210 Quotes by Billy Joel

There's nothing better than good sex. But bad sex? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better than bad sex.

Musicians want to be the loud voice for so many quiet hearts.

I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.

Only the good die young.

I've come to realize that life is not a musical comedy, it's a Greek tragedy.

I am no longer afraid of becoming lost, because the journey back always reveals something new, and that is ultimately good for the artist.

I could walk away from anyone I ever knew, but I can't walk away from you.

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Some folks like to get away Take a holiday from the neighborhood. Hop a flight to Miami Beach Or to Hollywood But I'm talking a Greyhound On the Hudson River Line. I'm in a New York state of mind.

In an age of incompetence, I've been able to last in this crazy business. I actually know how to play my ax and write a song. That's my job.

If you are not doing what you love, you are wasting your time.

I'm probably writing music now for the same reason as I started writing songs when I was 14 - to meet women.

Artist - musicians, painters, writers, poets, always seem to have had the most accurate perception of what is really going on around them, not the official version or the popular perception of contemporary life.

We all end in the ocean. We all start in the streams. We're all carried along, by the river of dreams.

Do what you love, and you'll always love what you do (Meaning)

Historically, musicians know what it is like to be outside the norm - walking the high wire without a safety net. Our experience is not so different from those who march to the beat of different drummers.

Say goodbye to the oldies, but goodies, because the good old days weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems

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I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.

I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints - the sinners are much more fun.

There's an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin.

Don't wait for answers, just take your chances. Don't ask me why.

She'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding.

Some people stay away from the door for the chance of it opening up.

Take risks. Take chances. Don't be afraid. You gotta go into life brave.

Videos destroyed the vitality of rock and roll. Before that, music said, "Listen to me." Now it says, "Look at me."

Honesty is such a lonely word. Everyone is so untrue.

I'm sure you have some cosmic rationale, but here you are with your faith and your Peter Pan advice.

We might be laughing a bit too loud, but that never hurt no one

You should never argue with a crazy mind, you ought to know my now.

Call me a joker, call me a fool, right at this moment I'm totally cool.

It's OK if you mess up. You should give yourself a break.

For whatever reason, not all people are born with the particular gift of being able to express ourselves through music. And, believe me, it is a gift.

I may be an antique like the Stones, but antiques are valuable.

Remember how I found you there alone in your electric chair, I told you dirty jokes until you smiled.

You'll learn more from your accidents than anything that you could ever learn at school.

I don't want some pretty face to tell me pretty lies, all I want is someone to believe.

As long as there are memories, yesterday remains. As long as there is hope, tomorrow awaits. As long as there is friendship, today is beautiful.

Out of respect for the things that I was never destined to do, I have learned that my strengths are a result of my weaknesses, my success is due to my failures, and my style is directly related to my limitations.

Hot funk, cold punk, even if it's old junk, it's still rock and roll to me.

I'm a statistic in a system that a civil servant dominates.

"Slow down you're doing fine
You can't be everything you want to be before your time."

She's the quiet type who's into heavy metal.

I believe that all important matters have to be settled here, not in the clouds somewhere after we kick off.

You've got to be hard, like the rock in that old rock & roll.

Critics have said I write without spontaneity, in cold blood. I don't. I write in hot blood.

Someday we'll all be gone, but lullabies go on and on / They never die, that's how you and I will be

She can kill with her smile, she can wound with her eyes.

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.

There are people who have lost every trace of human kindness.

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 have a theory that the only original things we ever do are mistakes.

Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes; I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again

you may be right, I may be crazy, but it just might be a lunatic you're looking for

I've lived long enough to have learned, the closer you get to the fire, the more you get burned.

Black and white is how it should be, but shades of grey are the colors I see.

They say there's a heaven for those who wait, some say it's better I say it ain't.

It's alright, you can afford to lose a day or two

More than art, more than literature, music is universally accessible.

Musicians now find themselves in the unlikely position of being legitimate. At least the IRS thinks so.

You can speak your mind But not on my time.

What will it take for you to believe in me, the way that I believe in you?

I've learned to dance with a hand in my pants.

In a way, we are magicians. We are alchemists, sorcerers and wizards. We are a very strange bunch. But there is great fun in being a wizard.

So many faces in and out of my life Some will last Some will be just now and then. Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again. Say goodbye to Hollywood Say goodbye my baby Say goodbye to Hollywood Say goodbye my baby.

I have long admired Steinway pianos for their qualities of tone, clarity, pitch consistency, touch responsiveness, and superior craftsmanship.

The joy of life is made up of obscure and seemingly mundane victories that give us our own small satisfactions.

People pay a lot of money to go see shows now, they don't wanna know about your technical problems, or if you're not feeling good, they don't wanna know we have a glitch. It's their night, you better do something to earn that money.

We all have a face that we hide away forever, and we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone.

I have been both praised and criticized. The criticism stung, but the praise sometimes bothered me even more. To have received such praise and honors has always been puzzling to me.

