I dream of one day being able to craft characters as vividly and efficiently as Billy Joel in βPiano Man.β
Paul βthe real-estate novelistβ. Three words! Thatβs all we need to build a complete picture of this manβs personality and history. And then it just rounds out the picture with βnever had time for a wifeβ.
And we donβt even pause a beat before jumping to the equally vivid tragedy of βDavy whoβs still in the navy and probably will be for life.β
And these two are talking together! Because of course they are, these kindred souls stuck in their lives of mediocrity.
The whole songβs nothing but lightning-fast character sketches. The old man whose song is βsad and sweet and knew it complete when I wore a younger manβs clothes.β
John at the bar, so firmly established as cheerful and friendly and exuberant before the 180 turn to βBill, I believe this is killing me.β
The waitress practicing politics.
Even the businessmen βsharing a drink they call loneliness, but itβs better than drinking alone.β
All these tiny little tragicomic figures gathered around a barβs piano. Sketched in five minutes and thirty-nine secondsβand thatβs counting the choruses and harmonica breaks.
I dunno, I just think about it every time I hear the song and think he deserves more credit for it.
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theartofmadeline
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