# Billy Joel's "Always a Woman"??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2008, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869 "2008-04-11T10:59:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/41 "2008-04-13T19:29:33Z")
[QUOTE=gaffa] He introduced “Just The Way You Arr” [/QUOTE] This is begging for a pirate joke, but I’m not going to be the one who makes it. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/42 "2008-04-13T19:39:12Z")
[QUOTE=neutron star] This is begging for a pirate joke, but I’m not going to be the one who makes it. [/QUOTE] I think he means he loves her, peg-leg and all. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/43 "2008-04-13T19:42:48Z")
No, that’s Paul McCartney. Except not anymore. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/44 "2008-04-13T21:19:16Z")
[QUOTE=KayElCee] I suppose I’m humor-impaired, because I don’t get the rolleyes. I’m not sure what my answer spoiled for you, but I apologize. [/QUOTE] Oh no, I just made a bad joke. I should apologize to you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/45 "2008-04-14T01:14:57Z")
I’m just popping in to recommend a parody: Rob Balder’s “Always a Goth Chick.” ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/46 "2008-04-14T01:27:17Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] “Convicted” in the sense of "convinced… And “earned her degree” is colloquial for “she’s confident in her own knowledge”. [/QUOTE] Interesting. I’d always thought (based on no evidence mind), that this line was a reference to canon vs. common law, and folk who could prove they were educated being exempt from certain common law prosecutions (educated being proved by reading bible passages, etc), an historical “fact” I’ve run across more than once. (Wracking brain to recall where and when – something about teaching a criminal to read the Lord’s Prayer to save them from hanging…) Whether this really happened historically or not may not be relevant – the lyric could still be referring to the urban legend. Anyway… that’s how I’d interpreted it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/47 "2008-04-14T02:18:57Z")
> [@](#): > > **bubastis** : Then, halfway down, it registered that Billy Joel is not Billy Idol. > > Damn beer dyslexia. Genuinely funny thought processes. Worst Billy Joel lyrics ever: “Honesty is hardly ever heard…” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/48 "2008-04-14T06:35:21Z")
To be fair, Joel has gone on record saying that he doen’t really like “Piano Man” (the music is too repetitive and the lyrics are basically limericks) and that he HATES “Just the Way You Are” and “Honesty”; he only released the latter two songs because chicks seemed to dig them. As to the OP: it’s interesting to think of “Stilletto” (from _52nd St_.) as a follow-up song to “She’s Always a Woman.” Same woman, but now he flaws outweigh the virtues - and he still can’t let go. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/49 "2008-04-15T10:40:38Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I wanna know what “She can’t be convicted – she’s earned her degree” means. What degree did she get that gives her a free pass out of prison? I’ve got a stack of degrees, but none of them are going to keep me out of the hoosegow. [/QUOTE] No, I think you have to date someone like this to fully understand this verse. You can NEVER catch this person in a lie because she’s a pro. In other words, she’s earned her Master’s Degree in playing her games. You’ll never win. Even in a court of law, she’d get away. Slick as greasy spit. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/50 "2008-04-15T10:42:36Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] To be fair, Joel has gone on record saying that he doen’t really like “Piano Man” (the music is too repetitive and the lyrics are basically limericks) and that he HATES “Just the Way You Are” and “Honesty”; he only released the latter two songs because chicks seemed to dig them. As to the OP: it’s interesting to think of “Stilletto” (from _52nd St_.) as a follow-up song to “She’s Always a Woman.” Same woman, but now he flaws outweigh the virtues - and he still can’t let go. [/QUOTE] Love “Stilletto”! …Never thought of it as being the same woman. (Jabs at Elizabeth Joel, I WAG?) What an awesome song! ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/51 "2008-04-15T10:46:43Z")
