Billy Joel

You can make me free
You can make me smile
You can make me be
Like a little child

You can melt the ice that chills my body
You can dry my every tear
You make the lonely hours disappear

You can make me free
You can make me rise
You can make me see
So open up my eyes
Don't you know my only real moments
Are the ones I spend with you
How I long to drink some wine again with you

I can take to the skies
I can soar like a bird with its heart full of song
Won't you color my eyes
I've been waiting so long

You can make me free
You can make me cry
You can make it so much better
If you would only try

And if I must wait a lonely lifetime
Until I am with you, my love
I will wait but you'll be what I'm dreamin' of

I can take to the skies
I can soar like a bird with his heart full of song
Won't you cover my eyes
I've been waiting so long

You can make me free
You can make me cry
You can make it so much better
If you would only try

And if I must wait a lonely lifetime
Until I am with you, my love
I will wait but you'll be what I'm dreamin' of

I can take to the skies
I can soar like a bird with his heart full of song
Won't you cover my eyes
I've been waiting so long

You can make me free
You can make me cry
You can make it so much better
If you would only try

And if I must wait a lonely lifetime
Until I am with you, my love
I will wait but you'll be what I'm dreamin' of

You can make me free
You can make me cry
You can make it so much better
If you would only try

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin

He says, 'Son, can you play me a melody?
I'm not really sure how it goes but it's sad and it's sweet
And I knew it complete when I wore a younger man's clothes'

*

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


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




He says, 'Bill, I believe this is killing me.'
As the smile ran away from his face
'Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place'


Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy who's still in the navy
And probably will be for life


And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone

*repeat

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And 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




And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, 'Man, what are you doin' here?'

She's got a way about her
I don't know what it is
But I know that I can't live without her
She's got a way of pleasin'
I don't know what it is
But there doesn't have to be a reason anyway

She's got a smile that heals me
I don't know why it is
But I have to laugh when she reveals me
She's got a way of talkin'
I don't know why it is
But it lifts me up when we are walkin' anywhere

She comes to me when I'm feelin' down
Inspires me without a sound
She touches me and I get turned around

She's got a way of showin'
How I make her feel
And I find the strength to keep on goin'
She's got a way of walkin
And everywhere she goes
A million dreams of love surround her everywhere

She comes to me when I'm feelin' down
Inspires me without a sound
She touches me
I get turned around

She's got a smile that heals me
I don't know what it is
But I have to laugh when she reveals me
She's got a way about her
I don't know what it is
But I know that I can't live without her anyway

You went uptown riding in your limousine
In your fine Park Avenue clothes
You had the Dom Perigon in your hand
And the spoon up your nose
And when you wake up in the morning
With your head on fire
And your eyes too bloody to see
Go on and cry in your coffee
But don't come bitchin' to me

Because you had to be a big shot, didn't you
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn't you
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
You know what everything's about
You and to have a white hot spotlight
You had to be a big shot last night

They were all impressed with your Halston dress
And the people you knew at Elaine's
And the story of your latest success
Kept 'em so entertained
But now you just can't remember
All the things you said
And you're not sure you want to know
I'll give you one hint, honey
You sure did put on a show

Yes, yes, you had to be a big shot, didn't you
You had to prove it to the crowd
You had to be a big shot, didn't you
All your friends were so knocked out
You hand to the last word, last night
You're so much fun to be around
You had to have the front page, bold type
You had to be a big shot last night

Well, it's no big sin to stick your two cents in
If you know when to leave it alone
But you went over the line
You couldn't see it was time to go home
No, no, no, no, no, no, you had to be a big shot, didn't you
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn't you
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
So much fun to be around
You had to have a white hot spotlight
You had to be a big shot last night

If you search for tenderness
It isn't hard to find
You can have the love you need to live

But if you look for truthfulness
You migth just as well be blind
It always seems to be so hard to give

* Honesty is such a lonely word
Everyone is so untrue
Honesty is hardly ever heard
And mostly what I need from you

