Billy Joel Album

There's a lot of tension in this town
I know it's building up inside of me
I've got all the symptoms and the side effects
Of city life anxiety

I could never understand why the urban attitude
Is so superior
In a world of high rise ambition
Most people's motives are ulterior

Sometimes I feel as though I'm running on ice
Paying the price too long
Kind of get the feeling that I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong

I'm a cosmopolitan sophisticate
Of culture and intelligence
The culmination of technology
And civilized experience

But I'm carrying the weight of all the useless junk
A modern man accumulates
I'm a statistic in a system
That a civil servant dominates

And all that means is that I'm running on ice
Caught in the vise so strong
I'm slipping and sliding, cause I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong

You've got to run
You've got to run

As fast as I can climb
A new disaster every time I turn around
As soon as I get one fire put out
There's another building burning down

They say this highway's going my way
But I don't know where it's taking me
It's a bad waste, a sad case, a rat race
It's breaking me

I get no traction cause I'm running on ice
It's taking me twice as long
I get a bad reaction cause I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong

You've got to run
You've got to run

Running on ice
Running on ice
Running on ice
Running on ice

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.

Some love is just a lie of the heart,
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start.
And they may not want it to end,
But it will, it's just a question of when.
I've lived long enough to have learned,
The closer you get to the fire, the more you get burned
But that won't happen to us,
Because it's always been a matter of trust.

I know you're an emotional girl.
It took a lot for you to not lose your faith in this world.
I can't offer you proof,
But you're going to face a moment of truth.
It's hard when you're always afraid,
You just recover when another belief is betrayed.
So break my heart of you must......
It's a matter of trust.

You can't go the distance,
With too much resistance.
I know you have doubts,
But for God's sake don't shut me out.

This time you've got nothing to lose.
You can take it, you can leave it,
Whatever you choose....
I won't hold back anything,
And I'll walk a way a fool or a king.
Some love is just a lie of the mind.
It's make believe until its only a matter of time.
And some might have learned to adjust,
But then it never was a matter of trust.

I'm sure you're aware love,
We've both had our share of,
Believing too long,
When the whole situation was wrong.

Some love is just a lie of the soul.
A constant battle for the ultimate state of control.
After you've heard lie upon lie,
There can hardly be a question of why.
Some love is just a lie of the heart.
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start.
But that can't happen to us.....
Because it's always been a matter of trust.

It's a matter of trust ....
It's always been a matter of trust ....
It's a matter of trust ....
It's always been a matter of trust ....
It's a matter of trust .......................

You see her sitting with her coffee and her paper
With her high top sneakers of italian design
With a long cool stare she aggravates the tension
Makes up her face while she makes up her mind

Now you're in trouble, maybe she's an intellectual
What if she figures out you're not very smart
Or maybe she's the quiet type who's into heavy metal
Boy, you got to get it settled
Cause she's breaking your heart

Don't try to put on an act
You can't do that to a modern woman
And you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman

She looks sleek and she seems so professional
She's got a lot of confidence, it's easy to see
You want to make a move
But you feel so inferior
Cause under that exterior
Is someone who's free

She's got style and she's got her own money
So she's not another honey you can quickly disarm
She's got the eyes that make you realize
She won't be hypnotized by your usual charm

You've got your plan of attack
That won't attract the modern woman
Whe you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman

Time goes by and you're sharing an apartment
She says she loves you but she doesn't know why
In the morning she leaves you with your coffee and your paper
It's a strange situation for an old fashioned guy

But times have changed
Things are not the same, baby
You overcame such a bad attitude
Rock and roll just used to be for kicks
And nowadays it's politics
And after 1986 what else could be new

You got to learn to relax
And face the facts of modern woman
And you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman

late at night
when it's dark and cold
I reach out
for someone to hold
when I'm blue
when I'm lonely
she comes through
she's the only one who can
my baby grand
is all I need
in my time
I've wandered everywhere
around this world
she would always be there
any day
any hour
all it takes
is the power in my hands
this baby grand's been good to me
I've had friends
but they've slipped away
I've had fame
but it doesn't stay
I've made fortunes
spent them fast enough
as for women
they don't last with just one man
but baby grand
will stand by me
they say that no one's gonna play this on the radio
they said the melancholy blues were dead and gone
but only songs like these
played in minor keys
keep those memories holding on
I've come far
from the life I strayed in
I've got the scars
from those dives I played in
now I'm home
and I'm weary
in my bones
every dreary one night stand
but baby grand
came home with me
ever since this gig began
my baby grand's been good to me

Why can't I lay low? Why can't I say what I mean?
Why don't I stay home and get myself into some boring routine?
Why can't I calm down? Why is it always a fight?
I can't get unwound. Why do I throw myself into the night?

I'm on the outside. I don't fit into a groove.
Now, I ain't a bad guy, so tell me what am i trying to prove?
Why can't I cool out? Why don't I button my lip?
Why do I lash out? Why is it I always shoot from the hip?

