Lyrics and music by Billy Joel
Testo e musica di Billy Joel
Probabile che questa sia una delle più belle canzoni della raccolta, sicuramente un inserimento molto (anzi troppo) tardivo.
The song was written by Billy about a Russian clown named Viktor Razinov, whom he met while touring the Soviet Union in 1987. Throughout the song, major items of Viktor's and Billy's lives are compared to show the cultural differences and similarities of the United States of America and the Soviet Union.
In the song, Billy describes Viktor's life as one of many Soviet children who lost fathers during World War II, specifically during the siege of Leningrad. He enlisted in the Red Army, drank vodka to fight the pain, and then became a circus clown, bringing joy to Russian children.
Billy described his childhood life as being "born in 49, a cold war kid in McCarthy time." He briefly... (continua)
La canzone ripercorre più di 30 anni di storia, per i riferimenti rimandiamo a Octopus's Garden.
"The World's always been kinda messed up, it was messed up before I was born, it was messed up during the time that I lived and it will probably be messed up after I'm gone. That doesn't mean you don't try the best that you can and make this a better world."
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray, (continua)
29/1/2006 - 00:12
Per una completissima legenda di nomi, epressioni e fatti citati nella canzone di Billy Joel, consiglio la lettura del post dedicato su l'histgeobox (in francese)
Words & Music By Billy Joel
Preformed By Cass Dillon
"In the middle of November 2007, Billy Joel recorded the anti-war Christmas In Fallujah. Performing the song live for the first time at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on December 1, Joel told the appreciative audience: "This song, in particular, needed a younger voice, someone who under different circumstances, might be over there with those other people." He then introduced Cass Dillon, a 21-year-old singer-songwriter from Long Island. [...]" Link
While a generation older than many of the acts he shared the stage with in the 1970s and '80s, and displaying little interest in the haircuts, fashions and synthesizers of his contemporaries, he still managed to record some of the most memorable hits of the era, including "Uptown Girl" in 1983. Joel grew up a member of middle America's working class society. At the insistance of his father Joel had taken formal piano lessons in his youth, but it was clear early on that his musical ambitions lay more in the popular realm. He joined his first unsuccessful rock bands in the late 1960s, playing British-invasion/psychadelia-inspired pop, before his embarking on his first unsuccessful solo project. In 1973 he finally found a winning formula with the record "Piano Man," and his stock rose significantly in the music industry. Through the '70s and into the '80s Joel... (continua)
"Goodnight Saigon" is a song written by Billy Joel, originally appearing on his 1982 album The Nylon Curtain, about the Vietnam War. It depicts the situation and attitude of United States Marines beginning with their military training on Parris Island and then into different aspects of Vietnam combat.
Lyrics and music by Billy Joel
Testo e musica di Billy Joel
Probabile che questa sia una delle più belle canzoni della raccolta, sicuramente un inserimento molto (anzi troppo) tardivo.
The song was written by Billy about a Russian clown named Viktor Razinov, whom he met while touring the Soviet Union in 1987. Throughout the song, major items of Viktor's and Billy's lives are compared to show the cultural differences and similarities of the United States of America and the Soviet Union.
In the song, Billy describes Viktor's life as one of many Soviet children who lost fathers during World War II, specifically during the siege of Leningrad. He enlisted in the Red Army, drank vodka to fight the pain, and then became a circus clown, bringing joy to Russian children.
Billy described his childhood life as being "born in 49, a cold war kid in McCarthy time." He briefly... (continua)