[QUOTE=Caricci] Oh, yeah, Billy Joel is not such a great lyricist. Like Stevie Nicks, his stuff sounds all profound and shit, but means NOTHING. I mean, what about these lyrics: They say that these are not the best of times But they’re the only time I’ve ever known And I believe there is a time for meditation In cathedrals of your own Now I’ve seen that sad surrender in my lover’s eyes And I can only stand apart and sympathize For we are always what our situations hand us It’s either sadness or euphoria Oooh. Wow, man! Oh, wait, that doesn’t mean anything. [/QUOTE] Dude, if you have to ask…you’ve had a cushy life. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/52 "2008-04-15T10:50:51Z")
[QUOTE=KayElCee] As I heard it, the song is about his first wife, who was his manager at the time. The point was that she was ruthless, on Joel’s behalf, with the people with whom he had to do business, (the “You” constantly referenced in the lyrics) but she was “always a woman,” that is, loving, to him (the “Me” in the lyrics.) [/QUOTE] This is probably right-on target. Joel would have never made it without Elizabeth Joel as she proved to him when his first manager was holding him back. She probably was ruthless beating the business world at their own games. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/53 "2008-04-15T10:54:59Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Clearly, she has a law degree, and she represents herself. Since she can kill with a smile and wound with her eyes, how’s she ever gonna get convicted? She’ll just kill and main the jurors until they have to declare a mistrial due to too small a jury. And with the number of prosecutors she’s probably killed too, who’s gonna have the guts to re-try her? [/QUOTE] Hey! So, she’s the mastermind behind OJ Simpson’s dream team of lawyers! Ah-ha, now we know the rest of the story… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/54 "2008-04-15T10:57:56Z")
[QUOTE=astorian] The whole song “Piano Man” is about a bar where all the customers AND employees are miserable, lonely people who wish they were doing something different and better with their lives…Paul is a “real estate novelist,” which means he’s a middle-aged real estate salesman who’s been talking for years about the great novel he plans to write, but has never gotten around to writing (and probably never will). Everyone at this bar has big dreams that probably aren’t going to come true. [/QUOTE] Ah! Finally after a quarter century plus! BINGO! I always thought he meant to say “novice”, but he needed more syllables! Yes, this makes sense at last! - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/55 "2008-04-15T11:02:27Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] Worst Billy Joel lyrics ever: “Honesty is hardly ever heard…” [/QUOTE] You mean, you’ve heard the truth time and time again? LIAR! :mad: But seriously, this is dead-center on target about humans especially when socializing. If you heard the truth, yuo were drunk, dreaming, or both. As for me, I’ll stick with Diogenes (sp?) looking for an honest person! ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/56 "2008-04-15T17:20:15Z")
I’m not sure what the song is about. But I once saw a handsome guy sing this at my dorm’s karaoke night, and several women’s panties nearly caught fire. Hilarious. So I guess it’s good for that. I saw Billy Joel do that “She got the house, she got the car” bit in concert also. I laughed, because I don’t much like “Just the Way You Are” either. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/57 "2008-04-15T17:26:14Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Chick’s gonna bake forty dozen cookies one day, then slash all your shirts with a straight razor the next. [/QUOTE] Sounds like a Thai bargirl. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/58 "2008-04-15T22:59:25Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I never would have guessed this. I’ve never heard or read anyone using “convicted” as a synonym for “convinced”, and I’ve never heard “she’s earned her degree” as a colloquialism for anything. [/QUOTE] Maybe not, but haven’t you ever heard of someone who has convictions… as in they really believe in what they’re saying? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/59 "2008-04-16T02:22:47Z")
[QUOTE=neutron star] This is begging for a pirate joke, but I’m not going to be the one who makes it. [/QUOTE] [No, you’re not.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9680243&postcount=30) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869/60 "2008-04-16T04:47:25Z")
[QUOTE=Speaker for the Dead] [No, you’re not.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9680243&postcount=30) 😃 [/QUOTE] Bless you for noticing, I thought I was invisible. Wait … Speaker for the Dead? And you’re the only one who noticed my post? … Am I … dead? [sub]Well, obviously my joke died.[/sub] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-always-a-woman/444869.md?page=4)