"State of Grace" is the weak link on the Storm Front album. It is okay, nothing wrong with it, but it seems like it would have been better as a simple piano ballad rather than a power ballad. Still, many fans consider this to be one of Billy's more underrated songs.
Billy may be referring to Christie Brinkley in the song, or that feeling we all get when our lover goes into their own world and you can't reach them. You feel discombobulated, as if suddenly you are with a different person who is distant and cold. It's not quite "The Stranger" kicking you right between the eyes, but it is still an uneasy feeling.
Billy said on SiriusXM radio in 2016 that the chord progression in "State of Grace" is unusual, "like an Escher painting" in that the progression takes a "left turn" but you eventually end up in the same place. He also said Daryl Hall (Hall & Oates) has the right voice for the song. Hall and Joel have appeared onstage together for benefit concerts but I don't think Hall has ever covered a Billy Joel song. Vertical Divider
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Words and Music by Billy Joel
There you go Slipping away into a state of grace I know the look that comes across your face It's so familiar to me Here I am Trying to keep you in my line of sight I'm never certain that you read me right Sometimes you don't want to see me Here we are Both of us know we're in love But that isn't always enough I never could rise above it all, down I fall But darling there you go Slipping away into a state of grace Granted, this world is not a perfect place Still it's the world that I'm in Here I am Talking while you don't hear a word I say Knowing you're watching me from far away Somewhere that I've never been Don't you see You lived a different life than me It don't mean you have to be afraid of how We're not the same, don't leave me now But darling there you go, slipping away How can I get you to stay where you are Keep you from going too far Holding you here is so hard to do, I'm losing you And darling there you go Slipping away into a state of grace Drifting away into your sacred place Someplace that I've never been There you go, slipping away, slipping away into a state of grace There you go, slipping away into a state of grace Yeah, drifting away into that sacred place There you go, slipping away Slipping away Billy on "State of Grace" from SiriusXM.
"Here I am, trying to keep you in my line of sight . . . "
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Video
Almost every song on Storm Front has a video except "State of Grace." Here is one I created featuring Grace Kelly, using clips from a fan video of and other still photos. "State of Grace" © 1989 Sony Music Entertainment.