One Final Serenade: Songs of Billy Joel
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You May Be Right Glass Houses |
From Glass Houses (1980)
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The music video for "You May Be Right" was in heavy rotation in the early days of MTV in 1981. © 1980 Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
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Remember how I found you there
Alone in your electric chair I told you dirty jokes until you smiled Billy starts off Glass Houses with a rocker, "You May Be Right." The song opens with the sound of glass breaking, signaling that this album will be unlike his last. "You May Be Right" was also the first single off the album and surprised many with its rock sound, guitar riffs, and lack of piano.
Billy is at his pugnacious best here, telling his listener that Billy may be crazy, but he just may be what the listener is looking for. It's a classic rock-and-roll theme, good girl falls for the "bad" guy. The bad guy may be uncouth, but his rough charms seem to be working ("I told you dirty jokes until you smiled"). This is not unlike the protagonist in "Only The Good Die Young." Here, Billy uses a Mick Jagger-like vocals to enhance the "bad" guy image of the song. It's a fun song, and listeners agreed, sending it to #7 on the charts. Rock songs like "You May Be Right" allowed Billy to get out from behind the piano and become a lead singer in front of the stand-up mike. He took advantage of this and recorded a series of music videos for the album, including ones for this song, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," "All for Leyna," and "Sometimes A Fantasy," helping to launch the nascent music video industry. His videos were frequently played on the new MTV television network and Casey Kasem's America's Top Ten. The song became a favorite of cover bands, and has a honky-tonk feel which makes it popular for country stars who are rocking out like Keith Urban and Garth Brooks, who both perform it live. There are several live performances of the song on YouTube, listed below: 1982 Live from Long Island 1984 Live at Wembley Arena 1987 Live in Russia 1990 Live in Syracuse (fan shot) 1998 Live in Tokyo (Face to Face tour) 2006 Live from MSG (12 Gardens audio only) 2006 Live in Tokyo 2008 Live from Shea Stadium (released 2011) 2012 The Concert for Sandy Relief 2014 Gershwin Prize concert 2014 New Year's Rockin' Eve (ABC) 2014 The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon 2017 Live at MSG (audience shot) 2018 Live at MSG with Paul Simon and Miley Cyrus |
Friday night I crashed your party
Saturday I said I'm sorry Sunday came you trashed me out again I was only having fun Wasn't hurting anyone And we all enjoyed the weekend for a change I've been stranded in the combat zone I walked through Bedford Stuy alone Even rode my motorcycle in the rain And you told me not to drive But I made it home alive So you said that only proves that I'm insane You may be right I may be crazy But it just might be a lunatic you're looking for Turn out the light Don't try to save me You may be wrong for all I know But you may be right Remember how I found you there Alone in your electric chair I told you dirty jokes until you smiled You were lonely for a man I said take me as I am 'Cause you might enjoy some madness for a while Now think of all the years you tried to Find someone to satisfy you I might be as crazy as you say If I'm crazy then it's true That it's all because of you And you wouldn't want me any other way You may be right I may be crazy But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for It's too late to fight It's too late to change me You may be wrong for all I know But you may be right You may be right I may be crazy But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for Turn out the light Don't try to save me You may be wrong for all I know You may be right You may be wrong but you may be right
Billy Joel discusses “You May Be Right” on SiriusXM.
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Videos
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This is a fun live version of "You May Be Right" from 1982's concert video, Live from Long Island.
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A brief behind-the-scenes look at the recording of "You May Be Right" from the ABC News Magazine 20/20 in 1980.
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