Billy Joel Quotes (103 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

You May Be Right.
Song lyrics, Glass Houses (1980)
Context: 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.

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”

Billy Joel

Deep , For Team , Motivational , Life

“Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true. When will you realize… Vienna waits for you.”

Billy Joel

Vienna.
Song lyrics, The Stranger (1977)
Context: But you know you can't always see when you're right
You got your passion you got your pride
But don't you know only fools are satisfied?
Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true
When will you realize
Vienna waits for you?

Dreams , Imagination , Waiting

“I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.”

Billy Joel

Age

“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.”

Billy Joel

Tell Her About It.
Song lyrics, An Innocent Man (1983)

Girl , Boy

“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.”

Billy Joel

The Great Wall of China.
Song lyrics, River of Dreams (1993)

People , Soul , Heart , Perfection

“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.”

Billy Joel

The Downeaster Alexa.
Song lyrics, Storm Front (1989)

God , Children , People , Fish

“Because you had to be a big shot, didn't you
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn't you
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
You know what everything's about
You had to have a white hot spotlight
You had to be a big shot last night.”

Billy Joel

Big Shot.
Song lyrics, 52nd Street (1978)

Night

“You can walk away from your mistakes
You can turn your back on what you do
Just a little smile is all it takes
And you can have your cake and eat it too.
Loneliness will get to you somehow
But ev'rybody loves you now.”

Billy Joel

Everybody Loves You Now
Song lyrics, Cold Spring Harbor (1971)

Love , Smile , Loneliness

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

Billy Joel

Big Man on Mulberry Street.
Song lyrics, The Bridge (1986)

Passion

“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.”

Billy Joel

Tell Her About It.
Song lyrics, An Innocent Man (1983)

Dreams , Feeling

“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.”

Billy Joel

Don't Ask Me Why.
Song lyrics, Glass Houses (1980)

Life , Change , Chance , Waiting

“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.”

Billy Joel

You're Only Human (Second Wind).
Song lyrics, Greatest Hits - Volume I & Volume II (1985)

Pain , World , Forgetting

“Honesty is such a lonely word
Everyone is so untrue
Honesty is hardly ever heard
And mostly what I need from you.”

Billy Joel

Honesty.
Song lyrics, 52nd Street (1978)

“There's a place in the world for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plans
He refuses to bend he refuses to crawl
And he's always at home with his back to the wall
And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost
And struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross
And likes to be known as the angry young man.”

Billy Joel

Angry Young Man.
Song lyrics, Turnstiles (1976)

World , Home

“Seen the lights go out Broadway
I saw the Empire State laid low
And life went on beyond the Palisades
They all bought Cadillacs
And left there long ago.”

Billy Joel

Miami 2017.
Song lyrics, Turnstiles (1976)

Life , Light

“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 my why.”

Billy Joel

Don't Ask Me Why.
Song lyrics, Glass Houses (1980)

Chance

“Streetlife serenaders
Have no obligations
Hold no grand illusions
Need no stimulation.”

Billy Joel

Streetlife Serenader.
Song lyrics, Streetlife Serenade (1974)

“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.”

Billy Joel

The River of Dreams.
Song lyrics, River of Dreams (1993)

Fear , Soul , Search , Sleep

“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.”

Billy Joel

All About Soul.
Song lyrics, River of Dreams (1993)

Love , Faith , Soul , Strong

“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.”

Billy Joel

Piano Man.
Song lyrics, Piano Man (1973)

Feeling , Mood , Singing

“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.”

Billy Joel

State of Grace.
Song lyrics, Storm Front (1989)

World , Perfection

“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.”

Billy Joel

She's Always a Woman.
Song lyrics, The Stranger (1977)

Faith , Smile

“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.”

Billy Joel

Baby Grand (sung with Ray Charles).
Song lyrics, The Bridge (1986)

Baby , Night

“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.”

Billy Joel

Sometimes a Fantasy.
Song lyrics, Glass Houses (1980)

“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.”

Billy Joel

Keeping the Faith.
Song lyrics, An Innocent Man (1983)

Education , Food , Sex , Home

“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.”

