# Uptown Girl - Is it about New York? Would a girl from Uptown be rich? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903 "2004-10-29T18:58:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/21 "2004-10-30T04:13:02Z")
> [@Number Six](#): > > Rachel Green on _Friends_ is a classic JAP stereotype. Except, I don’t think Rachel herself was meant to be Jewish. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/22 "2004-10-30T04:30:28Z")
Really, the cliche “white bread” has become long out of date. Once upon a time, only the rich ate bread made of refined white flour, while the plebes ate bread made from the cheaper coarse grained or whole wheat flour. Nowdays, “white bread” has that low class Wonder Bread stigma, while the fancy folks love the seven-grain and other designer breads. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/23 "2004-10-30T04:45:36Z")
It’s not about eating the white bread. Wonder Bread has always been for the middle class and below. It’s about having the personality and character of white bread. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/24 "2004-10-30T04:57:26Z")
Yes, it is about eating the white bread. Read up on the origins of that term. Your interpretation is a latter-day one, but does not represent the origin of the term. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/25 "2004-10-30T11:35:33Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Yes, it is about eating the white bread. Read up on the origins of that term. Your interpretation is a latter-day one, but does not represent the origin of the term. Which just goes to show how a phrase can pass from the literal to the metaphorical, both being valid. When I hear the words “Uptown” and “Harlem” together, I immediately think of the 20s, when the two words were synonymous with Black elegance and culture. Harlem was very “Uptown,” both geographically and culturally. (Back when I used to live in SOHO, we considered everything north of Houston Street to be “Uptown.” ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/26 "2004-10-30T16:15:54Z")
> [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > Is the Billy Joel song _Uptown Girl_ about New York? Would a girl from uptown be rich? Isn’t Harlem uptown? Is Harlem part of “white bread world”? Yes. Billy Joel is from Brooklyn IIFC and there are many references to the five bouroghs in his songs. For example the “Bedford-Stuy” that he walked through alone in “You May be Right” is a reference to the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Presumably one did not walk through there alone in the 1970s. (you have to think in the context of when the song was written - New York was a very different place then) An Uptown Girl would be a wealthy girl from the Upper East or Upper West Side (Manhattan around by Central Park). Harlem is above the UES and UWS in the 100s or so and is or was not considered White Bread World (wealthy white folk). Uptown and downtown are general directions in Manhattan corresponding to north and south but also referring to increasing wealth as one goes furthur uptown, until Harlem. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/27 "2004-10-30T17:35:23Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Yes. Billy Joel is from Brooklyn IIFC and there are many references to the five bouroghs in his songs. Just as a nitpick, Billy Joel is from Hicksville, which is on Long Island. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/28 "2004-10-30T18:26:29Z")
Just wondering: does Joel still sing this one in concert? ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/29 "2004-10-30T18:36:18Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Just wondering: does Joel still sing this one in concert? Not to totally hog the thread, 🙂 , but Billy Joel stopped touring a long time ago. He generally does not perform in concert anymore, save for a few benefit-type things. He now focuses on his classical piano works, and is writing orchestral works now as well. Pretty much the only place his name is out there anymore (when he’s not crashing into people’s houses) is on Broadway… _Movin’ Out_. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/30 "2004-10-30T21:54:18Z")
Where was Christie Brinkley from? Malibu, which is Los Angeles’ uptown. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/31 "2004-10-31T01:27:58Z")
Incidentally, there was a 1960s girl-group record by the Crystals called “Uptown” that used the word in its humble sense. It’s about a boy who during the day works downtown in the financial district, and the lyrics go “And then he comes uptown each evening to my tenement Uptown where folks don’t have to pay much rent” ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/32 "2004-10-31T02:36:04Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > Not to totally hog the thread, 🙂 , but Billy Joel stopped touring a long time ago. He generally does not perform in concert anymore, save for a few benefit-type things. He now focuses on his classical piano works, and is writing orchestral works now as well. Pretty much the only place his name is out there anymore (when he’s not crashing into people’s houses) is on Broadway… _Movin’ Out_. He had a concert at Madison Square Garden about a year ago. He played a fair amount of his oldies. He and Elton John do a Face 2 Face thing all the time. I believe his last album was classical. He was born in The Bronx and raised in Levittown. He crashes his car a lot around these parts. Makes me afraid to go to work. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/33 "2004-10-31T02:53:03Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > He had a concert at Madison Square Garden about a year ago. He played a fair amount of his oldies. He and Elton John do a Face 2 Face thing all the time. I believe his last album was classical. He was born in The Bronx and raised in Levittown. He crashes his car a lot around these parts. Makes me afraid to go to work. You’re right about the Bronx thing; my mistake. And he went to Hicksville _High School_ in Levittown, not _lived_ in Levittown as I had mentioned. But I’m not so sure about everything else you said. The concert at Madison Square Garden was a millenium celebration in 2000, and according to [billyjoel.com](http://www.billyjoel.com) he and Elton John’s last performance together was October 13, 2002. It also states he has “No plans of performing at this time”. His last album _was_ classical. It is called _Fantasies and Delusions_. And yes, his license should probably be revoked. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/34 "2004-10-31T03:12:28Z")
[billyjoel.com](http://billyjoel.com) needs to update a little more often. I know B&E had a Face 2 Face concert in 2003 in Illinois. No, I couldn’t make it. But I did see Billy in Madison Square Garden, although it could have been more than a year ago. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/35 "2004-10-31T03:24:09Z")
> [@Fiver](#): > > Except, I don’t think Rachel herself was meant to be Jewish. With Ron Liebman as her dad? With a nose job as a graduation present? With a fairly common Jewish surname? Rachel makes Monica look downright _goyische!_ Her sisters are a little less clear, though. ---
**Author:** ![Israfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/87869e/32.png) [@Israfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Israfel)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/36 "2004-10-31T14:07:03Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > His last album _was_ classical. It is called _Fantasies and Delusions_. Kinda off-topic, but I always thought it was kinda cute how he labeled each track as a separate opus. _Typically_ opus numbers refer to when the music was published- and since they were all published together calling the whole album “Opus 1” would have been more conventional. uh…but anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/37 "2004-11-01T16:07:15Z")
Apparently Billy Joel crashed _Movin’ Out_ this weekend and played two songs. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/38 "2004-11-01T17:57:36Z")
> [@Barbarian](#): > > Apparently Billy Joel crashed _Again?!_ 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903/39 "2004-11-15T20:45:12Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > With Ron Liebman as her dad? With a nose job as a graduation present? With a fairly common Jewish surname? Rachel makes Monica look downright _goyische!_ > > Her sisters are a little less clear, though. With uber-Catholic Marlo Thomas as her mom? With a surname that is just as commonly Gentile? With sisters played by Christina Applegate and Reese Witherspoon? I think Rachel was likelier to be a CAP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uptown-girl-is-it-about-new-york-would-a-girl-from-uptown-be-rich/271903.md?page=1)