I can always find someone
to say they sympathize
If I wear my heart out on my sleeve
But I don't want some pretty face
to tell me pretty lies
All I want is someone to believe

* Repeat

I can find a lover
I can find a friend
I can have security
until the bitter end
Anyone can comfort me
with promises again, I know, I know

When I'm deep inside of me
Don't be too concerned
I won't ask for nothing while I'm gone

But when I want sincerity
Tell me where else can I turn
Because you're the one
that I depend upon

* Repeat

Got a call from an old friend
We used to be real close
Said he couldn't go on the American way
Closed the shop, sold the house
Bought a ticket to the West Coast
Now he gives them a stand-up routine in L.A.

I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life
Go ahead with your own life, and leave me alone

I never said you had to offer me a second chance
I never said I was a victim of circumstance
I still belong, don't get me wrong
And you can speak your mind
But not on my time

They will tell you: you can't sleep alone
In a strange place
Then they'll tell you: you can't sleep
With somebody else
But sooner or later you sleep
In your own space
Either way it's okay
You wake up with yourself

I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life
Go ahead with your own life, and leave me alone

Ali dances and the audience applauds
Though he's bathed in sweat he hasn't lost his style
Ali don't you go downtown
You gave away another round for free

Me, I'm just another face at Zanzibar
But the waitress always serves a secret smile
She's waiting out in Shantytown
She's gonna pull the curtains down for me, for me

I've got the old man's car
I've got a jazz guitar
I've got a tab at Zanzibar
Tonight that's where I'll be

Rose, he knows he's such a credit to the game
But the Yankees grab the headline every time
Melodrama's so much fun
In black and white for everyone to see
Me, I'm trying just to get to second base
And I'd steal it if she only gave the sign
She's gonna give the go ahead
The inning isn't over yet for me

I've got the old man's car
I've got a jazz guitar
I've got a tab at Zanzibar
Tonight that's where I'll be

Tell the waitress I'll come back to Zanzibar
I'll be hiding in the darkness with my beer
She's waiting out in Shantytown
She's gonna pull the curtains down for me, for me

I've got the old man's car
I've got a jazz guitar
I've got a tab at Zanzibar
Tonight that's where I'll be

She cuts you once, she cuts you twice
But still you believe
The wound is so fresh you can taste the blood
But you don't have strength to leave
You've been bought, you've been sold
You've been locked outside the door
But you stand there pleadin'
With your insides bleedin'
'Cause deep down you want some more
Then she says she wants forgiveness
It's such a clever masquerade
She's so good with her stiletto
You don't even see the blade

She cuts you hard, she cuts you deep
She's got so much skill
She's so fascinating that you're still there waiting
When she comes back for the kill
You've been slashed in the face
You've been left there to bleed
You want to run away
But you know you're gonna stay
'Cause she gives you what you need
Then she says she needs affection
While she searches for the vein
She's so good with her stiletto
You don't really mind the pain

She cuts you out, she cuts you down
She carves up your life
But you won't do nothing
As she keeps on cutting
'Cause you know you love the knife
You've been bought, you've been sold
You've been locked outside the door
But you stand there pleadin'
With your insides bleedin'
'Cause deep down you want some more
Then she says she needs affection
While she searches for the vein
She's so good with her stiletto
You don't really mind the pain

I play nights in the Spanish part of town
I've got music in my hands
The work is hard to find
But that don't get me down
Rosalinda understands

Crazy Latin dancing solo down in Herald Square
Oh Havana I've been searching for you everywhere
And though I'll never be there
I know what I would see there
I can always find my Cuban skies
In Rosalinda's eyes

When she smiles she gives everything to me
When she's all alone she cries
And I'd do anything to take away her tears
Because they're Rosalinda's eyes

Senorita don't be lonely, I will soon be there
Oh Havana I've been searching for you everywhere
I've got a chance to make it
It's time for me to take it
I'll return before the fire dies
In Rosalinda's eyes

All alone in a Puerto Rican band
Union wages, wedding clothes
Hardly anyone has seen how good I am
But Rosalinda says she knows