The whole world loves American movies, blue jeans, jazz and rock and roll. It is probably a better way to get to know our country than by what politicians or airline commercials represent.

Have you listened to the radio lately? Have you heard the canned, frozen and processed product being dished up to the world as American popular music today?

I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection.

I was drawn to boxing because I got beat up as a kid. I was the kid with the piano books in a New York neighbourhood.

You've given me the best of you, but now I need the rest of you.

Call you up in the middle of the night. It's awful hard trying to make love long distance, but I really need stimulation.

We are living in a time when American popular music is finally being recognized as one of our most successful exports. The demand is huge.

Most people are satisfied with the junk food being sold as music.

I've reached the age where competence is a turn-on.

Why do musicians give so much time to charitable causes? The most humanitarian cause that we can give our time to is the creation and performance of music itself.

I'm in a New York state of mind

Don't make music for some vast, unseen audience or market or ratings share or even for something as tangible as money. Though it's crucial to make a living, that shouldn't be your inspiration. Do it for yourself.

When I was 19, I made my first good week's pay as a club musician. It was enough money for me to quit my job at the factory and still pay the rent and buy some food. I freaked.

You want to give people a reason to hate my guts more? I'm making more money.

Like family, we are tied to each other. This is what all good musicians understand.

Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies. They were all phenomenal. Mozart wrote some 40 symphonies, and they were all phenomenal. That doesn't mean Beethoven was a lesser writer, it's just some guys are capable of more productivity, some guys take more time.

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

I don't know why I go to extremes.

It's a little intimidating to walk into a studio and know that you're going to sing a duet with Barbra Streisand.

We're on the verge of all things new.

Honesty is the best part of any art form. If you don't have that, you're kidding yourself and your listener.

If I need a cause for celebration, Or a comfort I can use to ease my mind, I rely on my imagination, And I dream of an imaginary time.

Those who have expressed doubts and misgivings about their ability to live this kind of life shouldn't try, because being a musician is not something you chose to be, it is something you are.

Drank a lot of take home pay.

The happiest times in my life were when my relationships were going well - when I was in love with someone, and someone was loving me. But in my whole life, I haven't met the person I can sustain a relationship with yet. So I'm discontented about that. I'm angry with myself. I have regrets.

There's a deep-seated paranoia that Americans have about not being Americans or something.

Hope you don't think this is Billy Joel unplugged. I'm a piano player. I'm already unplugged.

If I ever reach heaven I expect to find three wonders there: first, to meet some I had not thought to see there; second, to miss some I had expected to see there; and third, the greatest wonder of all, to find myself there.

I don't care what consequence it brings, I have been a fool for lesser things.

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.

A typical day in the life of a heavy metal musician consists of a round of golf and an AA meeting.

Don't be afraid to try again everyone goes south every now and then.

I tell the audience every night, "I hope you didn't pay more than face value on that ticket, because we ain't worth more than that, and you ain't gonna get any more than that."

You're having a hard time and lately you don't feel so good; You're getting a bad reputation in your neighborhood. It's alright, it's alright; Sometimes that's what it takes. You're only human, you're allowed to make your share of mistakes.

People in music lie, but they don't expect you to believe them. People in television actually expect you to believe the lies.

You just sit home and masturbate. The phone is going to ring soon, but you just can't wait.

Every child had a pretty good shot, to get at least as far as their old man got. But something happened on the way to that place. They threw an American flag in our face.

I'm writing for the sake of writing music. Whether it gets heard or not isn't an issue for me. It keeps my own juices going and my mind active.

People always think I was just playing in a piano bar, but I only did that for about six months. The rest of the time I was playing in bands.

It feels great to have a #1 album.

every time I've held a rose, It seems I only felt the thorns

We're only human, we're supposed to make mistakes.

Our parents' generation had it a lot tougher than we did. They had to live through the Depression, World War II, and then they had to, you know, try to pick up the pieces of their lives and bring up their children. And, it was a great example for us. I guess we grew up with a certain amount of the ethics our parents had, which is, you know: work hard, make your own way, be independent.

Even when I stop performing or stop making records I won't stop being creative. Songwriting is a good outlet.

Maybe this won't last very long but you feel so right and I could be wrong. Maybe I've been hoping too hard. I've gone this far and it's more than I hope for.

As human beings, we need to know that we are not alone, that we are not crazy or completely out of our minds, that there are other people out there who feel as we do, live as we do, love as we do, who are like us.

I don't belong in limos or private jets or on stage with people cheering me but that's what's kept me grounded because I know it's not right.

I'm not sure about life after this; god knows I'm not a spiritual man.

You may be wrong, but you may be right.

Some love is just a lie of the heart, the cold remains of what began with a passionate heart.

You only beat me if you get me to hate.

Advice is cheap; you can take it from me.

There's always a place for the angry young man with his fist in the air and his head in the sand. He's never been able to learn from mistakes, he can't understand why his heart always breaks.

There will be other words some other day; that is the story of my life.

