Billy Joel: Piano Man Meaning
Song Released: 1973
Piano Man Lyrics
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...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:I think there have been some pretty good explanations of what Billy Joel meant by this song, but what is striking me is that people still seem to think that the waitress is actually talking about politics. It's obvious, and I speak from experience, for I am a waitress, that you need to have a lot of patience, tact and power to stay friendly, polite, smiling and pretending dumb, as if your only goal in life is to make your customer happy and not lose your temper if one of them starts yelling at you: ye'there dahlin' bring me 'nother one-a those will-ye? And then, when you come with the next couple of beers/wodka's or whatever it is they're drinking, thinks he hasn't been annoying enough and actually starts feeling you up or saying thins like: why shall I not give ye me phonenumber dahlin, huh? Gimme a call sometime will-ye, yeah yer hot!
So really, you gotta practice all the politics you can find to resist the longing of just beating one of those guys up and keep your temper under control.
As far as the rest of the song is concerned. Joel is the piano man, that's clear. And he meets all his old friends there and the old man, with the gin tonic does NOT want him to play a song from earlier years, he wants him to play a song about LOVE of course: "Son can you play me a memory, I'm not really sre how it goes, but it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete, when I wore a younger men's clothes" means nothing less and nothing more than that he HAS loved, but he winded up alone, and he's old now, and forgotten what it's exactly like. But he remembers the sweetness of love, as well as the sadness.
His friend John, the bartender, he's just a dissapointed guy who came to LA for the big work, but then never actually put himself out there, and started a bar just for the money, and now can't get out if it anymore. That's what's killing him and what makes him sad. But he makes the best out if it with small talks and jokes, who, are of course, often made when somebody's lighting your smoke.
Paul, he's indeed the real-estate guy who always tried to write the AMAZING novel everybody's waiting for, and he always lost women by his insecurity and forgettiness, because he never really payed them attention. He was either at work, or tried to mastermind his novel out. And Davy, the guy who never had the ambition to get out of the Navy when he still could, because he thought life was just fine having beers with his Navy mates and god knows what else they do, he now realizes that it's too late and that he's stuck to the Navy. But he tries to get in peace with it.
The waitress I've already explained, the businessmen only want to escape life, their wifes, who all know about their mistresses, their stressing jobs, their children, the worries and the boredom it all brings over them. 'Cause even though they have it all, and it could make you very lively, they don't truly live the experiences, because they're too caught up with their jobs.
The drink they share is really just the loneliness, and it is better to share your loneliness with somebody else, than to just have to sit all by yourself. They share misery.
As far as the whole next part's concerned: the piano sounds like a carnival, the mic smell's like a beer: he really get's a nice set of tones out of that piano he plays on, and the mic, not cleaned in years, smells of alcohol and failure. But he gets something out of it, and it makes people go wild and they tip him, 'cause he's so good. And that's why they ask: so what are you doing here then, mate? You can actually DO something with your life, go DO it, don't end up as we did.
But Joel knows just this little more than they do: he's no better. He's got nowhere to go, he's got nothing to return to. He's got his music, and the best he can do, is sharing his music with others, 'cause it's better than playing alone. -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:I don't think Billy Joel was insinuating anything with the waitress thing. I think the song is about ruts as tinkerhell said; however, I think it's about more than that. I think it is about how everyone is disappointed with some part of their life. Everyone has fallen short of their expectations at some point, and I think the song is about escaping life for a while. Because everyone the song talks about seems to be decently successful, however, they are missing something. We all are, life's hard, and that bar, and the piano man is a rut but it is also their escape.
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3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:This song is about loneliness. It's about a somewhat pathetic group of people who sit in a bar on Saturday night because they all have nothing else to do, no one to be, no one to love. "And they're sharing a drink they call loneliness... but it's better than drinking alone." From Paul, the still-single "real estate novelist", to Davy who's stuck in the Navy, to the bartender who feels stuck in a dead-end job, they come together to comiserate about their lives and how they always seem to wind up alone. And Bill, the Piano Man, is there even though he doesn't need to be, because he seems to be a little different from all of these people... but is he? Even Bill himself might be a little lonely, because he's here in this bar, sharing his time and his feelings with everyone else via his piano.
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The waitress is Practicing politics, like a lawyer practices law, she a politician server the businessmen, AS, meaning the verses are connected, the businessmen slowly get stoned, or higher and higher while she servers them, shes probably very patient and keeps face like a politician, but also gets tipped fat if she serves them and turns her cheek to their rude behavior (another metaphor for being 'poli'te)
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Does anyone else think john and Paul are the Beatles versions?
Does that make Davy a Monkee? -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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When Billy Joel was in highschool he really didn't attend school because he played the piano at a bar to earn money and support his mother. The song is referring to his childhood and how the people at the bar enjoyed listening him play the piano, hence giving him the name piano man. You can look up this information, it is true.
