Billy Joel Album

There's a place in the world for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plans
He refuses to bend he refuses to crawl
And he's always at home with his back to the wall
And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost
And struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross
And likes to be known as the angry young man

Give a moment or two to the angry young man
With his foot in his mouth and his heart in his hand
He's been stabbed in the back he's been misunderstood
It's a comfort to know his intentions are good
And he sits in his room with a lock on the door
With his maps and his medals laid out on the floor
And he likes to be known as the angry young man

I believe I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage
I found that just surviving was a noble fight
I once believed in causes too
I had my pointless point of view
And life went on no matter who was wrong or right

And there's always a place for the angry young man
With his fist in the air and his head in the sand
And he's never been able to learn from mistakes
So he can't understand why his heart always breaks
And his honor is pure and his courage is well
And he's fair and he's true and he's boring as hell
And he'll go to the grave as an angry old man

Yes there's always a place for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plans
He refuses to bend he refuses to crawl
And he's always at home with his back to the wall
And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost
And struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross
And likes to be known as the angry young man

Got a call from an old friend we used to be real close
said he couldn't go on the American way
closed the shop sold a house bought a ticket to the west coast
now he gives them a stand-up routine in LA

I don't need you to worry for me cos im alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
go ahead with your own life leave me alone

I never said you had to offer me a second chance
I never said I was a victim of circumstance
I still belong, don't get me wrong
you can speak your mind but not on my time

They will tell you, you can't sleep alone in a strange place
then they'll tell you you cant sleep with somebody else
oh but sooner or later you'll sleep in your own space
either way its ok you wake up with yourself

I don't need you to worry for me cos im alright
I don't want you to tell me its time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
go ahead with your own life leave me alone

I never said you had to offer me a second chance
I never said I was a victim of circumstance
I still belong, don't get me wrong
you can speak your mind but not on my time

I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
go ahead with your own life leave me alone

They say that these are not the best of times
But they’re the only times I’ve ever known
And I believe there is a time for meditation
In cathedrals of our own
Now I have seen that sad surrender in my lover’s eyes
And I can only stand apart and sympathize

For we are always what our situations hand us
It’s either sadness or euphoria

So we’ll argue and we’ll compromise
And realize that nothing’s ever changed
For all our mutual experience
Our separate conclusions are the same
Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
A reason coexists with our insanity

And though we choose between reality and madness
It’s either sadness or euphoria

How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies
Perhaps we don’t fulfill each other’s fantasies
And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives
With our respective similarities

It’s either sadness or euphoria

Oh…!

Baby all the lights are turned on you
Now you're in the center of the stage
Everything revolves on what you do
Ah, you are in your prime; you've come of age

And you can always have your way somehow
But everybody loves you now

You can walk away from your mistakes
You can turn your back on what you do
Just a little smile is all it takes
Yeah, you can have your cake and eat it too

Loneliness will get to you somehow
But everybody loves you now

Ah, they all want your white body
And they await your reply
Ah, but between you and me and the Staten Island ferry
So do I

All the people want to know your name
Soon there will be lines outside your door
Feelings do not matter in your game
Yeah, 'cause nothing's gonna touch you anymore

So your life is only living anyhow
And everybody loves you now

Close your eyes when you don't want to see
Stay at home when you don't want to go
Only speak to those who will agree
Yeah, and close your mind when you don't want to know

You have lost you innocence somehow
But everybody loves you now

Ah, you know that nothing lasts forever
And it's all been done before
Ah, but you ain't got the time to go to Cold Spring Harbor
No more

See how all the people gather 'round
Hey, isn't it a thrill to see them crawl?
Keep your eyes ahead and don't look down
Yeah, and lock yourself inside your sacred wall

This is what you wanted; ain't you proud?
'Cause everybody loves you now

Ali dances and the audience applauds
Though he's beathed in sweat he hasn't lost his style
Ali don't you go downtown
You gave away another round for free

Me, I'm just another face at Zanzibar
But the waitress always serves a secret smile
She's waiting out in Shantytown
She's gonna pull the curtains down for me, for me

