Posts Tagged ‘BILLY JOEL’

LOS ANGELENOS

Los angelenos
All come from somewhere
To live in sunshine
Their funky exile
Midwestern ladies
High-heeled and faded
Driving sleek new sports cars
With their new york cowboys

Hiding up in the mountains
Laying low in the canyons
Going nowhere on the streets
With the spanish names
Making love with the natives
In their hollywood places
Making up for all the time gone by

Los angelenos
All come from somewhere
’cause it’s all so easy
To become acquainted
Electric babies
Blue-jeaned and jaded
Such hot sweet schoolgirls
So educated

Tanning out in the beaches
With their mexican reefers
No one ever has to feel
Like a refugee
Going into garages
For exotic massages
Making up for all the time gone by

Hiding up in the mountains
Laying low in the canyons
Going nowhere on the streets
With the spanish names
Making love with the natives
In their hollywood places
Making up for all the time gone by

Los angelenos
All come from somewhere
It’s so familiar
Their foreign faces

KEEPING THE FAITH

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 matador boots
only flagg brothers had them with the 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
Now 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

ALLENTOWN

Well we’re living here in allentown
and they’re closing all the factories down
out in bethlehem they’re killing time
filling out forms
standing in line
well our fathers fought the second world war
spent their weekends on the jersey shore
met our mothers in the uso
asked them to dance
danced with them slow
and we’re living here in allentown
but the restlessness was handed down
and it’s getting very hard to stay
well we’re waiting here in allentown
for the pennsylvania we never found
for the promises our teachers gave
if we worked hard
if we behaved
so the graduations hang on the wall
but they never really helped us at all
no they never taught us what was real
iron and coke
and chromium steel
and we’re waiting here in allentown
but they’ve taken all the coal from the ground
and the union people crawled away
every child has a pretty good shot
to get at least as far as their old man got
but something happened on the way to that place
they threw an american flag in our place
well i’m living here in allentown
and it’s hard to keep a good man down
but i won’t be getting very hard to stay
and we’re living here in allentown

MIAMI 2017 (SEEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT ON BROADWAY)

Miami 2017 (seen the lights go out on broadway)

seen the lights go out broadway
i saw the empire state laid low
and life went on beyond the palisades
they all bought cadillacs
and left there long ago
They held a concert out in brooklyn
to watch the island bridges blow
they turned our power down
and drove us underground
but we went right on with the show
I’ve seen the lights go out on broadway
i saw the ruins at my feet
you know we almost didn’t notice it
we’d seen it all the time on forty second street
They burned the churches down in harlem
like in that spanish civil war
the flames were everywhere
but no one really cared
it always burned up there before
I’ve seen the lights go out on broadway
i saw the mighty skyline fall
the boats were waiting at the battery
the union went on strike
they never sailed at all
They sent a carrier out from norfolk
and picked the yankees up for free
they said that queens could stay
and blew the bronx away
and sank manhattan out at sea
You know those lights were bright on broadway
that was so many years ago
before we all lived here in florida
before the mafia took over mexico
there are not many who remember
they say a handful still survive
to tell the world about
the way the lights went out
and keep the memory alive

ALL ABOUT SOUL

She waits for me at night, she waits for me in silence
she gives me all her tenderness and takes away my pain
and so far she hasn’t run, though i swear she’s had her moments
she still believes in miracles while others cry in vain
It’s all about soul
it’s all about faith and a deeper devotion
it’s all about soul
’cause under the love is a stronger emotion
she’s got to be strong
’cause so many things getting out of control
should drive her away
so why does she stay?
it’s all about soul
She turns to me sometimes and asks me what i’m dreaming
and i realize i must have gone a million miles away
and i ask her how she knew to reach out for me that moment
and she smiles because it’s understood there are no words to say
It’s all about soul
it’s all about knowing what someone is feeling
the woman’s got soul
the power of love and the power of healing
this life isn’t fair
it’s gonna get dark, it’s gonna get cold
you’ve got to be tough, but that ain’t enough
it’s all about soul
There are people who have lost every trace of human kindness
there are many who have fallen, there are some who still survive
she comes to me at night and she tells me her desires
and she gives me all the love i need to keep my faith alive
It’s all about soul
it’s all about joy that comes out of sorrow
it’s all about soul
who’s standing now and who’s standing tomorrow
you’ve got to be hard
hard as the rock in that old rock ‘n’ roll
but that’s only part, you know in your heart
it’s all about soul

MATTER OF TRUST

Some love is just a lie of the heart
the cold remains of what began with a passionate start
and they may not want it to end
but it will it’s just a question of when
i’ve lived long enough to have learned
the closer you get to the fire the more you get burned
but that won’t happen to us
because it’s always been a matter of trust
I know you’re an emotional girl
it took a lot for you to not lose your faith in this world
i can’t offer you proof
but you’re going to face a moment of truth
it’s hard when you’re always afraid
you just recover when another belief is betrayed
so break my heart of you must
it’s a matter of trust
You can’t go the distance
with too much resistance
i know you have doubts
but for god’s sake don’t shut me out
This time you’ve got nothing to lose
you can take it, you can leave it
whatever you choose
i won’t hold back anything
and i’ll walk away a fool or a king
some love is just a lie of the mind
it’s make believe until its only a matter of time
and some might have learned to adjust
but then it never was a matter of trust
I’m sure you’re aware love
we’ve both had our share of
believing too long
when the whole situation was wrong
Some love is just a lie of the soul
a constant battle for the ultimate state of control
after you’ve heard lie upon lie
there can hardly be a question of why
some love is just a lie of the heart
the cold remains of what began with a passionate start
but that can’t happen to us
because it’s always been a matter of trust

PRESSURE

You have to learn to pace yourself
pressure
you’re just like everybody else
pressure
you’ve only had to run so far
so good
but you will come to a place
where the only thing you feel
are loaded guns in your face
and you’ll have to deal with
pressure
you used to call me paranoid
pressure
but even you can not avoid
pressure
you turned the tap dance into your crusade
now here you are with your faith
and your peter pan advice
you have no scars on your face
and you cannot handle pressure
all grown up and no place to go
psych 1, psych 2
what do you know?
all your life is channel 13
sesame street
what does it mean?
pressure
pressure
don’t ask for help
you’re all alone
pressure
you’ll have to answer
to your own
pressure
i’m sure you’ll have some cosmic rationale
but here you are in the ninth
two men out and three men on
nowhere to look but inside
where we all respond to
pressure
pressure
all your life is time magazine
i read it too
what does it mean?
pressure
i’m sure you’ll have some cosmic rationale
but here you are with your faith
and your peter pan advice
you have no scars on your face
and you cannot handle pressure
pressure, pressure
one, two, three, four
pressure

GOODNIGHT SAIGON

We met as soulmates
on parris inland
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 homefront
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 onto each other
like brother to bother
we promised our mothers we’d write
(chorus)
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 hands
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 highland
and they were sharp
as sharp as knives
they heard the hum of the mortars
they counted the rotors
and waited for us to arrive
(repeat chorus)

BIG SHOT

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