Well 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 The sinners are much more fun... "Only the Good Die Young" is one of Billy's most enjoyable and irresistible songs. It is a fast-paced pop/rock song with clever lyrics and an infectious beat and refrain. It's a classic boy-wants-girl song with a slight religious twist as the target of the singer's lust is a chaste Catholic girl.
The one-liners and lyrics fit perfectly with the song's meter, and just keep coming. He tells the girl that "the stained-glass curtain" that she is hiding behind "never lets in the sun." And though he may hang with a rowdy and boisterous crowd, "that never hurt no one." After all, he'd "rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints" because "the sinners are much more fun." This is one of Billy's most enjoyable lyrics albeit perhaps a bit dated now in the #MeToo era. It's reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen's "Rosalita" and helped put Billy on the map as a chronicler of urban and suburban life along with "Movin' Out."
On Saturday Night Live (1977) Some radio stations and Catholic schools such as Seton Hall University banned the song from college radio,which helped boost sales of the single. But as Billy says the song is not anti-religion so much as it is "pro-lust," and in the end, he doesn't get the girl anyway. Read an article about the song and the controversy from Performing Songwriter. Joel states:
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Come out Virginia, don't let me me wait You Catholic girls start much too late Ah, but sooner or later it comes down to fate I might as well be the one Well they showed you a statue and told you to pray They built you a temple and locked you away Ah, but they never told you the price that you pay For things that you might have done . . . Well only the good die young, that's what I said Only the good die young Only the good die young You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd We ain't too pretty we ain't too proud We might be laughing a bit too loud Ah, but that never hurt no one So come on Virginia show me a sign Send up a signal I'll throw you a line The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind Never lets in the sun And darling only the good die young I tell you only the good die young Only the good die young You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation You got a brand new soul And a cross of gold But Virginia they didn't give you quite enough information You didn't count on me When you were counting on your rosary Well 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 The sinners are much more fun . . . You know that only the good die young I tell you only the good die young Only the good die young Said your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation Oh, she never cared for me But did she ever say a prayer for me? Come out, come out, come out Virginia, don't let me me wait You Catholic girls start much too late But sooner or later it comes down to fate I might as well be the one You know that only the good die young, I tell you You know that only the good die young Billy on the controversy surrounding the song. Billy on how "Only The Good Die Young" evolved, from SiriusXM. |
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Billy said on SiriusXM that he composed "Only The Good Die Young" while on the road at a hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he was the opening act for The Beach Boys. There happened to be a piano in the room though Billy hadn't asked for one. The song originally started out as a reggae song, but the story is that apparently Billy's drummer (Liberty Devitto) did not want to play reggae objecting to Billy that “the closest you've ever been to Jamaica is when you get off the train in Queens" (a reference to the Jamaica neighborhood in the borough of Queens). Later, DeVitto said it was actually Paul Simon who suggested changing it. In any event, Billy, producer Phil Ramone, and Liberty came up with an alternative rhythm, a shuffle against a straight four, and converted it to a boogie-woogie rock song. An earlier reggae version of the song from 1977 can be found on Billy's 2005 boxed set, My Lives, which is a collection of demos, B-sides, and rarities. See video below (bottom right).
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"I might as well be the one." Photo: Jim Houghton, Columbia Records. |
Billy performed this song as well as "Just The Way You Are" on a Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Chevy Chase in 1978, skipping his tenth year high school reunion for the gig. See video below. The SNL performance of "Only The Good Die Young" is one of the best performances of the song when you can find it. See blogpost about the episode. The other live versions on DVD or online just aren't as good as the studio version or the SNL version. Also, the story goes that the executives at SNL asked him not to play "Only The Good Die Young" because of the somewhat controversial lyrics so he told them he'd sing another song from the album, and even performed a different song in dress rehearsals. But when it came time for the actual live broadcast of the show, Billy suddenly sang "Only The Good Die Young" and nailed it.
Billy performed this song as well as "Just The Way You Are" on a Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Chevy Chase in 1978, skipping his tenth year high school reunion for the gig. See video below. The SNL performance of "Only The Good Die Young" is one of the best performances of the song when you can find it. See blogpost about the episode. The other live versions on DVD or online just aren't as good as the studio version or the SNL version. Also, the story goes that the executives at SNL asked him not to play "Only The Good Die Young" because of the somewhat controversial lyrics so he told them he'd sing another song from the album, and even performed a different song in dress rehearsals. But when it came time for the actual live broadcast of the show, Billy suddenly sang "Only The Good Die Young" and nailed it.
Billy's class photos from 1960 with a young Virginia up front. Click to enlarge. 
"I'd rather laugh with the sinners . . ." Photo: Unknown |
Time Magazine's favorable review of The Stranger from 1978, written by Jay Cocks starts off with the song: "Hey, Virginia Callahan. Remember Mrs. Joel's kid, Billy, from down the street? The greaser who took the piano lessons and had his shifty eye on you? Well, he just wrote a song about you. And you won't like it. The song hangs tough, rocks hard, and deliberately echoes one of those 'baby, let's make out' tunes from the 1950s . . . ." The review concludes that Billy will be a songwriter to follow over the course of his career.
The song has stood the test of time, as thirty-six years later in 2014, American Songwriter did a long cover story on Billy Joel, and the words to “Only The Good Die Young" were its "Lyric of the Week." The cover story and side article on the song are worth reading, very well done. * * * * * * *
It is a shame that music videos were not popular back in 1977. This would have been a great song for a music video. An unreleased professionally recorded video of the song from the 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert can be seen here. Melissa Etheridge has done live covers of the song, and Bruce Springsteen and Billy sang it at the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony (link to fan video) in 2009. Again, I always thought that Springsteen's "Rosalita" and Billy's "Only The Good Die Young" were similar in energy and theme. Billy sings "your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation," and Bruce sings "I know your mama, she don't like me, 'cause I play in a rock and roll band." Virginia and Rosalita were not easy to persuade. Bob Dylan referenced the song ("Play that 'Only The Good Die Young'") in his epic "Murder Most Foul" in 2020, which is not unlike "We Didn't Start the Fire." Melissa Etheridge on how she became a Billy Joel fan and loved "Only The Good Die Young," on the Howard Stern program in 2014. |
