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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
And she'll take what you give her, as long it's free
Yeah, She steals like a thief, but she's always a woman to me
[Chorus: ]
Ohhh...she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants, she's ahead of her time
Ohhh...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 bleeding
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
[Chorus: ]
She's frequently kind and she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases, she's nobody's fool
And 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
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
And she'll take what you give her, as long it's free
Yeah, She steals like a thief, but she's always a woman to me
[Chorus: ]
Ohhh...she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants, she's ahead of her time
Ohhh...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 bleeding
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
[Chorus: ]
She's frequently kind and she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases, she's nobody's fool
And 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
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Quite obviously a man singing about the woman truly loves. Because, if you truly love someone, you can list a load of badpoints about them, but it is why you love them, because without those bad points are what makes you, and it is why he loves her, because he still wants her DESPITE everything.
‘She might treat you like dirt, but that’s not how she treats me.”
Unfortunately, in the end we both turned out to be right.
Everything is presented in kind of an extreme way and you can take it either way, both interpretations are valid, and maybe
the truth is somewhere in the middle actually (as most things in life). In any case ... I believed in chivalry as represented in
this song and I still do. I still side with the guy in the song. Having said that ... I also see this song as a warning. There are
some guys out there that are overly chivalrous who may not express when their significant other does something that they
don't agree with. This can lead to trouble later on. Now, I believe in chivalry ... but with limits. When a person does
something wrong or a person does something that one disagrees with ... there's nothing wrong with saying it ... in fact you
better say it. That's what I've taken from this song regardless of whether that was Billy Joel's intended message or not.
Maybe it was. In any case, the song paints a true picture of relationships between men and women imo and how far men
can or should go in terms of being chivalrous but at the same time not being so chivalrous that they stay silent and don't
communicate when it is necessary to communicate and express things that one may not agree with.
The song was basically saying that while you may think she is a bitch, that she "kills with a smile" and "wounds with her eyes," to me (i.e. to Billy), she is always a woman. You may think she is "suddenly cruel" and a tough S.O.B. in negotiations, but to Billy she is always a woman. Yes, to some degree, he acknowledges she may be like that, but he loves her....just the way she is.
It is a love song, there's no question about that. It is not derogatory of woman, quite the contrary, he is saying that a "woman" does not have to be all cute, pretty, subservient, but can be strong, tough, even brutal, and still be a woman, and a woman he loves.
The song was most definitely written by Billy in 1977 (someone posted that it was written by Chantal Kreviazuk, but was corrected by another poster; rather Chantal does a cover version of this song in concert). Billy and Elizabeth divorced in 1982 or 1983 I believe,but so what, that does not make the sentiment of the song any less authentic or sincere. They had been married or together for over 10 years.
Sources? Read anything Billy has said about this song. Read his three main biographies (by Mark Bego, Hank Bordowitz, and Bill Smith "I Go To Extremes"). Incidentally, I don't really like any of thoese biographies for other reasons; it has been reported that Billy is writing an autobiography.