Analysis of song lyrics and literary themes

Billy Joel's Piano Man

One phrase that can sum up the success of Billy Joel's song, Piano Man, is "slice of life." The song give us a glimpse into the life of a struggling performer who has earned fame on a small scale playing the piano and singing at a bar in a small town. This song is timeless because it is a story about many characters making their way through life.

The music and lyrics of this song operate together to create a comfortable atmosphere. This atmosphere reflects the atmosphere of the small bar in which the story is taking place. Because most of the music in the song is the piano, the image of the piano player is constantly brought to our minds. From the very beginning of the song, we are drawn to listen to it because it is not intrusive. The song is not demanding that we listen to it; rather, its melody entices us.

This song is also an example of how songwriters often tell stories with their songs. It is an intensely personal song, yet it is a story that is so ordinary, that it could almost any piano player in any bar on any given Saturday night. This combination gives the song its appeal.

A significant aspect of this song is how the piano player has become like a permanent fixture in the bar. In addition, the piano player is the "main attraction" at the bar. This can be seen when the he sings, "the manager gives me a smile/'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see/To forget about life for a while" (Joel). Without sounding arrogant, the piano player is aware of his popularity. However, it is a modest humility that keeps him where he is.

The song is told from the piano player's perspective and it encapsulates everything that he witnesses one night while he is playing. The first thing he notices is that "the regular crowd" shuffles in around nine o'clock on a Saturday night. The customers refer to him as the "piano man" and talk to him as if he were an old friend.

The song is also appealing because the songwriter gives us a description of the people around him. For instance, he says, "There's an old man sitting next to me/Makin' love to his tonic and gin" (Joel).

We also know that the piano player has made friends in the bar. For example, he says:

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine

He gets me my drinks for free

And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke

But there's someplace that he'd rather be The character John is also struggling to make it as an actor and tells the piano player, "I'm sure that I could be a movie star/If I could get out of this place" (Joel).

The old man and John are significant because they illustrate segments of society. The piano player is presenting us with different "slices" of American life. The old man with the failing memory is one, while John the aspiring actor is another. The fact that the songs begins by mentioning the old man may be the piano's player's way of telling us that we are all getting older.

This song is also popular because it reflects on a certain melancholy that people often encounter when they feel life may be slipping away from them before they have a chance to achieve their dream. This is clear because we know that John would rather be somewhere acting and the waitress is "practicing politics" on the businessmen who are slowly getting drunk. In addition, "Paul is a real estate novelist" and Davy may stay in the Navy forever. The images we discover in this song are of people who are trying to find their way in life and discovering along the way that life can sometimes be difficult.

The important aspect of these characters is that "They're sharing a drink called loneliness/But it's better than drinking alone" (Joel). The bar gives the people a sense of belonging that they cannot find anywhere else. More importantly, as the piano player says, they have come to the bar "to forget about life for awhile" (Joel).

Sing us a song, you're the piano man

Sing us a song tonight

Well, we're all in the mood for a melody

And you've got us feelin' alright