JOEL, Billy


Goodnight Saigon

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 hands

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 our 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


Goodnight my angel

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 promise I would never leave you.
And you should always know, 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 is dark and deep inside this mother's heart.
You'll always be a part of me.

Goodnight my angel, now it's time to dream.
And dream how wonder your life will be.
Someday a 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 lullabyes go on and on…

They never die

That’s how you and I will be


Piano Man

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday

The regular crowd shuffles in

There's an old man sittin' next to me

Makin' 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, di-di-da

La-la di-di-da da-dum

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 some place 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, di-di-da

La-la di-di-da da-dum

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

Sing us the 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

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

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-di-da

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