CHORUS
I've got the old man's car,
I've got a jazz guitar
I've got a tab at Zanzibar
Tonight that's where I'll be

Rose, he knows he's such a credit to the game
But the Yankees grab the headlines every time
Melodrama's so much fun
In black and white for everyone to see
Me, I'm trying just to get to second base
And I'd steal it if she only gave the sign
She's gonna give the go ahead
The inning isn't over yet for me

CHORUS

Tell the waitress I'll come back to Zanzibar
I'll be hiding inthe darkness with my beer.
She's waiting out in Shantytown
She's gonna pull the curtaains down for me, for me

CHORUS

Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach
Or to Hollywood
But I'm taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line
I'm in a New York state of mind

I've seen all the movie stars
In their fancy cars and their limousines
Been high in the Rockies under the evergreens
But I know what I'm needing
And I don't want to waste more time
I'm in a New York state of mind

It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, The Daily News

It comes down to reality
And it's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide
Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside
I don't have any reasons
I've left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind

It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, The Daily News

It comes down to reality
And it's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide
Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside
I don't have any reasons
I've left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind

I'm just taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line
'Cause I'm in a New York state of mind

Well, we’re living here in Allentown
And they’re closing all the factories down
Out in Bethlehem they’re killing time
Filling out forms
Standing in line

Well, our fathers fought the second World War
Spent their weekends on the Jersey shore
Met our mothers in the USO
Asked them to dance
Danced with them slow

And we’re living here in Allentown
But the restlessness was handed down
And it’s getting very hard to stay

Well we’re waiting here in Allentown
For the Pennsylvania we never found
For the promises our teachers gave
If we worked hard
If we behaved

So the graduations hang on the wall
But they never really helped us at all
No they never taught us what was real
Iron and coke(not coal)
Chromium Steel

And we’re waiting here in Allentown
But they’ve taken all the coal from the ground
And the union people crawled away

Every child had a pretty good shot
To get at least as far as their old man got
But something happened on the way to that place
They threw an American flag in our face

Well, I’m living here in Allentown
And it’s hard to keep a good man down
But I won’t be getting up today

And it’s getting very hard to stay
And we’re living here in Allentown

From a town known as Wheeling, West Virginia
Rode a boy with a six-gun in his hand
And his daring life of crime
Made him a legend in his time
East and West of the Rio Grande

Well he started with a bank in Colorado
In the pocket of his vest a Colt he hid
And his age and his size
Took the teller by surprise
And the word spread of Billy the Kid

Well he never travelled heavy
Yes, he always rode alone
And he soon put many older guns to shame
Well he never had a sweetheart
And he never had a home
But the cowboys and the ranchers knew his name

Well he robbed his way from Utah to Oklahoma
And the law just could not seem to track him down
And it served his legend well
For the folks they love to tell
'Bout when Billy the Kid came to town

One cold day a posse captured Billy
And the judge said, "String 'im up for what he did."
And the cowboys and their kin
Like the sea came pourin' in
To watch the hangin' of Billy the Kid

Well he never travelled heavy
Yes, he always rode alone
And he soon put many older guns to shame
Well he never had a sweetheart
Tho' he finally found a home
Underneath the Boot Hill grave that bears his name

From a town known as Oyster Bay, Long Island
Rode a boy with a six-pack in his hand
And his daring life of crime
Made him a legend in his time
East and West of the Rio Grande

She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
And she can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child
But she's always a woman to me

She can lead you to love
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe
And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free
Yeah, she steals like a thief but she's always a woman to me

Oh, she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
Cause she's always a woman to me

Oh, she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
But she can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
And she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me

We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives

We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight

We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy
They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all of our might

We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe
And played our Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write

And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight

We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand
They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island
We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of the motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive

And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

I seen the lights go out on Broadway.
I saw the Empire State laid low.
And life went on beyond the Palisades.
They all bought Cadillacs and left there long ago.
They held a concert out in Brooklyn
To watch the island bridges blow.
They turned our power down,
And drove us underground,
But we went right on with the show.
Oooh. Oh Oh Ooh.