Crazy Latin dancing solo down in Herald Square
Oh Havana I've been searching for you everywhere
And though I'll never be there
I know what I would see there
I can always find my Cuban skies
In Rosalinda's eyes

Little Geo is a friend of mine
We get some money and we buy a cheap wine
Sit on the corner and have a holiday
Hide the bottle when the cop goes by
Talk about women and lie, lie, lie
Oh, my other world is just a half a mile away

Wait for mama to turn out the light
Crawl on the the roof and then hit the night
I should be sleeping but tonight I just can't stay
I've given everybody so much time
Now I need a moment that's mine
Oh my other world is just a half a mile away

*It's just a half a mile away

Angelina save a place for me
I've been livin' someone else's life and
now I've got to be free
Turn your transistor on and let the music play
I try to keep the family satisfied
But there's gotta be more to life than just try,
try, try
Oh my other world is just a half a mile away

*Repeat

I never ask you where you go
After I leave you in the morning
We go our different ways to separate situations
It's not that easy anymore

Today I do what must be done
I give my time to total strangers
But now it feels as though the the day goes on forever
More than it ever did before

*Until the night, until the night
I just might make it
Until the night, until the night
When I see you again

Now you're afraid that we have changed
And I'm afraid we're getting older
So many broken hearts, so many lonely faces
So many lovers come and gone

I'll have my fears like every man
You'll have you tears like every woman
Today we'll be unsure, is this what we believe in
And wonder how can we go wrong

*Repeat

When the sun goes down
And the day is over
When the last of the light has gone
As they pour into the street
I will be getting closer
As the cars turn their headlights on
As they're closing it down
I'm gonna open it up
And while they're going to sleep
We'll just be starting to touch
I'm just beginning to feel
I'm just beginning to give
I'm just beginning to feel
I'm just beginning to live
Before I leave you again
Before the light of dawn
Before this evening can end
I have been waiting so long

Until the night, until the night
I just might make it
Until the night, until the night
I'll just keep holding on
Until the night, until the night
When I see you again

They say it takes a lot to keep a love alive
In every heart there pumps a different beat
But if we shift the rhythm into overdrive
Well, we could generate a lot of heat
On 52nd Street
Oh oh 52nd Street

We`re gonna have a little show parade
Before they know the second bar was played
We`re gonna slip it to `em short and sweet
on 52nd Street

Anthony works in the grocery store
Savin' his pennies for someday
Mama Leone left a note on the door,
She said,
"Sonny, move out to the country."
Workin' too hard can give me
A heart attack
You oughta know by now
Who needs a house out in Hackensack?
Is that what you get with your money?

*It seems such a waste of time
If that's what it's all about
If that's movin' up then I'm movin' out.

Sergeant O'Leary is walkin' the beat
At night he becomes a bartender
He works at Mister Cacciatore's down
On Sullivan Street
Across from the medical center
He's tradin' in his Checy for a Cadillac
You oughta know by now
And if he can't drive
With a broken back
At least he can polish the fenders

*repeat

You should never argue with a crazy mind
You oughta know by now
You can pay Uncle Sam with overtime
Is that all you get for your money?

*repeat

From a town known as Wheeling, West Virginia
Rode a boy with a six-gun in his hand
And his daring life of crime made him a legend in his time
East and west of the Rio Grande
Well he started with a bank in Colorado
In the pocket of his vest a Colt he hid
And his age and his size took the teller by surprise
And the word spread of Billy the Kid

Well he never traveled heavy,
Yes he always rode alone,
And he soon put many older guns to shame
Well he never had a sweetheart
And he never had a home
But the cowboys and the ranchers knew his name

Well he robbed his way from Utah to Oklahoma
And the law just couldn't seem to track him down
And it served his legend well
For the folks loved to tell
'Bout when Billy The Kid came to town

One cold day a posse captured Billy
And the judge said string him up for what he did
And the cowboys and their kin
Like the sea came pouring in to watch
The hangin' of Billy The Kid

