"Piano Man" has been released as a single and on several albums.
"Piano Man" is a fictionalized retelling of real people Joel met during his days as a piano-lounge singer in Los Angeles, after the failure of his first album, Cold Spring Harbor. Joel's own personal feelings about this failure are expressed in the failed dreams of the characters in his song. At the time, Joel was trying to get out of a bad deal with the record company Family Productions, so, according to Joel, he was "hiding out" at the bar, performing under the name Bill Martin while Columbia Records tried to get him out of the deal.
It was first released as the second track on Joel's Piano Man album and was later released on several greatest hits collections, including The Essential Billy Joel.
When originally issued as a single, the song was deemed too long by record executives (5 minutes and 38 seconds), so two verses were cut in half and spliced together for the release as a 45. Later, Billy Joel's song "The Entertainer" mentions this event by commenting, "It was a beautiful song, but it ran too long. If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit. So they cut it down to 3:05."
Joel admitted on Inside the Actors Studio that each of the characters in the song is based on a real person, either a friend of his or another stranger at the bar.
It is in the key of C Major and has a fast 3/4 time signature. It begins with a jazzy piano line moving into its famous piano/harmonica intro. The verses and subsequently the chorus feature a walking bassline in C ending with a D - G turnaround. The song follows the form: Intro, verse, verse (sung an octave higher), prechorus, chorus, instrumental fill. Instrumentally, Joel's 1973 version features piano, harmonica, bass, accordion, mandolin, drums and vocals.
The song has been one of Joel's greatest hits. It peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Today it remains popular, and ranks as Joel's #1 song on the iTunes Music Store as of July 2009[update]. The song is so well-known that during Joel's concerts, he usually lets the audience sing the chorus.
During the first Face to Face tour featuring Elton John and Joel, ads promoted the event as "Rocket Man meets Piano Man".
"Piano Man" was ranked #421 in the 2004 List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
* "Weird Al" Yankovic created a parody of this song called "Ode To A Super-Hero", which can be found on his 2003 album Poodle Hat, about the first movie in the recent set of Spider-Man films
* On an episode of The Amanda Show, Amanda Bynes and Drake Bell sang a parody of the song in a restaurant
* On an episode of Robot Chicken, Billy Joel, voiced by Zac Efron is shown at a bar murdering the Davy mentioned in the song declaring that Davy is "one with the Joel". At the end of the episode, Joel performs a parody of "Piano Man" with altered lyrics, pulling out a gun at the patrons, and insulting Pete, who kills Joel and receives the news that the novel he was attempting to publish has been published, and that his wife has died from crotch-rot. Pete declares "Poetic justice!" ending the skit
* Hamish & Andy also created a parody using part of the song, calling it the "Sex Excuses Song"
* Flight of the Conchords song "Bret's Day" is based on "Piano Man"
* On an episode of "Glee," Neil Patrick Harris and Matthew Morrison sing along to this song in a bar as it's played on the jukebox.
Piano Man
Billy Joel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sittin' next to me
Makin' 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"
La, la-la, di-dee-da
La-la, di-dee-da, da-dum
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 feelin' alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's some place that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me"
As 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"
Oh, la, la-la, di-dee-da
La-la, di-dee-da, da-dum
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' 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 drinkin' alone
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it 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 doin' here?"
Oh, la, la-la, di-dee-da
La-la, di-dee-da, da-dum
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 feelin' alright
The lyrics to Piano Man by Billy Joel describe the scene in a bar on a Saturday night, where the "regular crowd" comes in to drink and forget about their troubles. The singer notes an "old man" sitting next to him who asks him to "play a memory." This old man is feeling nostalgic for a time in his past when he was happier and more carefree, represented by the line "but it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete when I wore a younger man's clothes."
