 Download "Captain Jack (Live WMMR)"
But Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to her your special island Captain Jack will get you by tonight Just a little push and you'll be smilin' Although the song "Piano Man" was Billy's first big hit, it was "Captain Jack" which may have saved Billy's career. After Cold Spring Harbor failed to establish Billy's career (no doubt because of the error in the mixing and limited financial support from Billy's label), Billy hid out in Los Angeles. But during his Cold Spring Harbor tour, Billy recorded a mini-concert for Philadelphia radio station WMMR in 1972, in which he sang his new unrecorded song, "Captain Jack." WMMR (DJ Ed Sciaky) played the song regularly over the next year and a half, and it became extremely popular in the Philadelphia area. Listen here. Columbia Records executives took notice, including the legendary Clive Davis, and tracked Billy down in Los Angeles. Columbia signed Billy to a contract and cut a deal with his old label, Family Productions, releasing him from that label. "Captain Jack" was put on the Piano Man album, though it was not released as a single perhaps because it had been played many times already and contained some risque lyrics (i.e. the reference to "masturbate"). Still it became popular on FM radio.
The song is considered one of the best from Billy's Joel's early albums. It portrays the dead-end existence or ennui of suburban teens, perhaps not unlike Billy and his peers during the late 60s, trying to find some escape from their mundane lives. They go to the "Village in their tie-dyed jeans" looking for excitement and escape from suburban ennui, but it's not a joyous retreat, it's sordid and depressing. "Captain Jack" apparently literally refers to a heroin dealer who used to be on Long Island, but Billy has also said that it was meant to be more open to interpretation. "Captain Jack" could be anything that people use to escape to their "special island." The live version on 1981's Songs In The Attic shows how powerful the song can be when performed live. Billy always plays it when he is on tour in Philadelphia, and it still receives an enthusiastic response. |
Saturday night, and you're still hangin' around
Tired of living in your one-horse town You'd like to find a little hole in the ground For a while So you go to the Village in your tie-dye jeans And you stare at the junkies and the closet queens It's like some pornographic magazine And you smile. But Captain Jack will get you high tonight And take you to your special island Captain Jack will get you by tonight Just a little push, and you'll be smilin' Your sister's gone out, she's on a date You just sit at home and masturbate Your phone is gonna ring soon but you just can't wait For that call So you stand on the corner in your new English clothes And you look so polished from your hair down to your toes Ah but still your finger's gonna pick your nose After all But Captain Jack will get you high tonight And take you to your special island Captain Jack will get you by tonight Just a little push, and you'll be smilin' So you decide to take a holiday You got your tape deck and your brand new Chevrolet Ah, there ain't no place to go anyway And what for? So you got everything, ah but nothing's cool They just found your father in the swimming pool And you guess you won't be going back to school Anymore But Captain Jack will get you high tonight And take you to your special island Ohh Captain Jack will get you by tonight Just a little push, and you'll be smilin' So you play your albums, and you smoke your pot And you meet your girlfriend in the parking lot But still you're achin' for the things you haven't got What went wrong? If you can't understand why your world is so dead Why you've got to keep in style and feed your head Well you're 21 and still your mother makes your bed And that's too long But Captain Jack will get you high tonight. And take you to your special island Well now Captain Jack will get you by tonight Just a little push, and you'll be smilin' Ohh, Captain Jack will get you high tonight And take you to your special island Well now, Captain Jack could make you die tonight Just a little push, and you'll be smilin' |
Videos
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Captain Jack from the WMMR radio concert (released on the Piano Man Legacy Edition in 2008). This is the version that got the attention of Columbia Records executives.
Billy gives an intro to "Captain Jack" and explains its subject matter.
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This is a rare televised version of "Captain Jack" from 1972 during the Cold Spring Harbor tour. This was apparently filmed at or near Southern Illinois University. [Update: Deleted from YouTube]
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