Best Billy Joel song?

[Guaranteed]

Alright, I'll take a beating on this one. That's alright, though.

Make a suggestion, if you actually like one of his songs. :)

[flakey_foont]

1. Trick question

you can't fool me..........he didn't have any good songs

[Droopy]

2. I've liked "Uptown Girl" since I was a kid

I don't know why. Can we ever really say why we like the music that we do?

[Guaranteed]

6. Holy shit...I can't believe I didn't put it in...

That was the first song I was supposed to throw up there....

Anyway, it's up now.

[Wetzelbill]

18. same here, love that song

[Spider Jerusalem]

3. I'd say "The Longest Time"...

I'm not big on Billy Joel, but it's a pretty decent a capella number.

[Guaranteed]

5. I hear ya, there.

Kind of reminds me of Huey Lewis or something.

[CanuckAmok]

12. "MOST PEOPLE DON'T LISTEN TO THE LYRICS, BUT THEY SHOULD...

BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT ONLY ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL'S ATTEMPTS TO TRIUMPH OVER POPULAR CULTURE'S DISPOSABLE TRENDS, BUT ABOUT THE INDOMINABLE NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT FACING ADVERSITY" - Patrick Batemen

[Guaranteed]

27. WTF with the caps?

Yes. That's true.

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. It's My Life!

Goddamnit...and that's the way I like it!

[njdemocrat106]

7. How 'bout Keeping the Faith?

A tale of self-discovery and lost virginity! I always liked that "learned stickball as a formal education" line, too, for some reason.

Other nominees:
Vienna
New York State of Mind
Just the Way You Are
All About Soul
My Life
A Matter of Trust

[Guaranteed]

9. I've got a couple

of those in there, but, yeah, there were a number I had to leave out.

[njdemocrat106]

14. Yep, Billy's got a lot of great songs

Contrary to what a few DUers here might say. (I'm not naming names, but you know who you are, Billy-bashers :evilgrin: )

[kodi]

8. SNL's highest moment was Joel performing Just the Way You Are

a ways back in '78 or '79. it was the best musical perfomance by a guest in the show's history.

[Reciprocity]

10. Goodnight Saigon

Goodnight Saigon
The Nylon Curtain Released: 1982

We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives

We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight

We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy
They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all of our might

We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe
And played our Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight

We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand
They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island

We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

[Swede]

11. Goodnight Saigon

We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives
We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight
We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy
They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all our might
We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe
And played our Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together
Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight
We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand
They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island
We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together.

[Reciprocity]

13. OMG Swede! We posted the same thing at the same time.

[Swede]

19. Whoa,talk about synchronicity.

Kinda cool though.

[Webster Green]

15. 'Big Shot'

I always loved it!


You went uptown riding in your limousine
In your fine Park Avenue clothes
You had the Dom Perignon in your hand
And the spoon up your nose
And when you wake up in the morning
With your head on fire
And your eyes too bloody to see
Go on and cry in your coffee
But don't come bitchin' to me

Because you had to be a big shot, didn't you
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn't you
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
You know what everything's about
You and to have a white hot spotlight
You had to be a big shot last night

They were all impressed with your Halston dress
And the people you knew at Elaine's
And the story of your latest success
Kept 'em so entertained
But now you jsut can't remember
All the things you said
And you're not sure you want to know
I'll give you one hint, honey
You sure did put on a show

Yes, yes, you had to be a big shot, didn't you
You had to prove it to the crowd
You had to be a big shot, didn't you
All your friends were so knocked out
You hand to the last word, last night
You're so much fun to be around
You had to have the front page, bold type
You had to be a big shot last night

Well, it's no big sin to stick your two cents in
If you know when to leave it alone
But you went over the line
You couldn't see it was time to go home
No, no, no, no, no, no, you had to be a big shot, didn't you
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn't you
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
So much fun to be around
You had to have a white hot spotlight
You had to be a big shot last night

[lpbk2713]

16. New York State of Mind

Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach
Or to Hollywood
But I'm taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line
I'm in a New York state of mind

