Billy Joel

[Iwan]

William Martin (Billy) Joel werd geboren op 9 mei, 1949 in The Bronx (New York)
Billy Joel is een Amerikaanse pianist, zanger en componist.
Hij produceerde popmuziek hits vanaf 1973 (begonnen met de single "Piano Man") tot zijn afscheid in 1993.

Van jongs af aan had Joel sterke interesse in muziek, vooral klassieke muziek.
Joel werd op zijn veertiende jaar voor het eerst lid van een band.
Ver in de jaren zestig nam hij deel uit van de band Attila en daarna The Hassles.
Ook speelde hij in pianobars onder de naam "Bill Martin".
Zijn eerste soloalbum, "Cold Spring Harbor", een referentie naar een stad op Long Island (New York),
kwam in 1971 uit.

Joel werd bij het schrijven van zijn teksten ook sterk geïnspireerd door eigen ervaringen;
wellicht zijn de beste voorbeelden hiervan "Piano Man",
dat hij schreef naar aanleiding van zijn ervaringen als pianist in een pianobar in de zeventiger jaren.
Joels dochter Alexa is ook een bron van inspiratie geweest; hij schreef "Lullabye" voor haar.
Op dezelfde manier combineert hij zijn liefde voor zijn dochter met een impressie van het onaangename
leven van kapiteins in de zeevisserij in het lied "The Downeaster Alexa".
"Uptown Girl" was een liefdeslied over de schijnbaar onmogelijke liefde tussen hemzelf en Christie Brinkley,
Alexa's moeder en zijn tweede vrouw.

Het nummer "We Didn't Start the Fire" somt historische gebeurtenissen op,
van zijn geboorte in 1949 tot midden jaren tachtig; de eerste vijfendertig jaren van Joels leven,
die zijn fascinatie voor cultuur en geschiedenis weerspiegelen.
Het lied "Leningrad" toont Joels waardering voor de geschiedenis van de Sovjet-Unie
en zijn gevoelens voor de Koude Oorlog waarin hij opgroeide.
Voordat Joel de muziekindustrie betrad wilde hij geschiedenisleraar worden;
later in zijn carrière kreeg hij de bevoegdheid om in de staat New York te onderwijzen.

Joel heeft recentelijk opnieuw vorm gegeven aan zijn interesse voor klassieke muziek
en is gaan experimenteren op dat gebied.
"Fantasies and Delusions", zijn eerste album met klassieke werken, kreeg een lauwe reactie van critici,
maar kreeg een nummer 1-notering op klassieke hitlijsten.

Joel trouwde zijn zakelijke manager Elizabeth Weber in mei 1971.
Het huwelijk eindigde in een echtscheiding in juli 1982.
Joel trouwde daarna in maart 1985 met supermodel Christie Brinkley.
Uit hun huwelijk is één dochter voortgekomen, Alexa Ray Joel. Zij is geboren in december 1986.
Dit huwelijk eindigde ook in een scheiding in augustus 1994.
Op 3 oktober 2004 trouwde Joel met de 23-jarige Katie Lee.
Lee studeerde af aan de Miami University in Oxford (Ohio).
Op hun trouwdag was Joel 54 jaar. Joels dochter van 18 jaar, Alexa was bruidsmeisje.
De ex-vrouw van Joel, Christie Brinkley, begeleidde de ceremonie en gaf het koppel haar zegen.

Joel heeft in het verleden een aantal auto-ongevallen gehad,
inclusief verscheidene die naar verluidt veroorzaakt zijn onder invloed van drank.
In de lente van 1982, toen Joel al was begonnen aan zijn album The Nylon Curtain,
raakte hij betrokken bij een motorongeval; een vrouw reed door rood licht
en raakte Billy Joel op zijn Harley-Davidson-motor.
Hij brak zijn linkerpols en zijn hand was ernstig verwond.
Wanneer Billy Joel het verhaal vertelt, zegt hij dat de politieagent op de plaats van het ongeval
zijn rijbewijs bekeek, de naam "William Joel" las en tegen de vrouw zei:
"Hey mevrouw, u hebt Billy Joel aangereden!".
Nadat de vrouw vernam wie ze had aangereden, vroeg ze zijn handtekening.
Joel bood haar, met bloedende pols, aan een handtekening te zetten.

