The Longest Time

The Longest Time
(An Innocent Man) (1983)

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Summary
Videos

Billy Joel and the band ham it up in the video for "The Longest Time." © 1983 Sony Music Entertainment.
Watch more videos on BillyJoel.com, Sony MyPlay or Vevo's YouTube channel.

Download "The Longest Time"

   I don't care what consequence it brings
   I have been a fool for lesser things
   I want you so bad
   I think you ought to know that
   I intend to hold you for the longest time

   The imminently hummable and unforgettable melodies of An Innocent Man made it one of Billy's most popular albums, and "The Longest Time" may be the most enduring of these tunes. The acapella song, an homage to the doo-wop groups of the 50s and 60s (see Frank Lymon & The Teardrops and Don & Juan, videos below), became an instant hit among choirs and acapella groups. The song reached #14 on the charts and  is still frequently performed by school groups. This was "Glee" material before there was "Glee." Ironically, it was not (yet) used on "Glee" though other Billy Joel songs have been featured on the television series. [Update: Glee did it in 2013].

      The song is an earworm; you can't get out of your head. Billy impressively sings each of the vocal parts, and the only instruments used are a bass and hi-hat. Who would have thought an acapella song with almost no instrumentation could be a hit in the 1980s among all the new wave and synthesizer-music that was coming out? It is a testament to the fact that a good melody will find and capture listeners of all ages; there is always room for a good melody. The song actually has classical music roots as Billy explains in this audio (Billy Joel - Words and Music 3, go to 0:28) (Jeff Schock).

The lyrics to "The Longest Time" are some of the most optimistic and upbeat that Billy has ever penned. In some of his other ballads since Turnstiles there is an undercurrent of dread, that this great feeling cannot last forever. For example, in "This Is The Time" from The Bridge in 1986 he writes "This is the time to remember 'Cause it will not last forever." But in "The Longest Time," Billy is willing to put aside his doubts of "how much further we'll go on."

Oh, oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest

If you said goodbye to me tonight
There would still be music left to write
What else could I do
I'm so inspired by you
That hasn't happened for the longest time

Once I thought my innocence was gone
Now I know that happiness goes on
That's where you found me
When you put your arms around me
I haven't been there for the longest time

Oh, oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
Woa, oh, oh
For the longest

I'm that voice you're hearing in the hall
And the greatest miracle of all
Is how I need you
And how you needed me too
That hasn't happened for the longest time

Maybe this won't last very long
But you feel so right
And I could be wrong
Maybe I've been hoping too hard
But I've gone this far
And it's more than I hoped for

Who knows how much further we'll go on
Maybe I'll be sorry when you're gone
I'll take my chances
I forgot how nice romance is
I haven't been there for the longest time

I had second thoughts at the start
I said to myself
Hold on to your heart
Now I know the woman that you are
You're wonderful so far
And it's more than I hoped for

I don't care what consequence it brings
I have been a fool for lesser things
I want you so bad
I think you ought to know that
I intend to hold you for the longest time

Oh, oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
Oh, oh,oh
For the longest time
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
Oh, oh, oh,
For the longest time

Billy discusses "The Longest Time" on SiriusXM.

Embed from Getty Images

As Billy Joel fan Paul Dodsworth points out, when Billy sings "I'm that voice you're hearing in the hall," it calls to mind the line from "An Innocent Man" that "They hear in the voice in the hall outside and hope that it just passes by." Billy's voice is the same metaphorical "voice in the hall" in both songs, urging a woman to take a chance on love again even though both individuals have been emotionally hurt before and perhaps had become jaded or hardened to finding love again...until now. As Billy writes: "once I thought my innocence was gone, now I know that happiness goes on." Billy had found love again with Christie Brinkley.

The music video to "The Longest Time" was also a fun bit of make-believe nostalgia, and is one of the few Billy Joel videos to feature his band. In the video Billy portrays a middle-aged man at his 25th high school year reunion. He is sitting in the gym at the end of the party, when suddenly he hears his old high school buddies singing this song. He joins up with them and they are then magically transported back in time to the way they looked back in high school. It is reminiscent of the movie When Peggy Sue Got Married (1986). Like the other videos from the album it is fun and clever (though I'm a bit uncomfortable about the end when the African American janitor does a double-take). Read a Songfacts interview with Jay Dubin who directed the music videos for "The Longest Time," "Tell Her About It," and "Uptown Girl," he discusses those videos in the interview.

Official Music Video

Billy Joel and the band ham it up in the video for "The Longest Time."

Live at Wembley Arena (1984)

Billy and the band sing "For The Longest Time" on the An Innocent Man Tour in England (1983).

Live in Russia (1987)

Live performance in Russia (1987).

Live at Grammy Legend Awards (1991)

Rock legends including Dion, Frankie Valli, Ben E. King, and others sing "The Longest Time' in tribute to Billy Joel when he received the Grammy Legend Award in 1991.

Live at MSG with Rockapella (1991)

Rockapella and Billy onstage at MSG - The Concert for Walden Woods (1991)

Live in Philadelphia (1998)

This is a fun live version from 1998 at Philadelphia's First Union Center.

Live in Philadelphia with Boyz II Men (2014)

Billy Joel and special guest Boyz II Men in Philadelphia (Aug. 2014)

Jazz Cover by The John G. Smith Trio (2014)

There are many acapella covers of the song, but here is a nice jazz instrumental version by the John G. Smith Trio (2014). They also cover a few other Billy Joel songs at their YouTube channel.

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" with Jimmy Fallon (2014)