# Billy Joel's Piano Man **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 9, 2000, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084 "2000-02-09T20:30:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/41 "2024-08-19T20:09:59Z")
“It’s a pretty good crowd for a Saturday” has never made sense to me, and it bugs me every time I hear it. I could understand if he said (for example), “It’s a pretty good crowd for a _Tuesday_,” since Tuesdays are usually dead. But Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest days for bars. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/42 "2024-08-19T20:17:07Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I could understand it if it was… a _Tuesday_,” since Tuesdays are usually dead. But generally speaking, … Saturdays are the busiest days for bars. That’s the whole point. A largish crowd like this would, on a Tuesday, be a sign of a successful, hopping night spot full of happy people. But on a Saturday, it is the exact opposite: an almost-but-not-quite-large-enough-sized group of customers, all of whom are sad businessmen getting stoned out of desperation “to forget about life for a while”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/43 "2024-08-19T20:22:20Z")
I think it’s just a matter of meter. Saturday is the only day of the week with three syllables. Younger man’s clothes. Well, for me in 1968 it would have been a Nehru jacket. In the 70s probably a double-knit jacket. Now I slob around in sweat pants and a tee and really can’t imagine why I wore those things. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/44 "2024-08-19T20:28:57Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Now that this thread is old enough to go into a bar, I think it should be sent to Café Society. Agreed. And also since Cafe Society, you know, actually exists now. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/45 "2024-08-19T20:51:57Z")
Yeah new joint opened up. Check it out! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/46 "2024-08-19T21:01:23Z")
The one thing about this thread, is, it sure is nice not to see signature messages any more. Glad that’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/47 "2024-08-19T21:07:08Z")
I really dislike that song, and I will change the station when it comes on- that song could depress a hyena. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/48 "2024-08-19T21:28:50Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > What the hell did Paul do for a living, and why didn’t he have time for a wife? Back to the original question. [In an interview on NBC’s Sunday Today,](https://youtu.be/UhRmaMcD734?t=97) Billy Joel explained that Paul was a real estate broker, who wanted to write a novel, worked on it for years, and so never took time to date. Or, he added, there’s an Internet story that the song is about a gay bar, since it’s all men, and Paul is talking to Davey, who’s still in the Navy. And @DrDeath, he says he’s surprised the song was ever released as a single because, a) it’s long b) it’s a waltz and c) it’s depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/49 "2024-08-19T23:01:55Z")
After twenty-five years of careful consideration, I have come to this conclusion. The walrus was Paul. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/50 "2024-08-19T23:06:26Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > And @DrDeath, he says he’s surprised the song was ever released as a single because, a) it’s long b) it’s a waltz and c) it’s depressing. _Deth_, not death. I didnt put myself thru 12 years of imaginary medical school to have people get that wrong. 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/51 "2024-08-20T00:57:50Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > But Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest days for bars. This doesn’t sound like the kind of bar that young folk would go to for fun Buncha middle age guys drinking alone, and one waitress talking politics. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/52 "2024-08-20T01:01:34Z")
Many years back, I saw Piano Man on a list of the worst songs from the 1970s. I thought that was crazy talk. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/53 "2024-08-20T01:14:20Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Buncha middle age guys drinking alone, and one waitress talking politics. No, the waitress is _practicing_ politics. I always took that to mean that the waitress was trying to collect enough tips to make a decent living. So she would be friendly to the men who were the bar’s customers - but not so friendly that they’d start getting the wrong idea. The waitress had to walk a careful line, which Joel described as her practicing politics. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/54 "2024-08-20T01:21:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > … The waitress had to walk a careful line, which Joel described as her practicing politics. That’s my feeling also. She’s practicing politics by being diplomatic, not offending any patron, laughing at their corny jokes, avoiding saying that their team stinks, and similar. Will she get a decent amount of tips? Don’t know, but her “practicing politics” approach in this way likely garners more in tips than her saying, “That’s a joke? I guess I forgot to laugh,” and “Your team sucks.” ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/55 "2024-08-20T01:32:57Z")
I used to see a great guitarist performing at a local bar regularly. He always changed the line to “When I wore a young woman’s clothes.” ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/56 "2024-08-20T02:17:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > > Buncha middle age guys drinking alone, and one waitress talking politics. > > No, the waitress is _practicing_ politics. > > I always took that to mean that the waitress was trying to collect enough tips to make a decent living. So she would be friendly to the men who were the bar’s customers - but not so friendly that they’d start getting the wrong idea. The waitress had to walk a careful line, which Joel described as her practicing politics. I assumed she was talking politics because it fit into the theme of everyone at the bar wanting to be something more than they currently are. But could be both. I think the song is so popular because it resonates with a lot of people. Particularly before the age of social media where everyone is expected to show how much of a “winner” they are all the time. The people aren’t “losers”. They are just regular people for which life just happened (or in some cases didn’t happen). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/57 "2024-08-20T04:43:17Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Many years back, I saw Piano Man on a list of the worst songs from the 1970s. I thought that was crazy talk. Sadly, I can not say it was the _worst_ hit song since there was _MacArthur Park._ 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/58 "2024-08-20T06:55:13Z")
> "Let us return to the new towns. … Of all the excitements that life offers there are few to be compared with the whirl of a red-hot boom; … And consider all that is in it! The headlong stampede to the new place; the money dashed down like counters for merest daily bread; the arrival of the piled cars whence the raw material of a city–men, lumber, and shingle–are shot on to the not yet nailed platform; the slashing out and pegging down of roads across the blank face of the wilderness; the heaving up amid shouts and yells of the city’s one electric light–a raw sizzling arc atop of an unbarked pine pole; the sweating, jostling mob at the sale of town-lots; the roar of ‘Let the woman have it!’ that stops all bidding when the one other woman in the place puts her price on a plot; the packed real-estate offices; the real-estate agents themselves, lost novelists of prodigious imagination; ‘Letters of Travel (1892-1913)’ Rudyard Kipling ---
**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:** [August 20, 2024, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/59 "2024-08-20T08:29:37Z")
I think some people here have a problem understanding metaphors. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Myron is long gone, but I’ve always assumed it was a reference to middle-aged spread: he can’t get into the clothes now that he wore back in his 20s; passage of time, etc., without the successes he had dreamed of. You’re overthinking it; “When I wore a younger man’s clothes” is just a poetic way of saying “When I was younger”. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > “Making love to his tonic and gin” — I always took that to mean that guy didn’t have a wife to go home to. His only relief is to drink. Maybe, but to me it’s more that he was entirely focused on his drink, drinking it slowly, carefully, savoring every sip, while ignoring everything else around him. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084/60 "2024-08-20T09:00:54Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You’re overthinking it; “When I wore a younger man’s clothes” is just a poetic way of saying “When I was younger”. This, exactly. I look at what I wear now, and it’s nothing special. Plain golf shirts from Walmart, black Levi’s, Etonic walking shoes. But definitely different from what I wore, years ago. To me, a “younger man’s clothes” would mean what I wore, back in the day. Which would look ridiculous on me now. And no, I will not be more specific. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-piano-man/7084.md?page=4)