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​A Matter of Trust   
The Bridge (1986)

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​     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
    'Cause it's always been a matter of trust

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      "A Matter of Trust" is probably the most well-known song off of The Bridge and was its biggest hit (reaching #10 on the Billboard charts).   It actually sounds like something that could have been on 1989's Storm Front album as it has a strong rock sound and features a lead electric guitar.  Billy typically plays guitar on this song in concert (and in the video) though the studio version is done by David Brown.

      The song emphasizes the importance of trust in a relationship, and that having trust is essential to a long-lasting relationship even more so than passion or compatibility.  This is a song about real love and what it takes to have a strong loving relationship -- trust.  This is not simply trust in the sense of sexual fidelity, but rather trust that your partner has your best interests at heart, that you are a couple together, a single unit, rather than two people living under the same roof and sharing resources.  Thematically, this could have been a companion song or follow-up to 52nd Street's "Honesty" or to "An Innocent Man" from Billy's album of the same title.   

     Billy said on Sirius XM radio in 2016 that the vocals on "A Matter of Trust" were influenced by Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love."  Click below.

Billy on "A Matter of Trust" (audio) from SiriusXM.

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     The music video for the song is sort of a live-action performance.  Billy and his band are in a ground floor apartment near the Village, in the middle of summer.  It is St. Mark's Place.   They start performing the song, but it is too hot so they stop and open up the doors and windows.  Soon, a large crowd gathers outside the apartment and cheers them on.  The scene is reminiscent of The Beatles' rooftop concert in 1969.
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     "A Matter of Trust" was the second single released from The Bridge and like its predecessor, "Modern Woman," it reached #10 on the charts.

     "A Matter of Trust" was also used at the end of the movie Trainwreck (2015), which also featured "Uptown Girl."

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Words and Music by 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
'Cause 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
And 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 have learned to adjust
But then it never was a matter of trust

I'm sure you're aware of 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
'Cause it's always been a matter of trust

It's a matter of trust
It's always been a matter of trust
It's a matter of trust

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Embed from Getty Images

"But that can't happen to us 'cause it's always been a matter of trust"

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Videos
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Billy plays guitar in the music video for "A Matter of Trust" shot in New York on a hot summer day.  © 1986 Sony Music Entertainment.  

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Billy plays keyboards on "A Matter of Trust" on Late Night with David Letterman in 1986.  He also speaks briefly with Letterman at the end.  Watch excerpts from the full episode where Billy appears throughout the program.

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Billy on "A Matter of Trust," from the 1986 documentary "Building The Bridge."

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Live performance in Russia (1987).  A documentary of the tour was made in 1991 also entitled "A Matter of Trust" which was revised and updated in 2014.
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Live from "Live At Yankee Stadium" (1990)
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Billy said his vocals on "A Matter of Trust" were influenced by Robert Palmer and his vocals on "Addicted to Love."

 A cover of "A Matter of Trust" in Russian. Кавер хита Билли Джоэла "A Matter Of Trust" для новогоднего проекта телеканала "ОНТ" (в новой версии она стала называться "Любовь или нет"). Премьера видеоролика, снятого телеканалом "ОНТ" на эту песню, состоялась в новогоднюю ночь 1 января 2006 года.

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Brazil XXI' s cover of "A Matter of Trust" in a light Latin/Brazilian feel.

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CNN used a piano-only version of "A Matter of Trust" in this promo video from 2020.

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