And the most she will do Is throw shadows at you But she's always a woman to me "She's Always A Woman" is one of Billy's most well-known and most misunderstood songs. It is a complicated and beautiful ballad which reached #17 on the charts in 1977, the fourth single released from The Stranger album.
At first blush it sounds like a basic love song, but the lyrics belie a more subtle message. Billy has said that he was singing about his then wife, Elizabeth. She had become his manager at the time, and was known to be a tough, fierce, and determined negotiator, even selfish and difficult. When Billy played "Just The Way You Are" for her and said that he wrote it for her, she asked if that included getting the publishing rights. 
Elizabeth Joel from People magazine. |
She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes. She can ruin your faith with her casual lies. And she only reveals what she wants you to see She hides like a child But she's always a woman to me. She can lead you to love She can take you or leave you. She can ask for the truth But she'll never believe you. And she'll take what you give her, As long as it's free. She steals like a thief But she's always a woman to me. Oh, she takes care of herself. She can wait if she wants. She's ahead of her time. Oh, and she never gives out, And she never gives in, She just changes her mind. She'll promise you more Than the Garden of Eden. She'll carelessly cut you And laugh while you're bleedin' But she'll bring out the best And the worst you can be Blame it all on yourself Cause she's always a woman to me. Hmmm, mmm, mmm Oh, she takes care of herself She can wait if she wants She's ahead of her time. Oh, and she never gives out And she never gives in She just changes her mind. She's frequently kind And she's suddenly cruel She can do as she pleases She's nobody's fool And she can't be convicted She's earned her degree And the most she will do Is throw shadows at you But she's always a woman to me HUGH MCCRACKEN: ACOUSTIC GUITAR STEVE BURGH: ACOUSTIC GUITAR |
Still, Elizabeth was instrumental in getting Billy's affairs in order after he had signed some bad contracts early in his career. And he gave her credit for getting things on track and recruiting Phil Ramone to work with Billy. This New York Times article from 1981 describes her management role. (Note: There was another magazine article about this back in the 1970s entitled "They Were Mauling Her Man" in Forbes or a similar magazine).
The song basically says that while you may think she is cruel, that she "kills with a smile" and "wounds with her eyes," to me (i.e., to Billy), she is always a woman. You may think she is tough in negotiations, but to Billy she is always a woman. He acknowledges she may be like that, but he loves her . . . just the way she is.
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As stated in Ideal Magazine in 1979: "Billy eloquently expresses his attitude toward his working wife in the beautiful 'She's Always A Woman.' He says: 'It's about a woman in a business situation. The point of that song is that she can be aggressive to you, but she's still a woman to me. No threat to my masculinity.'" The Ballad of Billy and Elizabeth, Ideal Magazine (1979) (formerly at www.piano-man.de).
The lyrics express an ambivalence as sometimes Billy seems to criticize and sometimes he seems to praise. We are accustomed to a ballad being all about pure love and idolization but "She's Always A Woman" has a more complex and ambiguous message. Whether his lover is good or evil doesn't matter and is not the point; rather, he is saying that she is always a woman to him, good or bad, right or wrong. "She's Always A Woman" is not derogatory of women, quite the contrary. Billy is saying that a "woman" does not have to be cute, pretty, or demure, but can be strong, tough, even brutal, and still be a woman. While Billy and Elizabeth ultimately divorced in 1982 that does not make the sentiment of the song any less authentic or sincere. In fact, it may reinforce it. "She's Always A Woman" is one of Billy's finest ballads in part because it is not just another silly love song (though what's wrong with that) but more complex, just like their relationship. |
Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress. Frida Kahlo (1926). This painting captures both the strength and beauty of Kahlo, like the woman in "She's Always A Woman." The determined look on her face, the foreboding black background, and bold velvet dress is counterbalanced by the delicate gesture of the artist's hand. "And the most she will do is throw shadows at you, but she's always a woman to me."
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Many people today still misunderstand the song, like they misunderstood Billy and Elizabeth's complex relationship. Say what you will about Elizabeth, but Billy loved her and she was the muse for many of his songs in the 70s. Kotowing to other people's opinions was never Billy's style. Oh, she's always a woman to me.
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Photos of Billy and Elizabeth. Credits: 1) Unknown, 2) People, 3) unknown, 4) unknown (Newsday?) |
As to the music itself, the song flows like a continuous brisk waltz (Billy says it is technically not a waltz since it is in 6/8 time, see video below, right) alternating between E flat major and B flat major. Well-known session musicians Hugh McCracken and Steve Burgh do a lovely job on the acoustic guitar, and the talented Richie Cannata plays flute, lending the song an ethereal quality. It's not clear if Steve Khan also played guitar on the song. Billy has said that Gordon Lightfoot's acoustic ballads and vibrato were an inspiration for the song, such as Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind," Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," and "Early Morning Rain" (Lightfoot should cover "The Downeaster Alexa"). Billy sounds like Lightfoot in this live performance of "She's Always A Woman" from the Stone Music Festival (Australia) in 2013, and covers "If You Could Read My Mind," here in an early recording. On the Sirius XM Billy Joel channel in 2016, Billy expressed his admiration for Lightfoot, and in 2017 SiriusXM got Lightfoot to record a reply in which Lightfoot said the song "knocks him out." They have never met but Lightfoot welcomed the chance to do so.
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Billy discusses the influence of Gordon Lightfoot, the song's origin, and its meaning, from SiriusXM. Pink sings "She's Always A Woman" with Billy Joel on the SiriusXM Town Hall from 2016. |
The song made a remarkable comeback in 2010, charting again at #29 in the UK charts when Fyfe Dangerfield's abridged cover version of it was used in a commercial for the UK retailer John Lewis. The video for the commercial was a hit on YouTube with over half a million views. See below. Dangerfield later released a full version (see it here and bel0w).
Pink, who is a big Billy Joel fan, walked down the aisle to this song at her wedding. She later sang it with Billy on the Howard Stern program in 2014, a special Town Hall that aired on Sirius XM radio (listen to it here). She said: "I got to see my dad become happy when your songs came on, and we sang them together. It's changed my life." That's how I feel about too, my kids grew up seeing me happy when listening to or playing music, especially Billy Joel. His music will always be something special that we share. Tori Amos is another Joel fan and has also performed "She's Always A Woman" live in concert. Her song and video for "Silent All These Years" is genius. Here is a short video in which Tori Amos presents Billy with the Billboard Century Award in or about 1994. |
