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Billy Joel Quotes
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William Martin Joel is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He was born in the Bronx, New York, and raised on Long Island, New York, places which have a heavy influence on his songs. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States. His compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 is one of the best-selling albums in the US.

Joel had Top 40 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, achieving 33 Top 40 hits in the US, all of which he wrote himself. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner who has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards. He has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.

Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame , the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame . In 2001, Joel received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2013, Joel received the Kennedy Center Honors, the nation's highest honor for influencing American culture through the arts. With the exception of the 2007 songs "All My Life" and "Christmas in Fallujah", Joel stopped writing and releasing pop/rock material after 1993's River of Dreams. However, he continues to tour, and he plays songs from all eras of his solo career.

✵ 9. May 1949
Billy Joel photo
Billy Joel: 103   quotes 4   likes

Billy Joel Quotes

“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.”

Billy Joel

Just the Way You Are.
Song lyrics, The Stranger (1977)

Way

“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.”

Billy Joel

Shades of Grey.
Song lyrics, River of Dreams (1993)

Truth , Youth , Fear , Faith

“Well, we all fall in love
But we disregard the danger
Though we share so many secrets
There are some we never tell.
Why were you so surprised
That you never saw the stranger?
Did you ever let your lover see
The stranger in yourself?”

Billy Joel

The Stranger.
Song lyrics, The Stranger (1977)

Love , Secret , Lovers

“Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
Our reason coexists with our insanity
And though we choose between reality and madness
It's either sadness or euphoria.”

Billy Joel

Summer, Highland Falls.
Song lyrics, Turnstiles (1976)

Sadness , Reality , Madness

“So many faces in and out of my life
Some will last
Some will be just now and then.
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.
Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye my baby
Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye my baby.”

Billy Joel

Say Goodbye to Hollywood.
Song lyrics, Turnstiles (1976)

Life , Time , Baby

“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.”

Billy Joel

Leningrad.
Song lyrics, Storm Front (1989)

Daughters

“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.”

Billy Joel

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

Life , Home , Time

“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.”

Billy Joel

Blonde Over Blue.
Song lyrics, River of Dreams (1993)

Life , Books , Way , Time

“They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better but I say it ain't.
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
Sinners are much more fun…
And only the good die young.”

Billy Joel

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

Waiting , Cry

“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.”

Billy Joel

Goodnight Saigon
Song lyrics, The Nylon Curtain (1982)

Waiting

“So you play your albums and you smoke your pot
And you meet your girlfriend in the parking lot
Oh, but still you're aching for the things you haven't got,
What went wrong?
And if you can't understand why your world is so dead
And why you've got to keep in style and feed your head
Well, you're twenty one and still you mother makes your bed
And that's too long.”

Billy Joel

Captain Jack.
Song lyrics, Piano Man (1973)

World , Understanding , Dead

“She comes to me when I'm feelin' down
Inspires me without a sound
She touches me and I get turned around.”

Billy Joel

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

“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.”

Billy Joel

And So It Goes.
Song lyrics, Storm Front (1989)

Time

“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.”

Billy Joel

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

Business , Fight

“I can always find someone
To say they sympathize
If I wear my heart out on my sleeve.
But I don't want some pretty face
To tell me pretty lies.
All I want is someone to believe.”

Billy Joel

Honesty.
Song lyrics, 52nd Street (1978)

Heart

“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.”

Billy Joel

Leave a Tender Moment Alone.
Song lyrics, An Innocent Man (1983)

Feeling , Girl , Light

“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.”

Billy Joel

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

Faith , Beer , Memory

“Brenda and Eddie had had it already
By the summer of '75
From the high to the low
To the end of the show
For the rest of their lives.
They couldn't go back to the greasers.
The best they could do was pick up the pieces.
We always knew they would both find a way to get by.
That's all I heard about Brenda and Eddie.
Can't tell you more than I told you already.
And here we are wavin' Brenda and Eddie goodbye.”

Billy Joel

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

Way , Summer

“What's the matter with the crowd I'm seeing?
"Don't you know that their 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.”

Billy Joel

It's Still Rock and Roll to Me.
Song lyrics, Glass Houses (1980)

Money , Fashion , Thinking , Dance

“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.”

Billy Joel

A Minor Variation.
Song lyrics, River of Dreams (1993)

Sadness , Thinking

“If I traveled all my life
And I never get to stop and settle down
Long as I have you by my side
There's a roof above and good walls all around
You're my castle, you're my cabin and my instant pleasure dome
I need you in my house 'cause you're my home.”

Billy Joel

You're My Home.
Song lyrics, Piano Man (1973)

Life , Pleasure , Travel , Home

“I am the entertainer, I've come to do my show
You've heard my latest record, it's been on the radio
It took me years to write it, they were the best years of my life
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.”

Billy Joel

The Entertainer.
Song lyrics, Streetlife Serenade (1974)

Life , Beauty

“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.”

Billy Joel

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

Pain , Silence , Waiting , Cry

“I am the entertainer, the idol of my age
I make all kinds of money when I go on the stage
You see me in the papers, I've been in the magazines
But if I go cold, I won't get sold
I get put in the back in the discount rack
Like another can of beans.”

Billy Joel

The Entertainer.
Song lyrics, Streetlife Serenade (1974)

Money , Age

“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.”

Billy Joel

Shameless.
Song lyrics, Storm Front (1989)

Love , World

“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.”

Billy Joel

Piano Man.
Song lyrics, Piano Man (1973)

Drink , Loneliness

“You know those lights were bright on Broadway
That was so many years ago
Before we all lived here in Florida
Before the Mafia took over Mexico.
There are not many who remember
They say a handful still survive
To tell the world about
The way the lights went out
And keep the memory alive.”

Billy Joel

Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway).
Song lyrics, Turnstiles (1976)

World , Way , Light , Memory

“It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, The Daily News.”

Billy Joel

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

Time

“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.”

Billy Joel

Pressure.
Song lyrics, The Nylon Curtain (1982)

Feeling , Learning

“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.”

Billy Joel

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

Feeling , Time

“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.”

Billy Joel

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

People , World , Hope

“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.”

Billy Joel

Allentown.
Song lyrics, The Nylon Curtain (1982)

“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.”

Billy Joel

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

Fools , Thinking , Time

“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.”

Billy Joel

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

World , Guy , Girl

“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.”

Billy Joel

No Man's Land.
Song lyrics, River of Dreams (1993)

Business

“I believe I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage
I found that just surviving was a noble fight
I once believed in causes too
I had my pointless point of view
And life went on no matter who was wrong or right.”

Billy Joel

Angry Young Man.
Song lyrics, Turnstiles (1976)

Life , Age , Rage , Fight

“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.”

Billy Joel

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

“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.
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)

Dreams