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Leave A Tender Moment Alone
An Innocent Man (1983) |
And 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 "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" is a sweet and lovely ballad that even the most cynical critic would find difficult to criticize. Musically, it reminds me of several types of genres. It is a jazzy tune, featuring the harmonica playing of highly regarded jazz musician Toots Thielemans (Bluesette). Natalie Cole even did a live jazz version of the song when Billy was honored by MusicCares in 2002 (see snippet videos page). Yet it also recalls the theme music from those weekday afterschool TV specials in the 70s that aired on the ABC network.
And others have said it is done in the style of a Stevie Wonder ballad, perhaps because of the harmonica. It also sounds vaguely French as well, and is reminiscent of Billy's other European-sounding songs such as "Vienna," "C'etait Toi" and "Through The Long Night." The harmonica solo by Thielemans does recall the accordion solo by Dominic Cortese in The Stranger's "Vienna." 
"You've got to leave a tender moment alone."
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Words and Music by Billy Joel Even though I'm in love Sometimes I get so afraid I'll say something so wrong Just to have something to say 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 Yes I know I'm in love But just when I ought to relax I put my foot in my mouth Cause I'm just avoiding the facts If the girl gets too close If I need some room to escape When the moment arose I'd tell her it's all a mistake But that's not how I feel No that's not the woman I've known She's undeniably real So leave a tender moment alone But it's not only me Breaking down when the tension gets high Just when I'm in a serious mood She is suddenly quiet and shy Leave a tender moment Leave it alone I know the moment isn't right To hold my emotions inside To change the attitude tonight I've run out of places to hide And 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 You got to leave a tender moment alone Leave a tender moment Leave it alone You've got to leave a tender moment Leave a tender moment alone Billy discusses "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" from SiriusXM.
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But Billy recently said on SiriusXM radio that the rhythm to the song was like a Burt Bacharach song such as "What The World Needs Now." He expressed his fondness for Dionne Warwick songs like "Walk on By" which was written by Bacharach with Hal David. When I heard this, it suddenly made a lot of sense though I think the song is closer to The Carpenters' "Close To You," also written by Bacharach and David. Listen to Billy discuss it (click player, above).
Yet Billy has also said that the song was like an old Motown track. See the excerpt below from a Toots Thielemans anniversary book (this was translated from Dutch by Billy Joel fan Pieter D'hondt and generously posted on the Billy Joel Completely Retold Facebook page in September 2014):
"When I had written Leave A Tender Moment Alone I couldn’t find the right instrument for that song. A saxophone? A keyboard? No, I was stuck. Until producer Phil Ramone said to me: “I got the guy!”. And he brought Toots Thielemans to the studio. When Toots began to play, my mouth fell open wide. The man was amazing! Toots played one riff after another and every note was like honey.’ ‘Leave A Tender Moment Alone sounds like an old Motown-track, like Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations and Smokey Robinson made them. I tried to sing like those Motown-guys and Toots was like an extra voice dancing happily around mine. He really exudes some incredible energy and joie de vivre.’ ‘I loved the kind of jazz I had come to know as a pianist like Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Art Tatum or the organ of Jimmy Smith. Still, I didn’t really know who Toots was even though I had heard his Bluesette when I was a kid. That is to say until Phil Ramone introduced us to each other. Ramone knew all good musicians in New York so he introduced me to some more jazz musicians like Freddie Hubbard and Phil Woods.’ ‘Toots really is one of a kind. He plays the harmonica as a whistler and that’s really difficult. But he makes it all sound so natural. The harmonica seems like it’s become a part of his body. And he surpasses timeframes. As a guitarist he came from the school of Django Reinhardt, another one of those original musicians. He took in that unique musical world and uttered it in playing his harmonica.’ ‘We’ve never been on tour together, but if we were playing somewhere and Toots was in the area that night we would always invite him to come over and play with us. And he didn’t just accompany me on Leave A Tender Moment Alone, but on other stuff as well such as New York State Of Mind. Toots could play any song at any time and play it perfectly.’
‘Toots lives, drinks, eats and sleeps music. Even when he’s not playing and just listening you can see in his eyes he’s thinking of it. He’s always got musical ideas at the ready and puts so much energy in them. He’s the embodiment of musical joy. 90 years old now but he should stick around at least ‘till he’s 180. The world needs musicians like him. He really is unique, also because he’s not just a jazz musician – he can play every genre and enjoys it too. He lives in different musical dimensions. I don’t even understand how he can get those notes out of his harmonica – it’s like he’s playing a big concert piano on a little piece of metal. His technique is both highly complex and personal… He really is a freak.’
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The message of the song is straightforward, leave a tender moment alone. Don't make a wisecrack, don't tell a joke, just let that tender moment linger. It is not awkward. One feels like Billy is singing this to himself since he is always one to make a wiseass remark or self-deprecating comment when he does something beautiful or sublime. But here, he did not. It is a lovely song. See Billy explain the message of the song in the video below (left).
"Leave A Tender Moment Alone" is a nicely paced ballad with a syncopated beat that you will keep playing in your head well after the song is over. I can hear it now.
"Leave A Tender Moment Alone" is a nicely paced ballad with a syncopated beat that you will keep playing in your head well after the song is over. I can hear it now.
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Thielemans performed an instrumental version of the song on Late Night with David Letterman in the mid-1980s. See video below (right). Several years earlier in 1979, Thielemnans had recorded a jazz instrumental version of "Honesty" erlier on his album Apple Dimple. See video here. Update: Sadly, Toots Thielemans passed away in 2016. He was 94.