The rest of the lyrics introduce other characters in the bar, including John who works at the bar, Bill who dreams of being a movie star, Paul who writes "real estate novels," and Davy who is in the Navy. All these characters have their own struggles and hardships but find solace in the bar and the music played by the piano man. The chorus repeats the request for the piano man to play a song, as the crowd is in the mood for a melody and the music makes them feel better.
Overall, the song is about the power of music to bring people together and provide a temporary escape from their problems. The bar and the piano man become a sort of refuge for the characters in the lyrics, a place where they can forget their troubles for a while and just enjoy the music and each other's company.
Line by Line Meaning
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
It's the weekend and the bar is packed
The regular crowd shuffles in
The usual customers come and take their seats
There's an old man sittin' next to me
An elderly man is sitting beside the singer
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He's drinking and enjoying his drink
He says, "Son, can you play me a memory?
The old man asks the artist to play a particular song from the past
I'm not really sure how it goes
He's unsure of the song's details
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
It's a song that's both happy and sad, but he used to know it by heart
When I wore a younger man's clothes"
He knew the song back when he was younger
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
The patrons ask the pianist to play them a song
Sing us a song tonight
They want to hear some music tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
Everyone is ready to hear some good music
And you've got us feeling' alright
The music is making everyone feel good
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
The singer knows one of the customers named John
He gets me my drinks for free
John pays for the singer's drinks
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
He's a funny guy who would light up someone's cigarette if asked for it
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
John isn't happy being at the bar
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me"
He doesn't like this lifestyle
As the smile ran away from his face
The mention of his dissatisfaction made him lose his smile
"Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star
John thinks he has the potential to become a movie star
If I could get out of this place"
But he feels trapped
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
There's another customer named Paul who writes stories about real estate
Who never had time for a wife
Paul never got married
And he's talking with Davy, who's still in the Navy
Paul is having a conversation with Davy, who is still serving in the navy
And probably will be for life
Davy will likely be in the navy for the rest of his life
And the waitress is practicing politics
The waitress is talking about politics and practicing her beliefs
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
The businessmen at the bar are getting drunk
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
They are drinking as a way to distract themselves from their feelings of loneliness
But it's better than drinking alone
They would rather be drinking together than by themselves
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
There are a lot of people at the bar for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
The manager is friendly with the singer
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
The people are coming to hear the singer play music on the piano
To forget about life for a while
The piano music is a way to escape from their problems for a little while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
The sound of the piano is like a celebration
And the microphone smells like a beer
The microphone smells like someone spilled beer on it
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
The customers tip the singer for playing music
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"
The tips they give make the artist wonder why he plays piano at a bar
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billy Joel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@leokimvideo
How the hell did a 24 year old write one of the greatest songs of all time as his first single.
@tierneebailey375
ong
@hansgarcia1268
he don't know
@HolyManOfficial
Anyone can write a good song :D
@JBofBrisbane
Where's yours?
@kingkylie9655
This is not that impressive for a 24 year old? 24 year olds are capable young adults at that core part of their life where they have the accessibility to create great things thanks to the foundation theyve built over their years AND they make refined things
@JuanAlvarez-et5vv
I just want to thank my old man for showing me this... Music has been a very important friend in my life, and this song is very special to me. We live in Colombia, my father could not speak English, but I remember one time that he put this on Youtube in the T.V. He said: "Escucha esto, es tremenda historia" (Listen to this, it is such a story"). He didn't understand a single word, but the video gave him the clues that he needed to consider this song a "masterpiece". You don't need to understand music, you just need to feel it.
R.I.P to my daddy, I will love you forever, and I am very grateful for everything that you taught me.
@Smartass_Jedi
1973: masterpiece
2024: masterpiece
Stills speaks to me after 50 years. Incredible
@dwarian5252
same.
Also I think bittersweet songs in general resonate much better, thus making them better in most cases.
I would also say the bittersweet feeling is very similar to nostalgia, which is something we seek at least every once in a while.
Have an amazing day. :)
@GabeTheSilly
@@dwarian5252 You aswell! To the amazing day part-