I've seen all the movie stars
In their fancy cars and their limousines
Been high in the Rockies under the evergreens
But I know what I'm needing
And I don't want to waste more time
I'm in a New York state of mind

It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, The Daily News

It comes down to reality
And it's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide
Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside
I don't have any reasons
I've left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind

It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, The Daily News

It comes down to reality
And it's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide
Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside
I don't have any reasons
I've left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind

I'm just taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line
'Cause I'm in a New York state of mind

[Reciprocity]

17. Then there's

Keeping The Faith
An Innocent Man Released: 1983

If it seems like I've been lost
In let's remember
If you think I'm feeling older
And missing my younger days
Oh, then you should have known me much better
'Cause my past is something that never
Got in my way
Oh no

Still I would not be here now
If I never had the hunger
And I'm not ashamed to say
The wild boys were my friends
Oh
'Cause I never felt the desire
'Til their music set me on fire
And then I was saved, yeah
That's why I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith

We wore old matador boots
Only Flagg Brothers had them with a Cuban heel
Iridescent socks with the same color shirt
And a tight pair of chinos
Oh
I put on my shark skin jacket
You know the kind with the velvet collar
And ditty-bop shades
Oh yeah
I took a fresh pack of Luckies
And a mint called Sen-Sen
My old man's Trojans
And his Old Spice after shave
Oh
Combed my hair in a pompadour
Like the rest of the Romeos wore
A permanent wave, Yeah
We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
You can get just so much
From a good thing
You can linger too long
In your dreams
Say goodbye to the
Oldies but goodies
'Cause the good ole days weren't
Always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems

Learned stickball as a formal education
Lost a lot of fights
But it taught me how to lose O.K.
Oh, I heard about sex
But not enough
I found you could dance
And still look tough anyway
Oh yes I did
I found out a man ain't just being macho
Ate an awful lot of late night drive-in food Drank a lot of take home pay
I thought I was the Duke of Earl
When I made it with a red-haired girl
In the Chevrolet. Oh yeah
We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith

You know the good ole days weren't always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems

I told you my reasons
For the whole revival
Now I'm going outside to have
An ice cold beer in the shade
Oh, I'm going to listen to my 45's
Ain't it wonderful to be alive
When the rock 'n' roll plays, yeah
When the memory stays, yeah
I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
I'm keeping the faith,
Yes I am

[Kathleen04]

20. I love Billy Joel

I see that I may be in the minority. Whatevv, I fit in on Long Island! :P

Love all his songs, but voted Scenes. :)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. I just LOVE him!

I know there are lots of folks here (not on this thread tonight!) who don't think much of him....

But his lyrics always spoke to me so eloquently....

At one particularly bad time in my life, when I was struggling with some big problems, his song "You're Only Human/Second Wind" just saved me...

It became my theme song, and it helped me no end...

Tonight, I voted for "Piano Man" because I love it so much...

:kick:

[RevCheesehead]

22. 2,000 Years.

next to last song on "River of Dreams" album. "Why can't we learn from all we've been through in 2000 years?" Gives me chills.

[Wapsie B]

23. I liked the Piano Man

and Just the Way You Are. The last one featured the genius of Phil Woods on Alto Sax. That alone is worth listening, even if you don't care for Billy Joel.

[Ladyhawk]

24. Too many to choose from...I like them just the way they are. :) nt

[mark11727]

25. Some more...

Tell Her About It

Baby Grand (duet with Ray Charles)

Captain Jack

She's Got A Way ABout Her

[Tallison]

29. She's Got a Way About her

:thumbsup:

Got a good live version of that somewhere.

[Borgnine]

26. My Life.

Although I've got that and the opening to Bosum Buddies forever linked in my mind.

[Tallison]

28. Where's Always a Woman?

Don't think I could pick a favorite, but that, Goodnight Saigon, And So it Goes would definitely be among them.

[WCGreen]

30. From the Piano Man....

You're my Home....