Billy Joel Album

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

Some people stay far away from the door
If there's a chance of it opening up
They hear a voice in the hall outside
And hope that it just passes by
Some people live with the fear of a touch
And the anger of having been a fool
They will not listen to anyone
So nobody tells them a lie

I know you're only protecting yourself
I know you're thinking of somebody else
Someone who hurt you
But I'm not above making up all the love
You've been denying you can ever feel
I'm not above doing anything
To restore your faith, if I can

Some people see through the eyes of the old
Before they ever get a look at the young
I'm only willing to hear you cry
Because I am an innocent man

I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am

Some people say they will never believe
Another promise they hear in the dark
Because they only remember too well
They heard somebody tell them before
Some people sleep all alone every night
Instead of taking a lover to bed
Some people find that's easier
To hate than to wait anymore

I know you don't wanna hear what I say
I know you're gonna keep turning away
But I've been there and if I can survive
I can keep you alive
I'm not above going through it again
I'm not above being cool for a while
If you're cruel to me, I'll understand

Some people run from a possible fight
Some people figure they can never win
And although this is a fight I can lose
The accused is an innocent man

I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am an innocent man

You know you'll only hurt yourself out of spite
I guess you'd rather be a martyr tonight
That's your decision
But I'm not below anybody I know
If there's a chance of resurrecting a love
I'm not above going back to the start
To find out where the heartache began

Some people hope for a miracle cure
Some people just accept the world as it is
I'm not willing to lay down and die
Because I am an innocent man

I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am an innocent man
Ohhhhooh

Ohhhhooh

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 .......................

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

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.

Viktor was born in the spring of ґ44
And never saw his father anymore
A child of sacrifice, a child of war
Another son who never had a father after Leningrad
Went off to school and learned to serve the state
Followed the rules and drank his vodka straight
The only way to live was drown the hate
A Russian life was very sad
And such was life in Leningrad

I was born in ґ49
A cold war kid in McCarthy time
Stop ґem at the 38th Parallel
Blast those yellow reds to hell
And cold war kids were hard to kill
Under their desk in an air raid drill
Havenґt they heard we won the war
What do they keep on fighting for?

Viktor was sent to some Red Army town
Served out his time, became a circus clown
The greatest happiness heґd ever found
Was making Russian children glad
And children lived in Leningrad

But children lived in Levittown
And hid in the shelters underground
Until the Soviets turned their ships around
And tore the Cuban missiles down
And in that bright October sun
We knew our childhood days were done
And I watched my friends go off to war
What do they keep on fighting for?

And so my child and I came to this place
To meet him eye to eye and face to face
He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced
We never knew what friends we had
Until we came to Leningrad

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...

Call me a joker, call me a fool
Right at this moment Iґm totally cool
Clear as a crystal, sharp as a knife
I feel like Iґm in the prime of my life
Sometimes it feels like Iґm going too fast
I donґt know how long this feeling will last
Maybe itґs only tonight

Refr.:
Darling, I donґt know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ainґt no in-betweens
And if I stand or I fall
Itґs all or nothing at all
Darling, I donґt know why I go to extremes

Sometimes Iґm tired, Sometimes Iґm shot
Sometimes I donґt know how much more Iґve got
Maybe Iґm headed over the hill
Maybe Iґve set myself up for the kill
Tell me how much do you think you can take
Until the heart in you is starting to break?
Sometimes it feels like it will

Refr.:


Out of the darkness, into the light
Leaving the scene of the crime
Either Iґm wrong or Iґm perfectly right every time
Sometimes I lie awake, night after night
Coming apart at the seams
Eager to please, ready to fight
Why do I go to extremes?

Refr.:

In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense

And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose

But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

Well I'm on the Downeaster Alexa
And I'm cruising through Block Island Sound
I have chartered a course to the Vineyard
But tonight I am Nantucket bound

We took on diesel back in Montauk yesterday
And left this morning from the bell in Gardiner's Bay
Like all the locals here I've had to sell my home
Too proud to leave I worked my fingers to the bone

So I could own my Downeaster Alexa
And I could go where the ocean is deep
There are giants out there in the canyons
And a good captain can't fall asleep

I've got bills to pay and children who need clothes
I know there's fish out there but where God only knows
They say these waters aren't what they used to be
But Ive got people back on land who count on me

So if you see my Downeaster Alexa
And if you work with the rod and the reel
Tell my wife i am trolling Atlantis
And i still have my hands on the wheel

Now I drive my Downeaster Alexa
More and more miles from shore every year
Since they told me I can't sell no stripers
And there's no luck in swordfishing here