In 2003 reed Joel met zijn gloednieuwe Mercedes-Benz Coupé tegen een boom.
In 2004 reed hij met zijn Citroën uit 1967 het huis van een 90-jarige vrouw binnen.

Joel werd in maart 2005 opgenomen in het Betty Ford Center voor de behandeling van drankmisbruik
vanwege "een tijdelijke, ernstige, aan de maag gerelateerde noodzaak" aldus zijn mediavoorlichter.
Hij verliet de inrichting in april 2005.
Een vriend van Joel gaf aan dat Joel alle vormen van alcohol compleet had afgezworen.
Joel was al eerder behandeld wegens alcoholmisbruik in 2002,
toen hij twee weken in het Silver Hill-ziekenhuis in Connecticut verbleef.

[Iwan]

Piano Man


It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The Regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin

He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes"

La la la, de de da
La la, de de da da dum

Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As the smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"

Oh, la la la, de de da
La la, de de da da dum

Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the navy
And probably will be for life

And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone

sing us a song you're the piano man
sing us a song tonight well we're all in the mood
for a melody and you got us feeling alright

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here."

Oh, la la la, de de da
La la, de de da da dum

sing us a song you're the piano man
sing us a song tonight
well we're all in the mood for a melody and you got us
feeling alright

[Iwan]

She's always a woman

She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child
But she's always a woman to me

She can lead you to love
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe you
And she'll take what you give her, as long as it's free
Yeah, she steals like a thief
But she's always a woman to me

Oh she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
Cause she's always a woman to me


Oh she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
But she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me

[Iwan]

My Life

Got a call from an old friend we'd used to be real close
Said he couldn't go on the American way
Closed the shop, sold the house, bought a ticket to the west coast
Now he gives them a stand-up routine in L.A.

I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm allright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
Go ahead with your own life leave me alone

I never said you had to offer me a second chance
I never said I was a victim of circumstance
I still belong
Don't get me wrong
And you can speak your mind
But not on my time

They will tell you you can't sleep alone in a strange place
Then they'll tell you can't sleep with somebody else
Ah but sooner or later you sleep in your own space
Either way it's O.K. you wake up with yourself

I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm allright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
Go ahead with your own life leave me alone

I never said you had to offer me a second chance
I never said I was a victim of circumstance
I still belong
Don't get me wrong
And you can speak your mind
But not on my time

I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
Go ahead with your own life leave me alone

[Iwan]

The Entertainer

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'll forget my name
I won't be here in another year
If I don't stay on the charts

[Iwan]

Baby Grand
With Ray Charles

Billy;
Late at night
When it's dark and cold
I reach out
For someone to hold
When I'm blue
When I'm lonely
She comes through
She's the only one who can
My baby grand
Is all I need

Ray;
In my time
I've wandered everywhere
Around this world
She would always be there
Any day
Any hour
All it takes
Is the power in my hands
This baby grand's
Been good to me

Billy;
I've had friends
But they have slipped away
Ray;
I've had fame
But it doesn't stay
Billy;
I've made fortunes
Spent them fast enough
Ray;
As for women
They don't last with just one man
But my baby grand
Will stand by me

Billy;
They say that no one's gonna play this on the radio
They said the melancholy blues were dead and gone
Ray;
But only songs like these
Played in minor keys
Keep those memories holding on

Billy;
I've come far
From the life I've strayed in
Ray;
I've got scars
From those dives I've played in
Billy;
Now I'm home
And I'm weary
Ray;
In my bones
Every dreary one night stand
But my baby grand
Came home with me

Billy;
Ever since this gig began
My baby grand's
Been good to me

[Iwan]

Een van de mooiste nummers van Billy Joel vind ik.

Leningrad

Viktor was born in the spring of '44
And never saw his father anymore
A child of sacrifice, a child of war
Another son who never had a father after Leningrad

Went off to school and learned to serve the state
Followed the rules and drank his vodka straight
The only way to live was drown the hate
A Russian life was very sad
And such was life in Leningrad

I was born in '49
A cold war kid in McCarthy time
Stop 'em at the 38th Parallel
Blast those yellow reds to hell
And cold war kids were hard to kill
Under their desk in an air raid drill
Haven't they heard we won the war
What do they keep on fighting for?