Well he never traveled heavy,
Yes he always rode alone,
And he soon put many older guns to shame
Well he never had a sweetheart
Tho' he finally found a home
Underneath the boothill grave that bears his name

From a town known as Oyster Bay, Long Island
Rode a boy with a six-pack in his hand
And his daring life of crime made him a legend in his time
East and west of the Rio Grande

Call me a joker, call me a fool
Right at this moment I'm totally cool
Clear as a crystal, sharp as a knife
I feel like I'm in the prime of my life
Sometimes it feels like I'm going too fast
I don't know how long this feeling will last
Maybe it's only tonight

*Darling I don't know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens
And if I stand or I fall
It's all or nothing at all
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes

Sometimes I'm tired, sometimes I'm shot
Sometimes I don't know how much more I've got
Maybe I'm headed over the hill
Maybe I've set myself up for the kill
Tell me how much do you think you can take
Until the heart in you is starting to break?
Sometimes it feels like it will

Darling I don't know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens
You can be sure when I'm gone
I won't be out there too long
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes

Out of the darkness, into the light
Leaving the scene of the crime
Either I'm wrong or I'm perfectly right every time
Sometimes I lie awake, night after night
Coming apart at the seams
Eager to please, ready to fight
Why do I go to extremes?

* repeat

No I don't know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens
You can be sure when I'm gone
I won't be out there too long
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes

We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives

We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight

We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy
They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all of our might

We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe
And played our Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight

We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand
They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island

We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

'49 Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

'50 Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

'51 Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"

'52 Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new Queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

*We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

'53 Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

'54 Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, dacron
Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock"

'55 Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

'56 Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev
Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez

*Repeat

'57 Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"

'58 Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather, homicide, Children of Thalidomide

'59 Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey, Mafia
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

'60 U-2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo

*Repeat

'61 Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

'62 "Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

'63 Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say

*Repeat

'64 - '89 Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller Cola Wars, I can't take it anymore

*Repeat

We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

Why can't I lay low
Why can't I say what I mean
Why don't I stay home
And get myself into some boring routine

Why can't I calm down
Why is it always a fight
I can't get unwound
Why do I throw myself into the night

I'm on the outside
I don't fit into the groove
Now I ain't a bad guy
So tell me what am I trying to prove

Why can't I cool out
Why don't I button my lip
Why do I lash out
Why is it I always shoot from the hip

I cruise for Houston to Canal Street
A misfit and a rebel
I see the winos talking to themselves
And I can understand
Why is it everytime I go out
I always seem to get in trouble
I guess I made an impression on somebody
North of Hester and south of Grand

And so in my small way
I'm a big man on Mulberry Street
I don't mean all day
Only at night when I'm light on my feet

What else have I got
That I'd be trying to hide
Maybe a blind spot
I haven't seen from the sensitive side

But you know in my own heart
I'm a big man on Mulberry Street
I play the whole part
I leave a big tip with every receipt

I'm so romantic
I'm such a passionate man
Sometimes I panic
What if nobody finds out who I am

In the beginning
There was the cold and the night
Prophets and angels gave us the fire and the light
Man was triumphant
Armed with the faith and the will
Even the darkest ages couldn't kill
Too many kingdoms
Too many flags on the field
So many battles, so many wounds to be healed
Time is relentless
Only true love perseveres
It's been a long time and now I'm with you
After two thousand years

This is our moment
Here at the crossroads of time
We hope our children carry our dreams down the line
They are the vintage
What kind of life will they live?
Is this a curse or a blessing that we give?
Sometimes I wonder
Why are we so blind to fate?
Without compassion, there can be no end to hate
No end to sorrow
Caused by the same endless fears
Why can't we learn from all we've been through
After two thousand years?

There will be miracles
After the last war is won
Science and poetry rule in the new world to come
Prophets and angels
Gave us the power to see
What an amazing future there will be
And in the evening
After the fire and the light
One thing is certain Nothing can hold back the night
Time is relentless
And as the past disappears
We're on the verge of all things new
We are two thousand years