay down and die That emotion can be so strong But hold on Till that old second wind comes along You probably don't want to hear advice from someone else But I wouldn't be telling you if I hadn't been there myself It's alright, It's alright Sometimes that's all it takes We're only human We're supposed to make mistakes But I survived those long lonely days When it seemed I did not have a friend Cause all I needed was a little faith So I could catch my breath and face the world again Don't forget your second wind Sooner or later you'll feel that momentum kick in Don't forget your second wind Sooner or later you'll feel that momentum kick in |
|
Keeping The Faith If it seems like I've been lost In let's remember If you think I'm feelin 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 aftershave 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 old 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 OK 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 a 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 and 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 |
|
An Innocent Man 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 knwo 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 a 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 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 awhile 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 |
|
A Matter of Trust 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 gonna 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 if 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 All I'll walk away a fool or a king Some love is just a lie of the mind It's make believe until it's only a matter of time And some might learn 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 Becaue it's always been a matter of trust |
|
We Didn't Start The Fire Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio Joe McCathy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom Brando, The King and I, and The Cather in the Rye Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen Maciano, 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 Block 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 Starkweather, 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, Stanger in a Strange Land Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs Invasion Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania Old Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex JFK 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 |
|
Uptown girl She's been living in her uptown world I bet she never had a back street 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 You know I'm in love With an uptown girl My uptown girl |
|
Leave a Tender Moment Alone 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 even 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 quiet and shy Leave a tender moment 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 even known It's undeniably real Leave a tender moment alone You got to leave a tender moment alone Leave a tender moment Leave it alone You've got to leave a tender moment Leave a tender moment alone |
|
The Longest Time 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 I'm that voice you're hearing in the hall And the greatest miracle of all Is how I need you And how you needed me too That hasn't happened for the longest time Maybe this won't last very long But you feel so right And I could be wrong Maybe I've been hoping too hard But I've gone this far And it's more than I hoped for Who knows how much further we'll go on Maybe I'll be sorry when you're gone I'll take my chances I forgot how nice romance is I haven't been there for the longest time I had second thoughts at the start I said to myself Hold on to your heart Now I know the woman that you are You're wonderful so far And it's more than I hoped for I don't care what consequence it brings I have been a fool for lesser things I want you so bad I think you ought to know that I intend to hold you for the longest time |
|
The River Of Dreams 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 Though 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 |
|
Pressure 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 can not 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? 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 |
 |
|