"I went on the road / You pursued an education, James . . ."

[saltpoint]

"Do what's good for you / Or you're not good for anybody..."

-- ("James" by Billy Joel, from TURNSTILES)

I never cared for the black jacket & motorcycle tough guy veneer.

But those early compositions were a mighty fine thing.

"Summer, Highland Falls" ain't bad either.

[saltpoint]

1. If I had scaled a high peak and let fly an anvil to the plain below, it would

not have dropped farther or faster than this post on Joel's song "James."

Well, dammit, I remain defiant in my feeling that it's a great song.

So there.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. I liked his early stuff, too.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tw6Gon_MFUQ&feature=related

There's a place in the world for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plans
He refuses to bend he refuses to crawl
And he's always at home with his back to the wall
And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost
And struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross
And likes to be known as the angry young man

Give a moment or two to the angry young man
With his foot in his mouth and his heart in his hand
He's been stabbed in the back he's been misunderstood
It's a comfort to know his intentions are good
And he sits in his room with a lock on the door
With his maps and his medals laid out on the floor
And he likes to be known as the angry young man

I believe I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage
I found that just surviving was a noble fight
I once believed in causes too
I had my pointless point of view
And life went on no matter who was wrong or right

And there's always a place for the angry young man
With his fist in the air and his head in the sand
And he's never been able to learn from mistakes
So he can't understand why his heart always breaks
And his honor is pure and his courage is well
And he's fair and he's true and he's boring as hell
And he'll go to the grave as an angry old man

Yes there's always a place for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plans
He refuses to bend he refuses to crawl
And he's always at home with his back to the wall
And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost
And struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross
And likes to be known as the angry young man

[saltpoint]

4. Hi, Tuesday afternoon. It is wild that you chose those lyrics. I had them

out last night and wondered what they mean -- or rather, at whom they were directed.

"...just surviving is a noble fight..." sound right to me, but I wonder if Joel was pointing a finger at someone else -- or maybe himself at a younger age?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. good question -- I found this much on a quick search --

"Billy Joel is Angry." Rolling Stone. Sep. 4, 1980, pp. 37ff.

http://www.superseventies.com/faq_billyjoel.html

edited for typo

[saltpoint]

8. What a good site. I've bookmarked it to explore later tonight.

Thank you!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

10. y/w

:hi:

[alarimer]

3. You're not alone

Those are good songs.

Billy Joel is one of my "guilty pleasure" artists, along with Jimmy Buffett and a few others. 52nd Street was damned good.

[saltpoint]

5. Hi, alarimer. Thanks for throwing in to this thread. For some hours on

end there I thought I must be typing with invisble ink or something.

Yes. 52nd St. works pretty damn well. Joel isn't on my music playlist as much as other artists, but I'm unable to ignore his musicality.

[opiate69]

7. Great song..

here's another forgotten favorite of mine.. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XGqgZgdkzoc

[saltpoint]

9. Yes. The lyrics kill me. "a couple of paintins from Sears..."