Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Some people stay far away from the door
If there's a chance of it opening up
They hear a voice in the hall outside
And hope that it just passes by
Some people live with the fear of a touch
And the anger of having been a fool
They will not listen to anyone
So nobody tells them a lie
I know you're only protecting yourself
I know you're thinking of somebody else
Someone who hurt you
But I'm not above
Making up for the love
You've been denying you could ever feel
I'm not above doing anything
To restore your faith if I can
Some people see through the eyes of the old
Before they ever get a look at the young
I'm only willing to hear you cry
Because I am an innocent man
I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am
Some people say they will never believe
Another promise they hear in the dark
Because they only remember too well
They heard somebody tell them before
Some people sleep all alone every night
Instead of taking a lover to bed
Some people find that it's easier to hate
Than to wait anymore
I know you don't want to hear what I say
I know you're gonna keep turning away
But I've been there and if I can survive
I can keep you alive
I'm not above going through it again
I've not above being cool for a while
If you're cruel to me I'll understand
Some people run from a possible fight
Some people figure they can never win
And although this is a fight I can lose
The accused is an innocent man
I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am
An innocent man
You know you only hurt yourself out of spite
I guess you'd rather be a martyr tonight
That's your decision
But I'm not below
Anybody I know
If there's a chance of resurrecting a love
I'm not above going back to the start
To find out where the heartache began
Some people hope for a miracle cure
Some people just accept the world as it is
But I'm not willing to lay down and die
Because I am an innocent man
I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am
An innocent man
If there's a chance of it opening up
They hear a voice in the hall outside
And hope that it just passes by
Some people live with the fear of a touch
And the anger of having been a fool
They will not listen to anyone
So nobody tells them a lie
I know you're only protecting yourself
I know you're thinking of somebody else
Someone who hurt you
But I'm not above
Making up for the love
You've been denying you could ever feel
I'm not above doing anything
To restore your faith if I can
Some people see through the eyes of the old
Before they ever get a look at the young
I'm only willing to hear you cry
Because I am an innocent man
I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am
Some people say they will never believe
Another promise they hear in the dark
Because they only remember too well
They heard somebody tell them before
Some people sleep all alone every night
Instead of taking a lover to bed
Some people find that it's easier to hate
Than to wait anymore
I know you don't want to hear what I say
I know you're gonna keep turning away
But I've been there and if I can survive
I can keep you alive
I'm not above going through it again
I've not above being cool for a while
If you're cruel to me I'll understand
Some people run from a possible fight
Some people figure they can never win
And although this is a fight I can lose
The accused is an innocent man
I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am
An innocent man
You know you only hurt yourself out of spite
I guess you'd rather be a martyr tonight
That's your decision
But I'm not below
Anybody I know
If there's a chance of resurrecting a love
I'm not above going back to the start
To find out where the heartache began
Some people hope for a miracle cure
Some people just accept the world as it is
But I'm not willing to lay down and die
Because I am an innocent man
I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am
An innocent man
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This song is really cool. It's about a guy trying to get a woman who has been hurt before to trust him. He is an "innocent man" because he never hurt her, but he's suffering the consequences. However he isn't afraid to help her pull through.
Agreed; in this song, he's willing to suffer for her sake, even though he did not wrong her. But he is trying to remind her that he's not any of the people who had hurt her. His refrain "an innocent man", is his attempt to warn her that she's about to do to him what was done to her, and to please stop before she becomes like them.
This song is brillant, billy joel is an amazing artist. He is a innocent man , and yes she has been hurt and he loves her and is trying to make her see that not all men are the same,more or less give him ago.
These are some of the greatest verses he ever wrote. Of course not suitable for children. Go, go away where you belong to Justin Timberlake or Britney, whatever.
You have to have lived to understand. I love the way he tries to put even the smallest feelings into pieces. This guy is a true psychological troubadour. But you can also feel real pain through those words in the most essential language. As if he wouldn't care to put himself naked in front of the world.
Great song with a classic Ben E. King beat.
This is pretty much viewed from the other side of "And so it goes."
This song is so rich...for someone who wrote this because he was snowbound, he must have really been ruminating during this storm! Anyway, I agree that this is the other side of "And So It Goes" (one of my fave BJ songs ever...) and it is all about not having our minds color our present with our past. We have to give the new people and new situations that come to us a chance...no matter if a similar situation blew up in our face before. This song is all about being mature enough to say, "You know what, yeah that sucked big time and I don't ever wanna go through a hell like that again, but this is not that and you are not them and I think I will screw up the courage and have faith in you and in myself". THAT is what this song is about...and I think he has exemplified this through his own relationships. PEACE!
Most of the world is cynical and immobilized, but I choose to live life to the fullest.
This song was actually written while Billy was stuck in his house due to a snow storm. So he wrote down the lyrics "Some people stay far away from the door" ...but then Billy claimed for some reason it turned into a man-women lovey song.
He sounds like such an arrogant twat when he mouths, "But I am an innocent maaaan..." How about... WHO CARES?!