I seen the lights go out on Broadway.
I saw the ruins at my feet.
You know we almost didn't notice it.
We'd see it all the time on 42nd Street.
They burned the churches up in Harlem,
Like in that Spanish Civil War.
The flames were everywhere,
But no one really cared:
It always burned up there before.
Ooh. Oh Oh Ooh.

I seen the lights go out on Broadway.
I watched the mighty skyline fall.
The boats were waiting at the Battery.
The union went on strike:
They never sailed at all.
They sent the carrier out from Norfolk,
And picked the Yankees up for free.
They said that Queens could stay.
They blew the Bronx away,
And sank Manhattan out at sea.

You know those lights were bright on Broadway,
But that was so many years ago:
Before we all lived here in Florida,
Before the Mafia took over Mexico.
There are not many who remember;
They say a handful still survive
To tell the world about
The way the lights went out,
And keep the memory alive.

Well I'm shameless
When it comes to loving you
I'd do anything you want me to
I'd do anything at all

And I'm standin
Here for all the world to see
There ain't that much left of me
That has very far to fall

You know I'm not a man who's ever been
Insecure about the world I've been livin in
I don't break easy
I have my pride
But if you need to be satisfied

I'm shameless
Baby I don't have a prayer
Anytime I see you standing there
I go down upon my knees

And I'm changin
Swore I'd never compromise
But you convinced me otherwise
I'll do anything you please

You see in all my life
I've never found
What I couldn't resist, what I couldn't turn down
I could walk away from anyone I ever knew
But I can't walk away from you

I have never let anything have this much control over me
I worked too hard to call my life my own
I made myself a world, and it worked so perfectly
But it's your world now, I can't refuse
I've never had so much to lose

Well I'm shameless...

You know it should be easy for a man who's strong
To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong
I never lost anything I ever missed
But I've never been in love like this
It's out of my hands

I'm shameless
I don't have the power now
But I don't want it anyhow
So I've got to let it go

I'm shameless
Shameless as a man should be
You could make a total fool of me
I just wanted you to know

I am shameless
Shameless...

We walked on the beach beside that old hotel.
They're tearing it down now, but it's just as well.
I haven't shown you everything a man can do,
So stay with me baby, I've got plans for you.

This is the time to remember,
Cuz it will not last forever.
These are the days to hold on to,
Cuz we won't although we'll want to.
This is the time
But time is gonna change.
You've given me the best of you,
And now I need the rest of you.

Did you know that before you came into my life,
It was some kind of miracle that I survived.
Some day we will both look back and have to laugh.
We lived through a lifetime, and the aftermath.

This is the time to remember,
Cuz it will not last forever.
These are the days to hold on to,
Cuz we won't although we'll want to.
This is the time
But time is gonna change.
I know we've gotta move somehow,
But I don't want to lose you now.

Sometimes it's so easy to let a day slip on by
Without even seeing each other at all.
But this is the time you'll turn back to and so will I.
And those will be days you can never recall.

And so we embrace again behind the dunes.
This beach is so cold on winter afternoons.
Ah, but holding you close is like holding the summer sun.
I'm warm from the memory of days to come.

If it seems like I've been lost
In let's remember
If you think I'm feeling older
And missing my younger days
Oh, then you should have known
Me much better
'Cause my past is somethin that never
Got in my way
Oh no

Still I would not be here now
If i never had the hunger
And I'm not ashamed to say
The wild boys were my friends
Oh
'Cause I never felt the desire
'Till their music set me on fire
And then I was saved, yeah
That's why I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith

We wore old matador boots
Only Flagg Brothers had them with a Cuban heel
Iridescent socks with the same color shirt
And a tight pair of chinos
Oh
I put on my shark skin jacket
You know the kind with the velvet collar
And ditty-bop shades
Oh yeah
I took a fresh pack of Luckies
And a mint called Sen-Sen
My old man's Trojans
And his Old Spice aftershave
Oh
Combed my hair in a pompadour
Like the rest of the Romeos wore
A permanent wave
Yeah

