"The Night Is Still Young" is one of Billy's most underrated epic songs. This is a coming-of-age song for a slightly older generation, those who are "young enough to see the passionate" boy or girl that they used to be but who are also "old enough to say [they] got a good look at the other side." The singer realizes that it's time to stop living out of suitcase and to settle down and get married, while the night is still young. Earlier, he only gave a damn about rock and roll music, but now realizes that love and family are vital and important. It's a beautiful sentiment and expressed in a very powerful way.
Billy sings the song in two voices, a higher voice representing the younger version of the man and a lower voice representing the older version of the man. The choral background of rising "oh, oh oh oh, oh oh oh" in the chorus is powerful and really elevates the song. This is an epic song, but not appreciated and rarely mentioned by fans and critics. Neil Tardio and Jon Small, who directed and produced the music video, respectively, have Billy act as a recurring side character in the video, rather than in the lead role. This works well for the song because the song is about growing up and maturing, starting to focus one's life on family rather than on one's self and career, and leaving behind a life when you say "goodnight to a telephone" as it is now time in one's life to "throw my suitcase out." The turning point in the video is the scene where Billy helps a young child find the right key on the piano. He leaves behind the frenetic life on the road to help a child learn and grow (Billy's daughter Alexa was born in 1986). And the final scene with the young couple embracing as the lights swirl around them is just gorgeous. It seems to be a reconciliation for the couple. This is one of the better Billy Joel music videos, as well as Billy's better songs of the 1980s. Released in 1985 as the second single from Greatest Hits, Vols. I & II, "The Night Is Still Young" peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard charts. Vertical Divider
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Words and Music by Billy Joel I'm young enough to still see the passionate boy I used to be But I'm old enough to say I got a good look at the other side I know we got to work real hard, maybe even for the rest of our lives But right now I just want to take what I can get tonight While the night is still young I want to keep making love to you While the night is still young I'd like to settle down get married and maybe have a child someday I can see a time coming when I'm gonna throw my suitcase out No more separations where you have to say goodnight to a telephone Baby I've decided that ain't what this life is all about Oh, while the night is still young While the night is still young I want to try to make the world brand new While the night is still young Rock and roll music was the only thing I ever gave a damn about There was something that was missing but I never used to wonder why Now I know you're the one I needed to make things right again And I may lose the battle but you're giving me the will to try Oh, while the night is still young Because the night is still young I've got a lot of catching up to do While the night is still young Oh, while the night is still young I want to try to make the world brand new While the night is still young I want to keep making love to you While the night is still young, while the night is still young The night is still young You don't gotta be alone no more While the night is still young Gotta lot of catching up to do While the night is still young Hold on, hold on, hold on While the night is still young Billy discusses "The Night Is Still Young" from a 1985 interview with DJ Dan Neer.
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Videos
The video for "The Night Is Still Young" is one of the best of Billy Joel's videos. It was directed by Neil Tardio and produced by Billy's longtime friend, Jon Small, who was in The Hassles and Attila with Billy. It is about a minute shorter than the song as released on the album.
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Live version (audio) from 12 Gardens Live (2006).
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Billy discusses the two new songs on Greatest Hits I & II, on SiriusXM radio in 2016 (audio).
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The Professor of Rock and Liberty DeVitto discuss "The Night Is Still Young," one of Billy's hidden gems.
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