Billy Joel

A Matter of Trust.
Song lyrics, The Bridge (1986)

Love , Lie , Question , Learning

“I remember those days hanging out
At the village green
Engineer boots, leather jackets
And tight blue jeans
Drop a dime in the box play the
Song about New Orleans
Cold beer, hot lights
My sweet romantic teenage nights.”

Billy Joel

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.
Song lyrics, The Stranger (1977)

Beer , Light , Night , Box

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

Billy Joel

Keeping the Faith.
Song lyrics, An Innocent Man (1983)

“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.”

Billy Joel

The Longest Time.
Song lyrics, An Innocent Man (1983)

Music , Time

“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.”

Billy Joel

Baby Grand.
Song lyrics, The Bridge (1986)

Memory , Dead

“I am the entertainer and I know just where I stand
Another serenader and another long haired band
Today I am your champion, I may have won your hearts,
But I know the game, you'll forget my name,
And I won't be here in another year
If I don't stay on the charts.”

Billy Joel

The Entertainer.
Song lyrics, Streetlife Serenade (1974)

Game , Heart , Forgetting

“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.”

Billy Joel

She's Always a Woman.
Song lyrics, The Stranger (1977)

Change , Time , Waiting

“Hiding up in the mountains
Laying low in the canyons
Goin' nowhere in the streets
With the Spanish names
Makin' love with the natives
In their Hollywood places
Making up for all the time gone by
Los Angelenos
All came from somewhere.”

Billy Joel

Los Angelenos.
Song lyrics, Streetlife Serenade (1974)

Love , Mountain , Time

“So before we end and then begin
We'll drink a toast to how it's been
A few more hours to be complete
A few more nights on satin sheets
A few more times that I can say
I've loved these days.”

Billy Joel

I've Loved These Days.
Song lyrics, Turnstiles (1976)

Love , Drink , Time , Night

“Brenda and Eddie were the popular steadies
And the king and the queen of the prom
Riding around with the car top down and the radio on
Nobody looked any finer
Or was more of a hit at the Parkway Diner
We never knew we could want more than that out of life
Surely Brenda and Eddie would always know how to survive.”

Billy Joel

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.
Song lyrics, The Stranger (1977)

Life , Cars

“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.”

Billy Joel

An Innocent Man.
Song lyrics, An Innocent Man (1983)

People , Lie , Fear , Hope

“She's got a way about her
I don't know what it is.
But I know that I can't live without her.
She's got a way of pleasin'
I don't know what it is
But there doesn't have to be a reason anyway.”

Billy Joel

She's Got a Way.
Song lyrics, Cold Spring Harbor (1971)

Way

“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
But that never hurt no one.
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.
And only the good die young.”

Billy Joel

Only the Good Die Young.
Song lyrics, The Stranger (1977)

Sun , Hurt

“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
When you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman.”

Billy Joel

Modern Woman.
Song lyrics, The Bridge (1986)

Money , Fashion , Understanding

“It's nine o' clock on a Saturday
Regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Making love to his tonic and gin.”

Billy Joel

Piano Man.
Song lyrics, Piano Man (1973)

Love , Making love

“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.”

Billy Joel

The Great Wall of China.
Song lyrics, River of Dreams (1993)

Men , Faith , Way , Horse

“They will tell you, you can't sleep alone in strange place.
Then they'll tell you, you can't sleep with somebody else.
Ah, but sooner or later you sleep in your own space.
Either way, it's okay, you wake with yourself.”

Billy Joel

My Life.
Song lyrics, 52nd Street (1978)

Way , Sleep

“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.”

Billy Joel

Allentown.
Song lyrics, The Nylon Curtain (1982)

Way

“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.”

Billy Joel

I Go to Extremes.
Song lyrics, Storm Front (1989)

Feeling , Thinking , Heart

“Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood.
Hop a flight to Miami Beach
Or to Hollywood
But I'm talking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line.
I'm in a New York state of mind.”

Billy Joel

New York State of Mind.
Song lyrics, Turnstiles (1976)

Holiday

“I never said you had to offer me a second chance.
I never said I was a victim of circumstance.
I still belong, don't get me wrong.
And you can speak your mind
But not on my time.”

Billy Joel

My Life.
Song lyrics, 52nd Street (1978)

Chance , Time

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