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I believe this song is talking about life in general everyone has a story that they need share. Whether it be in a bar or wherever. It's about the need for community and how colorful the world really is. If you read this go ask someone how their day is going. I know this doesn't directly paraphrase the lyrics but screw it get off the internet. ~peace
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Cracks me up how many people think the waitress is literally "practicing politics". The song lyrics state "the waitress is practicing politics "AS" the business men slowly get stoned. Its obvious it would be impossible for a waitress to study politics as she working and serving customers. It simply means that as these customers get stoned and lose control and start acting up and possibly start hitting on her she choose words and actions that don't offend her customers but at the same time lets them know just how far to take it and not to cross boundaries. That's practicing politics!
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The song is about a bar that represents a general population in which people are consumed by their jobs and can´t live the life they would want to. They feel lonely and hopeless.
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The Regular crowd shuffles in
(the regular crowd meaning the bar is full of the same people who find a get-away in the bar)
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
(the old man does not show many feelings of lonelyness, he is actually enojoying his drink. he can probably even be wise)
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."
(the sadness and sweetness of the song shows a melancholic mood in the bar)
La la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Chorus:
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
(the "regular crowd" likes Billy, who is the piano man, and asks him for songs that probably take them away from their daily lives)
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"
(with this description Billy shows that John is a positive person always willing to help; however, his bartender career is getting him stuck there instead of reaching this dream, the place he´d rather be, probably Hollywood or somewhere where he could be a movie star. He says the bar, or the bartender life, is killing him because it traps him instead of being an impulse to get out.)
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessman slowly gets stoned
(sorry if the waitresses feel offended, but billy makes a reference to waitressing as no one´s dream job. This is an irony, while the waitress (nobody´s role model or dream job) is studying politics while she works for a living. The businessman, on the other hand, represents financial success, but he is consuming drugs.)
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone
(They both share "a drink they call loneliness" because their lives, even though they are complete opposites, do not fulfill them, and they feel lonely. In addition, it is better to drink with a stranger than drinking alone.
Chorus
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
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
(Paul spent his life worrying about his job and could never find stable love (meaning a wife) because he did not have time for both, and he chose his job. He obviously feels lonely like the bartender, the waitress and the businessman.)
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life
(Davy is stuck in the Navy. His life is basically planned out and it is likely that he will not get out of it.=
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
(Here he summarizes and generalizes the feelings of the people in the bar. they are lonely, hopeless and want to get distracted with something which turns out to be Billy´s musical talent.)
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?"
("the piano sounds like a carnival": carnivals are usually happy and represent celebration. the microphone smelling like beer pops up the image of a drunk person singing karaoke. They ask Billy what he is doing in the bar because he doesn´t fit in with the characteristics of the rest. He looks happy and looks like he is enjoying his life, they cannot understand how someone as succesful as him want to spend time in a depressing bar.)
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Chorus:
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 -
I believe that the message in the song is about how life is contradicting.
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"
As you can see, in the beginning of the song the old man asks for him to play him a melody because he wants to feel young again.
La la la, de de da
La la, de de da da dum
Chorus:
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"
In this verse, it shows that John works at a bar and wants to become a movie star, but it is pretty much impossible.
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
I believe that Paul, who did not have time for a wife can be gay, for he loves Davy. But Davy is straight, so it is impossible for Paul to meet Davy.
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink (made for) loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone
The waitress is practising politics because she wants to have a career in politics. But it is so different with her job as a waitress, that it almost seems impossible.
Chorus
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, 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."
As well for Billy, he wishes to become something greater than singing on the streets or in the bar.
Oh, la la la, de de da
La la, de de da da dum
Chorus:
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
I think everyone can have a different message from this song. There is never a correct answer for messages in songs, cause they`re like poems.I also believe that the song gives the message of depression in life, and how everyone is missing something for themselves to achieve true happiness. And apparently, this songs is also based on Billy`s life before he became famous, for the people referred in his songs were all real people that he knew. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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The guy used to be at the top of world then he lost all his money (drugs? gambling?) and now he's stuck playing for tips to pay his bills for and bunch of drunks and talking about their problems.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I think the reason Paul didn't have time for a wife is that he has no interest in women--after all, he's talking to Davy, who's still in the navy, and probably will be for life. Any grown man who is still going by "Davy" (and isn't Jones) probably isn't interested in women, either. So...are they gay?
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Re: the line about Davy, I always interpreted that to mean he was singing about a Navy veteran who was constantly talking about his years in the service. For Davy, everything after the Navy was such a disappointment that it's all he ever talks about. Hence, he's "still in the Navy, and probably will be for life"
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I used to think that it represents life and that expectations aren't always met. But if you listen to it carefully when he says "...When I wore a younger mans clothes..." he is making a reference to himself. This could be referring to his life and the people he met before he was discovered and made famous. Also the end when he says "...And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar saying, Man what are you doing here?!" is yet another reference to himself. Sure all the other messages are in this song but I think that it also says that even the rich and famous live hard lives too, no one is excluded from hardships just because they're well known.
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