# "Piano Man" question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2007, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151 "2007-08-27T21:30:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [August 28, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/21 "2007-08-28T05:29:26Z")
[QUOTE=Rubystreak] I always thought that line contained unconscious irony for the people saying it to him. They say to the piano man, “Man, what are YOU doing here?” when he could just as easily be saying the same to them, as they are have the potential to be much more than what their lives are. [/QUOTE] I like that. I can definitely see that there. I vote for A, too. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/22 "2007-08-28T06:32:00Z")
[QUOTE=Biggirl] Perhaps they wondered what he was doing at the piano when he could have been chatting with the real estate novelist. [/QUOTE] What the hell _is_ a “real estate novelist”, anyway? ---
**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 28, 2007, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/23 "2007-08-28T06:58:19Z")
Incidentally, Joel has gone on the record saying that he’s not all that crazy about \*Piano Man \* - he thinks the tune is too repetitive, and that the lyrics are more a series of trite limericks. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/24 "2007-08-28T07:25:45Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] What the hell _is_ a “real estate novelist”, anyway? [/QUOTE] It’s like actor-slash-waiter. The guy wants to write novels, but he has to keep his day job. Damn, now I have this song stuck in my head. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/25 "2007-08-28T07:31:05Z")
Im disappointed that John is just a bartender, and Davy is just a navy guy. Where is the ingenious lyrics from the Paul part? They should be soccer evangelist and chemistry cameraman, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/26 "2007-08-28T08:10:20Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] What the hell _is_ a “real estate novelist”, anyway? [/QUOTE] It was raining in the City of Angels. The escrow was closing like a Broadway show featuring Rosie O’Donnell topless. The Wilkersons were just days away from moving into a sweet three-bedroom ranch house in a safe neighborhood with good schools and convenient freeway access. I even threw in a white picket fence and made the extremely yappy dog in the place next door “go away.” My name’s Nick. I show houses. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/27 "2007-08-28T12:43:34Z")
[QUOTE=Snooooopy] It was raining in the City of Angels. The escrow was closing like a Broadway show featuring Rosie O’Donnell topless. The Wilkersons were just days away from moving into a sweet three-bedroom ranch house in a safe neighborhood with good schools and convenient freeway access. I even threw in a white picket fence and made the extremely yappy dog in the place next door “go away.” My name’s Nick. I show houses. [/QUOTE] Hee! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/28 "2007-08-28T12:45:32Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] What the hell _is_ a “real estate novelist”, anyway? [/QUOTE] I work in real estate, and I have met a few of these people. They are writing the Great American Novel (or thinking about writing it), but they are always too busy selling houses to get it finished (or get started on it). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/29 "2007-08-28T12:56:13Z")
All the people are living unfulfilled lives: The bartender is “sure that I could be a movie star, if I could get out of this place.” Paul thinks he could be the Great American novelist Davy is “still in the Navy and probably will be for life.” And they wonder why Bill Martin (the name Joel was using) is doing there. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/30 "2007-08-28T15:13:16Z")
I get most of the lyrics, except for the “La dee dee da” part. What is that? Swedish? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/31 "2007-08-28T15:18:00Z")
[QUOTE=The Chao Goes Mu] I get most of the lyrics, except for the “La dee dee da” part. What is that? Swedish? [/QUOTE] No, repetative. A representation of their repetative, going nowhere lives that mean about as much as “La Dee Dee Da.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/32 "2007-08-28T15:21:40Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] No, repetative. A representation of their repetative, going nowhere lives that mean about as much as “La Dee Dee Da.” [/QUOTE] :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/33 "2007-08-28T15:28:08Z")
It’s A, because the manager knows that it’s me they’ve been coming to see. [QUOTE=CaerieD] Gosh, all of my life I thought the line was “the piano sounds like _a carnivore_,” [/QUOTE] I had a whole bunch of parody lines made up for this song, most of which I’ve forgotten, but one was “The piano sounds like a carnivore and the microphone smells like a deer.” I also liked " ‘Bill, I believe this is Hillary’, and the smile ran away from his face." ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/34 "2007-08-28T15:43:07Z")
Here’s the reason I’ve asked this (and the reason for the debate with my friends): I had always thought Interpretation A was correct as well. But then I have a recollection of watching the video, and at the moment when Billy sings “Man, what are you doing here,” I thought I saw two old friends bump into each other in front of the bar and do the ol’ holy-cow-what-are-you-doing-here-shake-hands-good-to-see-ya routine. So for the past several years, I’ve thought Meaning B was a very real possibility. However, after watching the video on YouTube yesterday, I see that my recollection about the two friends bumping into each other was a complete figment of my imagination. ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/35 "2007-08-28T16:34:52Z")
[QUOTE=Balance] It _does_ sound like “carnivore” if you’re not listening closely, and it’s hard to stop hearing it that way once you’ve done it, but it’s definitely “carnival”. And the piano sounding like a carnival is _supposed_ to be a bad thing–it’s all jangly and discordant, which matches the description of the rest of the joint. [/QUOTE] Ahh, and now that part of the song makes so much more sense. Thanks for the explanation, **Balance**! ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/36 "2007-08-28T16:59:23Z")
I always thought it sounded like “carnivore” too, but I figured maybe I was mishearing “paramour.” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/37 "2007-08-28T17:02:13Z")
I’m another person who always thought that the real estate novelist was hitting on Davy. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/38 "2007-08-28T17:05:10Z")
[QUOTE=Biggirl] Perhaps they wondered what he was doing at the piano when he could have been chatting with the real estate novelist. [/QUOTE] Or talkin’ with Davey, who’s still in the Navy and probably will be for life… and no women in the bar. Odd, that. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/39 "2007-08-28T17:21:10Z")
This is one of those songs that should be used in an episode of The Simpsons ---
**Author:** ![SpartanDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151/40 "2007-08-28T17:37:54Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] Or talkin’ with Davey, who’s still in the Navy and probably will be for life… and no women in the bar. Odd, that. [/QUOTE] You forget the waitress who’s practicing politics while the businessmen slowly get stoned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piano-man-question/417151.md?page=1)