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The Entertainer
Streetlife Serenade (1974) |
But I know the game
You'll forget my name And I won't be here In another year If I don't stay on the charts "The Entertainer" is the highlight of Streetlife Serenade and its only hit, though a moderate one. It is a fast-paced and sardonic take on the music industry. Lyrically, it contains some of the best lines written about the music industry and some of the best lines and quips from Billy Joel's early albums. They just roll up one after another just like the layering of instruments in the song that build and build upon each stanza. The music and lyrics perfectly complement each other.
The song is an appropriate follow-up to the single "Piano Man," and Billy writes about that song too and the decision to cut down the single version to close to 3:05 to be played on the radio (which also happened to "The Entertainer" according to Billy). Ah, it took me years to write it, They were the best years of my life. It was a beautiful song. But it ran too long. If you're gonna have a hit, You gotta make it fit-- So they cut it down to 3:05. "The Entertainer" is Billy at his cynical best, not unlike his stance on the music scene in 1980's "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me." Billy has stated that he wrote the song based on watching the rock music television programs of the 1970s such as The Midnight Special and Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. Billy disdained those types of programs with their kitschy style and rotating list of musicians, but at the time it was a necessary evil to appear on these programs to promote one's records. This was before the age of music videos.
Billy sometimes added an extra (second) verse to "The Entertainer" in concerts during the early and mid 1970s. Listen here. The verse was cut from the final recorded version of the song in order to keep it short enough to be released as a single:
"The Entertainer" was a moderate hit, reaching #34 on the Billboard charts in 1974. It was cut to get closer to 3:05. The song plays even better in concert than it does on record, and is still popular in Billy's live set today.
"The Entertainer" has been covered by several artists including Waylon Jennings and Dolly Parton, as well as two very bizarre versions by Helen Reddy and Sheena Easton.
Billy discusses "The Entertainer" in a May 29, 1977 interview on WNEW 102.7 FM.
Billy discusses "The Entertainer" on SiriusXM in 2016. He is hilarious.
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Words and Music by Billy Joel
I am the entertainer And I know just where I stand Another serenader And another long-haired band Today I am your champion I may have won your hearts But I know the game You'll forget my name And I won't be here In another year If I don't stay on the charts I am the entertainer And I've had to pay my price The things I did not know at first I learned by doin' twice Ah, but still they come to haunt me Still they want their say So I've learned to dance With a hand in my pants I let 'em rub my neck And I write 'em a check And they go their merry way I am the entertainer Been all around the world I've played all kinds of palaces And laid all kinds of girls I can't remember faces I don't remember names Ah, but what the hell You know it's just as well 'Cause after a while And a thousand miles It all becomes the same I am the entertainer I bring to you my songs I'd like to spend a day or two I can't stay that long No, I've got to meet expenses I got to stay in line Gotta get those fees To the agencies And I'd love to stay But there's bills to pay So I just don't have the time I am the entertainer I come to do my show You've heard my latest record It's been on the radio Ah, it took me years to write it They were the best years of my life It was a beautiful song But it ran too long If you're gonna have a hit You gotta make it fit So they cut it down to 3:05 I am the entertainer The idol of my age I make all kinds of money When I go on the stage Ah, you've seen me in the papers I've been in the magazines But if I go cold I won't get sold I'll get put in the back In the discount rack Like another can of beans I am the entertainer And I know just where I stand Another serenader And another long-haired band Today I am your champion I may have won your hearts But I know the game You will forget my name And I won't be here In another year If I don't stay on the charts 
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