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“The Piano Man” by Billy Joel. Analyzing the poetic elements of Billy Joel’s Most famous song. “The Piano Man”—Lyrics . 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. “The Piano Man”—Lyrics . - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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ANALYZING THE POETIC ELEMENTS OF BILLY JOEL’S MOST FAMOUS SONG
“The Piano Man” by Billy Joel
“The Piano Man”—Lyrics 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
“The Piano Man”—Lyrics He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
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."
La la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
“The Piano Man” –Lyrics 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
“The Piano Man”—Lyrics
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"
“The Piano Man”—Lyrics Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
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
“The Piano Man”—Lyrics 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 got us feeling alright
“The Piano Man”—Lyrics
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
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
“The Piano Man”—Lyrics 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?"
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
“The Piano Man”—Lyrics 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 got us feeling alright
Analyzing the Poetic Elements of “The Piano Man”
“The Piano Man” Lyrics:
It's nine o'clock on a SaturdayThe Regular crowd shuffles inThere's an old man sitting
next to meMakin' love to his tonic and
gin
Explanation The song’s introduction sets a very
melancholy and almost hopeless mood around the poetic lyrics.
Shuffles = Billy Joel chose an informal diction for this song. The word “shuffles” suggests that the crowd is coming to the bar out of habit—almost mindlessly.
Makin’ love to his tonic and gin = this is an example of personification. The old man is treating his “tonic and gin” as if it were a living woman. He has no one to love except the alcohol.
Poetic Elements con’t
Lyrics:
He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goesBut it's sad and it's sweet and I
knew it completeWhen I wore a younger man's
clothes.“
La la la, di da daLa la, di da da da dum
Explanation
Play me a memory = Billy Joel is employing an extended metaphor in this stanza. He is asking the piano man to play a “memory” (could be an old familiar song, etc). This “memory” could actually represent the old man’s younger days; he really wants the piano man to take him back to his youth. Thus, the “memory” is a metaphor for youth.
When I wore a younger man’s clothes = a “younger man’s clothes” is an example of synecdoche. Here, the “clothes” is a part of a younger man’s body. The old man is saying that he knew a “memory” when he was younger.
Poetic Elements con’t
Lyrics:
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonightWell, we're all in the mood
for a melodyAnd you've got us feelin'
alright
Explanation: Sing us a song = Billy Joel uses
repetition here when he says “sing us a song” twice. This emphasizes the crowd’s desire for the piano man to perform for them, so that they can forget about their troubles for a while.
Feelin’ alright = This phrase is an example of irony. The crowd is obviously not “alright”—they are alone drinking at bar, and are not very hopeful about their futures.
Poetic Elements con’t
Lyrics:Now John at the bar is a friend of
mineHe gets me my drinks for freeAnd he's quick with a joke or to
light up your smokeBut there's someplace that he'd
rather beHe 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 starIf I could get out of this place"
Explanation: Billy Joel is now singing about his
friend, John. John is likable and good-natured, but he’s not happy with his life. He wants to leave his current surroundings and have a better life.
As the smile ran away from his face = Joel is giving human attributes (“ran away”) to a non-living thing (a smile), so this is an example of personification.
This place = John explicitly means the bar when he says “this place,” but he could also mean his current lifestyle as well.
Poetic Elements con’t
Lyrics:Oh, la la la, di da daLa la, di da da da dum
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
Explanation: Stoned = means under the influence of
drugs, or very drunk. It’s interesting to note that the businessmen, who are usually regarded by society as very successfully people, are the ones that are getting drunk to forget about life’s troubles.
They’re sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it’s better than drinkin’ alone = this is a bit of a paradox…how can they share loneliness? This paradox subtly adds a level of almost comic hopelessness to the song.
Poetic Elements con’t
Lyrics:Sing us a song you're the
piano manSing us a song tonightWell we're all in the mood for
a melodyAnd you got us feeling alright
Explanation: This is a repetition of the chorus (or,
“refrain” since the lyrics are poetry).
Piano man = Billy Joel , before he became very famous, worked at a bar in Los Angeles as a piano player. He wrote this song about the real people he met while playing there. The “piano man” is himself.
Poetic Elements con’t
Lyrics:Now Paul is a real estate
novelistWho never had time for a wifeAnd he's talkin' with Davy,
who's still in the NavyAnd probably will be for lifeIt's a pretty good crowd for a
SaturdayAnd the manager gives me a
smile'Cause he knows that it's me
they've been comin' to seeTo forget about life for a while
Explanation: Here, Billy Joel is mentioning several
people who are at the bar: Paul (a real estate businessman who wants to write a novel), Davy (who is in the Navy), and the bar manager.
To forget about life for a while = Here we clearly see why the crowd is at the bar—they want to forget about life for a while. The crowd wants to temporarily drown their problems, worries, and memories.
Poetic Elements con’t
Lyrics:And the piano, it sounds like
a carnivalAnd the microphone smells
like a beerAnd they sit at the bar and
put bread in my jarAnd say, "Man, what are you
doin' here?"Oh, la la la, di da daLa la, di da da da dum
Explanation: sounds like a carnival = Billy Joel is
using a simile to compare the piano’s sounds to a carnival.
Smells like a beer = this is another simile—the microphone smells “like a beer.” The singers are as drunk as the crowd, and their alcoholic breath lingers on the microphone. We see that the bar’s music performers are as troubled as the crowd they perform for.
Bread in my jar = The “bread” refers to money, which is an example of metonymy, since both are closely associated with each other. Many people say “bread” to refer to money, or vice versa.
Poetic Elements con’t
Lyrics:Sing us a song you're the
piano manSing us a song tonightWell we're all in the mood for
a melodyAnd you got us feeling alright
Explanation: The chorus (or refrain) is once again
repeated at the song ending. It was sung three times.
The refrain was repeated three times, like a cycle, and the song ends with it as well. This suggests that the crowd is caught up in a cycle of trouble and alcohol too.
“The Piano Man” by Billy Joel
You can listen to “The Piano Man” by clicking on the link below:
http://youtu.be/se9rfWucgeY
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