‘Piano Man’ is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. As his first single in North America, it was included on Joel's 1973 album of the same name and later released as a single on November 2, 1973. The song was Joel's first major hit and his signature song, peaking at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in April 1974. The single broke into the Billboard Top 40 in April 1974 at #30, going on to ultimately peak at #25, making it Joel's first top 40 hit. In Canada, the song peaked at #10 and established Joel as a star there. Initially, ‘Piano Man’ was a moderate hit in the US. However, following the 1977 release of Joel's album The Stranger, the song became one of his best-known and best-loved songs.
The song is sung from Joel's point of view as a piano player at a bar, reminiscing about his experiences there and the people he encountered. ‘Piano Man’ is based on Joel's real-life experiences as a piano-lounge singer for six months in 1972–73 at the now defunct Executive Room bar in the Wilshire district of Los Angeles. Joel has stated that all the characters depicted in the song were based on real people. "John at the bar" was really the bartender who worked during Joel's shift at the piano bar. "Paul is a real estate novelist" refers to a real estate agent named Paul who would sit at the bar each night working on what he believed would be the next great American novel. "The waitress is practicing politics" refers to Joel's first wife Elizabeth Weber, with whom he moved to Los Angeles from New York in 1972 and who worked at The Executive Room as a waitress while Joel played the piano.
‘Piano Man’ is now a highlight of Joel's live shows, where he usually allows the audience to sing the chorus. It was ranked #421 in the 2004 list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Ultimate Classic Rock placed it at #63 in its "Top 100 Classic Rock Songs" list. In 2015, the Library of Congress selected ‘Piano Man’ for preservation in the National Recording Registry for its "cultural, historic, or artistic significance".
Label – ColumbiaSongwriter – Billy Joel
Producer – Michael Stewart
SONG LYRICS
[Instrumental Intro: 00:00-00:31][Verse 1]
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Making 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”
[Refrain]
La, la-la, di-dee-da
La-la di-dee-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 feeling alright
[Verse 2]
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”
[Refrain]
Oh, la, la-la, di-dee-da
La-la di-dee-da da-dum
[Verse 3]
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talking 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 drinking alone
[Instrumental Break]
[Piano Solo]
[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 feeling alright
[Verse 4]
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 coming 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 doing here?”
[Refrain]
Oh, la, la-la, di-dee-da
La-la di-dee-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 feeling alright
[Instrumental Outro]