“The Piano Man” by Billy Joel

1. “The Piano Man” by Billy Joel Analyzing the poetic elements of Billy Joel’s Most famous song

2. “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

3. “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 lala, di da da La la, di da dadadum

4. “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

5. “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"

6. “The Piano Man”—Lyrics Oh, la lala, di da da La la, di da dadadum 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

7. “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

8. “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

9. “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 lala, di da da La la, di da dadadum

10. “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

11. Analyzing the Poetic Elements of “The Piano Man” “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 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.

12. Poetic Elements con’t 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 lala, di da da La la, di da dadadum 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.

13. Poetic Elements con’t 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 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.

14. Poetic Elements con’t 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" 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.

15. Poetic Elements con’t Lyrics: Oh, la lala, di da da La la, di da dadadum 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.

16. Poetic Elements con’t 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 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.

17. Poetic Elements con’t 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 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.

18. Poetic Elements con’t 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 lala, di da da La la, di da dadadum 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 associatedwith each other. Many people say “bread” to refer to money, or vice versa.

19. Poetic Elements con’t 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 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.

20. “The Piano Man” by Billy Joel You can listen to “The Piano Man” by clicking on the link below: http://youtu.be/se9rfWucgeY