We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith

You can get just so much
From a good thing
You can linger too long
In your dreams
Say goodbye to the
Oldies but goodies
'Cause the good ole days weren't always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems

Learned stickball as a formal education
Lost a lot of fights
But it taught me how to lose OK
Oh
I heard about sex
But not enough
I found you could dance
And still look tough anyway
Oh yes I did
I found out a man ain't just being macho
Ate an awful lot of late night drive-in food
Drank a lot of take home pay
I thought I was the Duke Of Earl
When I made it with a red-haired girl
In a Chevrolet
Oh yeah
We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith

You know the good ole days weren't always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems

I told you my reasons
For the whole revival
Now I'm going outside to have
An ice cold beer in the shade
Oh
I'm going to listen to my 45's
Ain't it wonderful to be alive
When the rock 'n roll plays
Yeah
When the memory stays
Yeah
I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
I'm keeping the faith
Yes I am

Saturday night and you're still hangin' around
You're tired of livin' in your one horse town
You'd like to find a little hole in the ground
For a while...

So you go to the village in your tie-dye jeans
And you stare at the junkies and the closet queens
It's like some pornographic magazine
And you smile...

But Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push 'n' you'll be smilin'
La da da, Oh yeah, yeah

Your sister's gone out, she's on a date
And you just sit at home and masturbate
Your phone is gonna ring soon, but you just can't wait
For that call...

So you stand on the corner in your new English clothes
And you look so polished from your hair down to your toes
But still your fingers gonna pick your nose
After all...

But Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push 'n' you'll be smilin'
La da da, Oh yeah, yeah

So you decide to take a holiday
You got your tape deck and your brand new Chevrolet
Ah but there's no place to go anyway
And what for...

You've got everything but nothing's cool,
They've just found your father in the swimming pool
And you guess you won't be going back to school
Anymore...

But Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push 'n' you'll be smilin'
La da da, Oh yeah, yeah

So you play your albums and you smoke your pot
And you meet your girlfriend in the parking lot
Oh, but still you're aching for the things you haven't got
What went wrong...

And if you can't understand why your world is so dead
And why you've got to keep in style and feed your head
Well, you're twenty-one and still your mother makes your bed
and that's too long...

But Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push 'n' you'll be smilin'
La da da, Oh yeah, yeah
Yeah, Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Yeah, Captain Jack will get you by tonight

Goodnight, my angel
Time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Wherever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away

Goodnight, my angel
Now it's time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
And like a boat out on the ocean
I'm rocking you to sleep
The water's dark
And deep inside this ancient heart
You'll always be a part of me

Goodnight, my angel
Now it's time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child may cry
And if you sing this lullaby
Then in your heart
There will always be a part of me

Someday we'll all be gone
But lullabies go on and on...
They never die
That's how you
And I
Will be

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
From the mountains of faith
To the river so deep
I must be lookin' for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it's too hard to cross

even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and stand on the shore
I try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find what I've been looking for

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the valley of fear
To a river so deep
I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I'd never lose
Something somebody stole

I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is I've been looking for

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To the river so deep
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night

I’m not sure about a life after this
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That is runnin' through the promised land

It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog
It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log
But when I get home to you I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright

You know I work all day to get you money to buy you things
And it's worth it just to hear you say you're gonna give me everything
So why on earth should I moan, 'cause when I get you alone
You know I feel okay
When I'm home everything seems to be right
When I'm home feeling you holding me tight,tight,yeah
It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog
It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log
But when I get home to you I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright

But when I get home to you I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright
When I'm home everything seems to be right
When I'm home feeling you holding me tight,all through the night,yeah

It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog
It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log
But when I get home to you I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright
You know I feel alright
You know I feel alright...

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By the river of dreams
In the middle of the night

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenberg’s, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana Goodbye

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge on the River Kwai

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California Baseball
Starkweather Homicide, Children of Thalidomide

Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a No-Go

U-2, Synghman Rhee, Payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs Invasion

Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston Beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician Sex
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say?

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, Punk-Rock

Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, Heavy Metal, Suicide
Foreign Debts, Homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz

Hypodermics on the shore, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller Cola Wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire,
It was always burnin',
Since the world's been turnin'
We didn't start the fire,
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't...