Viktor was sent to some Red Army town
Served out his time, became a circus clown
The greatest happiness he'd ever found
Was making Russian children glad
And children lived in Leningrad

But children lived in Levittown
And hid in the shelters underground
Until the Soviets turned their ships around
And tore the Cuban missiles down
And in that bright October sun
We knew our childhood days were done
And I watched my friends go off to war
What do they keep on fighting for?

And so my child and I came to this place
To meet him eye to eye and face to face
He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced
We never knew what friends we had
Until we came to Leningrad

[Iwan]

Honesty

If you search for tenderness
it isn't hard to find.
You can have the love you need to live.
But if you look for truthfulness
You might just as well be blind.
It always seems to be so hard to give.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

I can always find someone
to say they sympathize.
If I wear my heart out on my sleeve.
But I don't want some pretty face
to tell me pretty lies.
All I want is someone to believe.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

I can find a lover.
I can find a friend.
I can have security until the bitter end.
Anyone can comfort me
with promises again.
I know, I know.

When I'm deep inside of me
don't be too concerned.
I won't ask for nothin' while I'm gone.
But when I want sincerity
tell me where else can I turn.
Because you're the one I depend upon.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

[Iwan]

We Didnââ,¬â,,¢t Start The Fire

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye

Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Maciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dancron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge On The River Kwai

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkwether, Homicide, Children of Thalidomide
Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichman, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

[Iwan]

Angry Young Man

There's a place in the world for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plans
He refuses to bend, he refuses to crawl,
He's always at home with his back to the wall.
And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost,
And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on the cross-
And he likes to be known as the angry young man.

Give a moment or two to the angry young man,
With his foot in his mouth and his heart in his hand.
He's been stabbed in the back, he's been misunderstood,
It's a comfort to know his intentions are good.
And he sits in a room with a lock on the door,
With his maps and his medals laid out on the floor-
And he likes to be known as the angry young man.

I believe I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage
I found that just surviving was a noble fight.
I once believed in causes too,
I had my pointless point of view,
And life went on no matter who was wrong or right.

And there's always a place for the angry young man,
With his fist in the air and his head in the sand.
And he's never been able to learn from mistakes,
So he can't understand why his heart always breaks.
But his honor is pure and his courage as well,
And he's fair and he's true and he's boring as hell-
And he'll go to the grave as an angry old man.

(synthesizer solo)

There's a place in the world for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plans
He refuses to bend, he refuses to crawl,
He's always at home with his back to the wall.
And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost,
And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on the cross-
And he likes to be known as the angry young man.

[Iwan]

http://www.youtube.com/v/0qSNcgJtqzw&hl=en&fs=1

Everybody Loves You Now

Baby all the lights are turned on you
Now you're in the center of the stage
Everything revolves on what you do
Ah, you are in your prime; you've come of age

And you can always have your way somehow
'cause everybody loves you now

You can walk away from your mistakes
You can turn your back on what you do
Just a little smile is all it takes
Yeah, you can have your cake and eat it too

Loneliness will get to you somehow
But everybody loves you now

Ah, they all want your white body
And they await your reply
Ah, but between you and me and the Staten Island ferry
So do I

All the people want to know your name
Soon there will be lines outside your door
Feelings do not matter in your game
Yeah, 'cause nothing's gonna touch you anymore

So your life is only living anyhow
And everybody loves you now

Close your eyes when you don't want to see
Stay at home when you don't want to go
Only speak to those who will agree
Yeah, and close your mind when you don't want to know

You have lost you innocence somehow
But everybody loves you now

Ah, you know that nothing lasts forever
And it's all been done before
Ah, but you ain't got the time to go to Cold Spring Harbor
No more

See how all the people gather 'round
Hey, isn't it a thrill to see them crawl?
Keep your eyes ahead and don't look down
Yeah, and lock yourself inside your sacred wall

This is what you wanted; ain't you proud?
'Cause everybody loves you now

[Iwan]

http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x10c9t_billy-joel-river-of-dreams_music&related=1

River of Dreams

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
From the mountains of faith
To the river so deep
I must be lookin' for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it's too hard to cross

Even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and stand on the shore
I try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find what I've been looking for

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the valley of fear
To a river so deep
I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I'd never lose
Something somebody stole

I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is I've been looking for

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To the river so deep
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night

Iââ,¬â,,¢m not sure about a life after this
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That is runnin' through the promised land

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By the river of dreams
In the middle of the night