I was a bayman like my father was before
Can't make a living as a bayman anymore
There ain't much future for a man who works the sea
But there ain't no island left for islanders like me

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...

she waits for me at night
she waits for me in silence
she gives me all her tenderness
and takes away my pain
and so far she hasn't run
though i swear she's had her moments
she still believes in miracles
while others cry in vain
it's all about soul
it's all about faith and a deeper devotion
it's all about soul
'cause under the love is a stronger emotion
she's got to be strong
'cause so many things getting out of control
should drive her away
so why does she stay
it's all about soul
she turns to me sometimes
and she asks me what i'm dreaming
and i realize i must have gone
a million miles away
and i ask her how she knew
to reach out for me at that moment
and she smiles because it's understood
there are no words to say
it's all about soul
it's all about knowing what someone is feeling
the woman's got soul
the power of love and the power of healing
this life isn't fair
it's gonna get dark
it's gonna get cold
you've got to get tough, but that ain't enough
it's all about soul
there are people who have lost
every trace of human kindness
there are many who have fallen
there are some who still survive
she comes to me at night
and she tells me her desires
and she gives me all the love i need to keep my faith alive
it's all about soul
it's all about joy that comes out of sorrow
it's all about soul
who's standing now and who's standing tomorrow
you've got to be hard
hard as the rock in that old rock 'n' roll
but that's only part, you know in your heart
it's all about soul

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(middle of the night)
I go walking in my sleep(i go walking in my sleep)
From the mountains of faith(moutains of faith)
To the river so deep(river so deep)
I must be looking for something(looking for something)
Something sacred I lost(sacred i lo-o-ost)
But the river is wide(river is wide)
And it's too hard to cross(too hard to cross)

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

In the middle of the night(middle of the night)
I go walking in my sleep(i go walking in my sleep)
Through the valley of fear(valley of fear)
To a river so deep(river so deep)
I've been searching for something(searching for something)
Taken out of my soul(taken out of my so-o-oul)
Something I'd never lose(never lose)
Something somebody stole(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 that I've been looking for

In the middle of the night(middle of the night)
I go walking in my sleep(I go walking in my sleep)
Through the jungle of doubt(jungle of doubt)
To the river so deep(river so deep)
I know I'm searching for something(searching for something)
Something so undefined(so undefined)
That it can only be seen(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 running to the promise land

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

(repeat: I go walking in the middle of the...)
Sam and Ree

When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love

When evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love

I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong

I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the avenue
There's nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

The storms are raging on the rollin' sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing like me yet

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
To make you feel my love

hey girl! i want you to know
i'm gonna miss you so much if you go
and hey girl! i tell you no lie
something deep inside of me's going to die
if you say so long
if you say goodbye
hey girl! this can't be true
how am i supposed to exist without you
and, hey girl! now don't put me on
what's gonna happen to me when you're gone
how will i live
how can i go on
how can i go on
hey girl!
hey girl! now sit yourself down
i'm not ashamed to get down on the ground
and then beg you to stay
don't go away
hey girl!
don't go away
hey girl!
don't go away

she stands before you naked
you can see it, you can taste it
but she comes to you light as the breeze
you can drink or you can nurse it
it don't matter how you worship
as long as you're down on your knees
so i knelt there at the delta
at the alpha and the omega
at the cradle of the river
and the seas
and like a blessing come from heaven
for something like a second
i was healed, and my heart
was at ease
o baby i waited
so long for your kiss
for something to happen
something like this
and you're weak and you're harmless
and you're sleeping in your harness
and the wind going wild
in the trees
and it's not exactly prison
but you'll never be forgiven
for whatever you've done
with the keys
o baby i waited so long for your kiss
for something to happen
something like this
it's dark and it's snowing
oh my love i must be going
the river is starting to freeze
and i'm sick of pretending
i'm broken from bending
i've lived too long
on my knees
and she dances so grateful
and your heart's hard and hateful
and she's naked
but that's just a tease
and you turn in disgust
from your hatred and from your love
and she comes to you
light as the breeze
o baby i waited
so long for your kiss
for something to happen
something like this
there's blood on every bracelet
you can see it, you can taste it
and it's please baby
please baby please
and she says, drink deeply, pilgrim
but don't forget there's still a woman
beneath this
resplendent chemise
so i knelt there at the delta
at the alpha and the omega
i knelt there
like one who believes
and like a blessing come from heaven
for something like a second
i was cured, and my heart
was at ease
o baby i waited
so long for your kiss
for something to happen
something like this