I cruise from Houston to Canal Street, a misfit and a rebel.
I see the winos talking to themselves, and I can understand.
Why is it everytime I go out I always seem to get in trouble?
I guess I made an impression on somebody north of Hester and South of Grand.

And so, in my small way, I'm a big man on Mulberry Street.
I don't mean always, only at night when I'm light on my feet.
What else have I got that I'd be trying to hide?
Maybe a blind spot I haven't seen from the sensitive side?

But you know, in my own heart I'm a big man on Mulberry Street.
I play the whole part; I leave a big tip with every reciept.
I'm so romantic; I'm such a passionate man.
Sometimes I panic...what if nobody finds out who I am?

It's time for me to be on my way I know
I've got business to conduct
And I've got places to go
But I can't help looking at her sleeping instead
Another morning I'll have trouble climbing out of this bed
Because - she's such a temptation

It's driving me crazy
And it's my fascination
That's making me act this way
And I know what all my friends say
They're afraid that I'm losing my touch
But she's such a temptation

I look so tired cause I don't get much sleep
And I've got too many commitments that are too hard to keep
And I try to be rational
And I try to be wise
But it all gets blown to pieces
When I look in her eyes
Because - She's such a temptation
And nothing can save me

And my only salvation
Is tearing myself away
And I know what all of my friends say
There's a danger in wanting too much
But she's such a temptation

I should be leaving
But I can't cut loose
I have my reasons for resistance
But I have no excuse
And I lose my composure
I could use some restraint
I never claimed to be a hero
And I never said I was a saint
She's such a temptation
It's driving me crazy
And it's my fascination
That's making me act this way
And I can just hear all my friends say
"Better watch out, you're losing your touch"
But she's such a temptation

Yes she is
She's such a temptation
Yes she is
Yes she is
She's such a temptation

Everybody's got a million questions;
everybody wants to know the score.
What you went through, it's something you should be over now.
Everybody wants to hear the secrets
that you never told a soul before;
and it's not that strange, because it wouldn't change what happens anyhow.

But you swore to yourself a long time ago
there were some things that people never needed to know;
this is one that you keep, that you bury so deep
no one can tear it out.

And you can't talk about it
'cause you're following a code of silence.
You're never gonna lose the anger,
you just deal with it in a different way.
And you can't talk about it;
and isn't that a kind of madness
to be living by a code of silence
when you've really got a lot to say.

You don't want to lose a friendship;
There's nothing that you have to hide,
And a little dirt couldn't hurt no one anyway.
And you still have a rage inside you
That you carry with a certain pride
In the only part of a broken heart that you could ever save.

But you've been through it once, you know how it ends;
You don't see the point of going through it again.
And this ain't the place, and this ain't the time,
And neither's any other day.

So you can't talk about it
'cause you're following a code of silence.
You're never gonna lose the anger,
you just deal with it in a different way.
And you can't talk about it;
and isn't that a kind of madness
to be living by a code of silence
when you've really got a lot to say.

After the moment passes
And the impulse disappears,
You can still hold back because you don't crack very easily.
It's a time-honored resolution
Because the danger is always near;
It's with you now, but that ain't how it was supposed to be.

And it's hard to believe after all these years
That it still gives you pain and it still brings tears,
And you feel like a fool, because in spite of your rules,
You've got a memory.

But you can't talk about it
'cause you're following a code of silence.
You're never gonna lose the anger,
you just deal with it in a different way.
And you can't talk about it;
and isn't that a kind of madness
to be living by a code of silence
when you've really got a lot to say.

I went searching for the truth
But in my innocence I found
All the con men and their acrobats
Who stomped me in the ground
If I count up their percentages
I know they're getting rich
But they haven't taken everything
Those paybacks are a bitch

Though I've lost quite a lot
I am still in control
They can keep what they've got
But they can't have my soul
And if I don't have this all worked out
Still I'm getting closer, getting closer
I still have far to go no doubt
But I'm getting closer, getting closer

What was ripped off by professionals
Is not all that it seems
While I must live up to contracts
I did not give up my dreams
If I see it as experience
It hasn't gone to waste
Lately all the missing pieces
Have been falling into place

And if I could go back and start over somehow
I would not change that much
Knowing what I know now
Thought there have been sins
I will regret
Still I'm getting close, getting closer
I don't have all the answers yet
But I'm getting closer, getting closer

I'm a mark for every shyster
From Topanga to Berlin
And I should have learned to kick them out
As soon as they crawled in
So to every bank in Switzerland
That stores my stolen youth
I'm alright because despite the laws
You cannot hide the truth

And although you will say
I am still too naive
But I have not lost faith
In the things I believe

And if I don't have a this all worked out
Still I'm getting closer, getting closer
I still have far to go no doubt
But I'm still getting closer, getting closer