One Final Serenade: Songs of Billy Joel

Piano Man
(Piano Man) (1973)

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This is the original promotional music video for "Piano Man" from 1973, years before MTV launched.

Download "Piano Man"

Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us all feeling alright

"Piano Man" is Billy Joel's signature song. It was his first major hit and instantly established him as a talented singer and songwriter. By now, many people know the story behind the song. After his bad deal with Family Productions, Billy hid out from the music industry, writing songs and making a living playing piano at The Executive Room, a piano bar on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. Billy was billed as "Bill Martin" (Martin is his middle name).

Click on the photo for an interesting look at the now defunct Executive Room, by Bob Egan.

Many of the bar's customers were down on their luck, such as John the bartender who aspires to be an actor, Paul the "real estate novelist" (i.e., a guy who wants to write the Great American novel, but works as a real estate agent), and Davy, who will probably stay in the Navy for life. The waitress "practicing politics" refers to Billy's wife who was a cocktail waitress at the same bar.

They come to the bar to commiserate with each other, to share a drink rather than drink alone. The piano man, Billy, lifts their spirits with song. But the patrons recognize that Billy is gifted, and question why someone as talented as he is stuck in a place like this, "man, what are you doing here?" It's a question he probably also asked himself, and one we all ask ourselves at some point in our lives.

Musically, the song is relatively simple, in C major with a descending bass line and in 3/4 time. It is actually a waltz. The intro is a short jazzy riff, sounding like someone casually playing on the piano, and then the song's distinctive harmonica comes in, an obvious nod to Bob Dylan. The piano is the main instrument of course but is nicely accented by a mandolin.

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin

He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes."
La la la, di da da
La la, di di da da dum

Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us all feelin' all right

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke and or a light of your smoke
But there's some place that he'd rather be

He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As his smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"

Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum

Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life

And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessman slowly gets stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone

Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us all feeling alright

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about their life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"

Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum

Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us all feeling alright

Billy discusses "Piano Man" on SiriusXM

Lyrically, "Piano Man" contains some of Billy's most clever lines such as "making love to his tonic and gin," "Paul is a real estate novelist" and "they're sharing a drink called loneliness, but it's better than drinking alone." Billy paints a vivid scene of the bar and its patrons. Many compared "Piano Man" to Harry Chapin's story songs "Taxi" and "Cat's Cradle," a comparison that was apt but also too limiting to describe Billy Joel generally.

The sheet music for "Piano Man"

Despite the melancholy of the song, it is not all depressing. The piano music brings the bar patrons a momentary respite from the drudgery of their lives. Beyond the literal meaning of the song, it is easy to find a broader meaning. The song can be seen as an allegorical description of the human condition and the role that art plays in it. We are all essentially alone, we cling to each other for company, each one of us pursuing our own dreams but ultimately settling for much less. We try to find comfort in a drink, a tonic and gin, but it is art and music that gives us real hope and relief from this condition. And that's precisely what Billy's music has provided to so many fans over the years.

Perhaps this is why this simple song about a piano bar is so popular (it is the most downloaded Billy Joel song on iTunes), it speaks universally about the human condition and our need to be with each other, and our need for art and inspiration to uplift our lives. "Sing us the song you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight. Well we're all in the mood for a melody, and you've got us feeling alright."

Videos

In this 1980 profile of Billy Joel on ABC's 20/20 program, Tom Hovland and Billy Joel discuss the origin of "Piano Man." Hovland goes to the Los Angeles bar where Billy played in the early 1970s, The Executive Room, and interview patrons who remember Billy.

Studio version of "Piano Man" (1973). Several photos from Bob Egan's Popspots. "Piano Man" © 1973 Sony BMG Music Entertainment

Billy performs "Piano Man" on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert in 1973. He also sang "Captain Jack" and "Somewhere Along The Line."

Billy talks about "Piano Man" at a Master Class in 2001 that was aired on the A&E Network.

See more videos at Piano Man - Videos Page.

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