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Big Man On Mulberry Street
​The Bridge (1986)

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Fictional single cover.

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

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       "Big Man On Mulberry Street" is a brassy and swinging jazz tune, akin to the songs on 52nd Street and "New York State of Mind," but with a more overtly jazz or big band vibe.  The song depicts a character who acts like a big shot but secretly knows that it is all just a show.  He has self-awareness and fears being discovered as a phony.  He rhetorically asks himself "so tell me what am I trying to prove?"   As Billy describes the song as "a portrait of a nebbish who thinks he's cool" (from Schruers, Billy Joel).

      At the same time, however, in the last line of the song we discover that he also wants to be  discovered, he wants someone to know the real him.  Instead of asking "what if somebody finds out who I am," he instead laments "what if nobody finds out who I am?"   He recognizes that it's better to be discovered, to be known for who you really are, rather than lead a phony life where no one ever knows the real you.  

      There is nothing too profound here, the song is mostly just a fun bluesy jazz jaunt that swings.  The song was used for a dream sequence in the popular 1980's sitcom "Moonlighting" with Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd.  See video below.

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Billy on "Big Man On Mulberry Street" (audio) from SiriusXm.

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      Billy recorded a live version of the song from his concerts in Russia which appears on Kohuept (1987) and A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia (2014).  Billy also performed the song at the 2013 New Orleans JazzFest (see video below).   And in 2014, Sting joined Billy on stage at Madison Square Garden to sing the ​song.  See below.   You can also see Sting talk about the first time he met Billy when Billy attended a Police concert in the 1970's and they hung out later; click here.

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Words and Music by Billy Joel

​Why can't I lay low
Why can't I say what I mean
Why don't I stay home
And get myself into some boring routine

Why can't I calm down
Why is it always a fight
I can't get unwound
Why do I throw myself into the night

I'm on the outside
I don't fit into the groove
Now I ain't a bad guy
So tell me what am I trying to prove

Why can't I cool out
Why don't I button my lip
Why do I lash out
Why is it I always shoot from the hip

I cruise from Houston to Canal Street
A misfit and a rebel
I see the winos talking to themselves
And I can understand
Why is it every time I go out
I always seem to get in trouble
I guess I made an impression on somebody
North of Hester and south of Grand

And so in my small way
I'm a big man on Mulberry Street
I don't mean all day
Only at night when I'm light on my feet

What else have I got
That I'd be trying to hide
Maybe a blind spot
I haven't seen from the sensitive side

But you know in my own heart
I'm a big man on Mulberry Street
I play the whole part
I leave a big tip with every receipt

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

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Embed from Getty Images

"Big Man on Mulberry Street" was used on an episode of  Moonlighting (Nov. 18, 1986) (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Arch.)
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Videos
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"Big Man on Mulberry Street" was featured on an episode of the television series ""Moonlighting" starring Bruce Willis.

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Billy discusses how he came up with "Big Man on Mulberry Street," from the 1986 documentary "Building The Bridge."

Live performance of the song from the 1987 Russian Tour.

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Billy and his band captivate the crowd with "Big Man on Mulberry Street" at the New Orleans Jazz Fest 2013.  See Rolling Stone article.

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Sting performs "Big Man On Mulberry Street" as a surprise guest at Billy's concert at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2014.

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