Piano Man has such a simple meaning/story but yet seems to be misinterprated by so many people. Piano Man is indeed about a bar piano player and what he sees at the bar he works at. He seems to have a good repour with all the customers they all seem to like and respect him. The first clue that tells you what the song is about is when he talks to the old man sitting next to him. The man is making love to his tonic and gin he is presumably drunk and rambling on about his life. John at the bar is a bartender that seems to be stuck and wants to apparently be a movie star. The waitress is praticing politics while the buisness man slowly gets more and more drunk. Everyone at the bar has a problem and while they are there the Piano Man makes them "forget about life for a while." He does this for these people and the customers think he is such a good piano player. The Piano Man knows that he is a respectable player but is no different from anyother bar piano player. It's just that these people have problems for one and are drunk for two. He is so great because of these people needing an outlet he knows this and accepts this. I love this song and am also a bar piano player. Playing at a bar one night I began to play this song when it all hit me what it was about. I had never really thought about it in that much depth before but as I played it all unfolded infront of me. The really amazing thing about the song is that anyone who has worked in a bar/restaurant can relate to the people in the story, and even if you have never worked in this enviornment the song paints the picture so beautifully that you can see exactly what the Piano Man feels and sees.
@BrycePaas I do love this song, and yes on the surface it is simple. But clearly this is more than simply a snapshot of a scene at a bar, or simply a portrait of a really great pianist. People love this song because the bar represents bittersweet hope in the face of life struggles. The stories are of people who are stuck in their lives. Many of us feel the same way, in one way or another. But despite their individual traps, the people in the song have found a place where they can share a moment of happiness (or...
@BrycePaas I do love this song, and yes on the surface it is simple. But clearly this is more than simply a snapshot of a scene at a bar, or simply a portrait of a really great pianist. People love this song because the bar represents bittersweet hope in the face of life struggles. The stories are of people who are stuck in their lives. Many of us feel the same way, in one way or another. But despite their individual traps, the people in the song have found a place where they can share a moment of happiness (or delusion, depending on your perspective).
@BrycePaas It actually isn't at all. Billy Joel is a recovering alcoholic. This song symbolizes the piano as actually alcohol. It's about loneliness and all the people whom the piano man attracts and how they are stuck there. But your right, everyone can relate...just maybe not about some of the lines, Bill is a friend of mine. When you say to someone you are a friend of Bill's, you are anonymously saying something else that only recovering alcoholics would know. Says, its killing me and I could be a movie star if I could get...
@BrycePaas It actually isn't at all. Billy Joel is a recovering alcoholic. This song symbolizes the piano as actually alcohol. It's about loneliness and all the people whom the piano man attracts and how they are stuck there. But your right, everyone can relate...just maybe not about some of the lines, Bill is a friend of mine. When you say to someone you are a friend of Bill's, you are anonymously saying something else that only recovering alcoholics would know. Says, its killing me and I could be a movie star if I could get out of this place. It's a simple song, yet very deep... Now that you know, listen to it back. Billy Joel did an interview on this once, only reason why I know, and clued in on the recovery part, because Elton John, his best friend has been sober for years and Billy Joel has struggled for long term sobriety for awhile.
Piano Man has such a simple meaning/story but yet seems to be misinterprated by so many people. Piano Man is indeed about a bar piano player and what he sees at the bar he works at. He seems to have a good repour with all the customers they all seem to like and respect him. The first clue that tells you what the song is about is when he talks to the old man sitting next to him. The man is making love to his tonic and gin he is presumably drunk and rambling on about his life. John at the bar is a bartender that seems to be stuck and wants to apparently be a movie star. The waitress is praticing politics while the buisness man slowly gets more and more drunk. Everyone at the bar has a problem and while they are there the Piano Man makes them "forget about life for a while." He does this for these people and the customers think he is such a good piano player. The Piano Man knows that he is a respectable player but is no different from anyother bar piano player. It's just that these people have problems for one and are drunk for two. He is so great because of these people needing an outlet he knows this and accepts this. I love this song and am also a bar piano player. Playing at a bar one night I began to play this song when it all hit me what it was about. I had never really thought about it in that much depth before but as I played it all unfolded infront of me. The really amazing thing about the song is that anyone who has worked in a bar/restaurant can relate to the people in the story, and even if you have never worked in this enviornment the song paints the picture so beautifully that you can see exactly what the Piano Man feels and sees.
@BrycePaas I do love this song, and yes on the surface it is simple. But clearly this is more than simply a snapshot of a scene at a bar, or simply a portrait of a really great pianist. People love this song because the bar represents bittersweet hope in the face of life struggles. The stories are of people who are stuck in their lives. Many of us feel the same way, in one way or another. But despite their individual traps, the people in the song have found a place where they can share a moment of happiness (or...
@BrycePaas I do love this song, and yes on the surface it is simple. But clearly this is more than simply a snapshot of a scene at a bar, or simply a portrait of a really great pianist. People love this song because the bar represents bittersweet hope in the face of life struggles. The stories are of people who are stuck in their lives. Many of us feel the same way, in one way or another. But despite their individual traps, the people in the song have found a place where they can share a moment of happiness (or delusion, depending on your perspective).
@BrycePaas It actually isn't at all. Billy Joel is a recovering alcoholic. This song symbolizes the piano as actually alcohol. It's about loneliness and all the people whom the piano man attracts and how they are stuck there. But your right, everyone can relate...just maybe not about some of the lines, Bill is a friend of mine. When you say to someone you are a friend of Bill's, you are anonymously saying something else that only recovering alcoholics would know. Says, its killing me and I could be a movie star if I could get...
@BrycePaas It actually isn't at all. Billy Joel is a recovering alcoholic. This song symbolizes the piano as actually alcohol. It's about loneliness and all the people whom the piano man attracts and how they are stuck there. But your right, everyone can relate...just maybe not about some of the lines, Bill is a friend of mine. When you say to someone you are a friend of Bill's, you are anonymously saying something else that only recovering alcoholics would know. Says, its killing me and I could be a movie star if I could get out of this place. It's a simple song, yet very deep... Now that you know, listen to it back. Billy Joel did an interview on this once, only reason why I know, and clued in on the recovery part, because Elton John, his best friend has been sober for years and Billy Joel has struggled for long term sobriety for awhile.