Friday night I crashed your party
Saturday I said I'm sorry
Sunday came and trashed me out again
I was only having fun
Wasn't hurting anyone
And we all enjoyed the weekend for a change

I've been stranded in the combat zone
I walked through Bedford Sty alone
Even rode my motorcycle in the rain
And you told me not to drive
But I made it home alive
So you said that only proves that I'm insane

You may be right
I may be crazy
Oh, but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
Turn out the light
Don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right

Well remember how I found you there
Alone in your electric chair
I told you dirty jokes until you smiled
You were lonely for a man
I said take me as I am
Cuz you might enjoy some madness for a while

Now think of all the years you've tried to
Find someone to satisfy you
I might be as crazy as you say
If I'm crazy then it's true
That it's all because of you
And you wouldn't want me any other way

You may be right
I may be crazy
Oh, but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
It's too late to fight
It's too late to change me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right

(sax solo)

You may be right
I may be crazy
But It just may be a lunatic you're looking for
Turn out the light
Don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
You may be right

You may be wrong but you may be right
You may be wrong but you may be right
(repeat till end)

[Instrumental]

Come out, Virginia. Don't let me wait.
You Catholic girls start much too late,
Oh, but sooner or later, it comes down to fate.
I might as well be the one.

Well, they showed you a statue, told you to pray.
They built you a temple and locked you away,
Oh, but they never told you the price that you pay
For things that you might have done.
Only the good die young.
That's what I said
Only the good, die young
Only the good die young

You might've heard I run with a dangerous crowd.
We ain't too pretty. We ain't too proud.
We might be laughing a bit too loud,
Oh, but that never hurt no one.

So come on, Virginia, show me a sign,
Send up a signal. I'll throw you a line.
The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind
Never lets in the sun,
Darlin' only the good die young
Whoo whoo whoo whoo whoo
I tell ya, only the good die young
Only the good die young

You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation.
You got a brand new soul
Mmmmm, and a cross of gold,

But, Virginia, they didn't give you quite enough information.
You didn't count on me
When you were counting on your rosary.
Oh oh ooh

They say there's a heaven for those who will wait.
Some say it's better but I say it ain't.
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.
The sinners are much more fun,
Ya know that only the good die young
Ho ho ho baby
I tell ya, only the good die young
Only the good die young

You say your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation.
Ohh,she never cared for me,
Did she ever say a prayer for me?
Oh oh ohh

Come out, come out, come out Virginia Don't let me wait.
You Catholic girls start much too late,
But sooner or later, it comes down to fate.
I might as well be the one
Ya know that only the good die young
Tell ya baby
Ya know that only the good die young
Only the good die young
Only the good
Only the good die young
Whoo whoo whoo whoo whooo....

Well, she was just 17,
You know what I mean,
And the way she looked was way beyond compare.
So how could I dance with another (ooh)
When I saw her standin' there.

Well she looked at me, and I, I could see
That before too long I'd fall in love with her.
She wouldn't dance with another (whooh)
When I saw her standin' there.

Well, my heart went "boom,"
When I crossed that room,
And I held her hand in mine...

Well, we danced through the night,
And we held each other tight,
And before too long I fell in love with her.
Now, I'll never dance with another (whooh)
When I saw her standing there

Well, my heart went "boom,"
When I crossed that room,
And I held her hand in mine...

Oh, we danced through the night,
And we held each other tight,
And before too long I fell in love with her.
Now I'll never dance with another (whooh)
Since I saw her standing there 3x

[No lyrics]

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Making love to his tonic and gin

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, de de da
La la, de de da da da

CHORUS:
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

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 a 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"

Oh, la la la, de de da
La la, de de da da da

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

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

CHORUS

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 awhile
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, de de da
La la, de de da da da

CHORUS

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people
Living in the world agree,
There will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is
Still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be.

Let it be, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Yeah, There will be an answer, let it be.

Let it be, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the night is cloudy,
There is still a light that shines on me.
Shine until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be. hoooo' hoooo'