The graduations hang on the wall, but they never really helped us at all.

Following a code of silence, you're never gonna lose the anger.

When I look at great works of art or listen to inspired music, I sense intimate portraits of the specific times in which they were created.

Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania.

You've got yoga, I've got beer. You got overpriced, I got weird.

You can’t go the distance with too much resistance

This is the time to remember cause it will not last forever. These are the days to hold onto cause we won't although we'll want to.

I'm single but interviewing.

And the only people I fear are those who never have doubts... Save us all from arrogant men, and all the causes they're for.

If you search for truthfulness, you might as well be blind.

Ain't no rainbows shining on me, shades of gray are the colors I see.

You look so polished from your hair down to your toes, but still your finger's gonna pick your nose.

You can linger too long in your dreams.

As an atheist you have to rationalize things... Then you have to try and make some sort of sense out of your problems. And if you try and find you can't, you have no choice but to be good and scared -- but that's okay!

Usually when I'm writing, I try to write fairly quickly. If a song sits around too long, it starts to take on a stink. Most of my songs are written in one sitting, two sittings maybe. Those are the ones I like the best, anyway.

I've written a bunch of stuff that no one's ever heard, and I don't know if they ever will. I'm just doing it for my own edification.

I believe I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage. I've found that just surviving is a noble fight. I once believed in causes too; I had my pointless points of view. And life went on no matter who as wrong or right.

She's got a smile that heals me.

No end to sorrow, caused by the same endless fears. Why can't we learn from all we've been through after two thousand years?

I compare songwriting to childbirth. How many kids can you have before your uterus explodes?

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

If it seems like I've been lost in 'lets remember', If it seems I'm gettin' older and missin' my younger days, well you shoulda known me much better, cause the past is something that never got in my way.

Well I never had a place that I could call my very own/That's all right, my love, 'cause you're my home.

You can pay Uncle Sam with all your overtime, is that all you get for your money?

I see the winos talking to themselves and I can understand.

Oh, she takes care of herself. She can wait if she wants. She's ahead of her time. Oh, and she never gives out. And she never gives in. She just changes her mind.

I've played all kinds of places, laid all kinds of girls.

Why should I worry, why should I care? And even when I cross that line, I got street savoire faire.

Let me go on sleeping and I will lose myself in palaces of sand, and all the fantasies that I've been keeping will make the empty hours easier to stand.

I won't be righteous again. I'm not sure anymore.

You've got your passion. You've got your pride. But don't you know that only fools are satisfied? Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true.

Forced to recognize our inhumanity, our reason coexists with our insanity. And though we choose between reality and madness, it's either sadness or euphoria.

If you could only hear what I dream.

The piano 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 doing here?

I once believed in causes, too. Had my pointless point of view. Life went on no matter who was wrong or right.

I've crashed my car three times.

If you tell kids they can't have something, that's what they want.

It's really hard to make a living as a musician. It's almost impossible.

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... 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.

They say that these are not the best of times, but they're the only times I've ever known.

What if she figures out you're not very smart?

Though you can see when you're wrong, you know you can't always see when you're right.

Why don't the Beatles get back together? Why don't nobody sing of romance?

My songs are like my kids.

In hell there's a big hotel where the bar just closed and the windows never opened. No phone so you can't call home, and the TV works, but the clicker is broken.

Davey Crocket, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland.

It should be easy for a man who's strong to say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong.

Give us this day our daily discount outlet merchandise...

I see the children with their boredom and their vacant stares.

Rock and roll just used to be for kicks, now a days it's politics.

You may never understand How the stranger is inspired For he is not always evil, And he is not always wrong.

Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight, and make sure that all her dreams are sweet? Said now, would ya guide her on the roads, and make them softer for her feet? Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight, and make sure that she's gonna be alright, until she's home and here with me.

I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage. I found that just surviving was a noble fight.

Give a moment or two to the angry young man with his foot in his mouth and his heart in his hand.

I never said I wasn't going to play any more. I don't know where that came from.

I'm carrying the weight of all the useless junk and modern man accumulates.

Rock and roll cola wars, I can't take it any more.

This is our moment, here at the cross-roads of time. Time is relentless and as the past dissappears, we're on the verge of all things new.

When I was a young musician, the only option available to pursue secondary education in music was to attend a classical conservatory.

I sold my house to Jerry Seinfeld.

There ain't much future for a man who works the sea, there ain't no island left for islanders like me.

My daughter sent me on a mission to get as many autographs as possible.

Slow down you're doing fine You can't be everything you want to be Before your time Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight Too bad but it's the life you lead You're so ahead of yourself That you forfeit what you need Though you can see when you're wrong

And you know that when the truth is told that you can get what you want or you can just get old.

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

There was an edge of, 'Go away kid, you're bothering me'. I've kicked myself a million times since. I could've discovered Whitney Houston.

One of the last times that we played in the area before I wrote "Allentown," I remember a guy coming up to us and saying, "You're never coming back here." I said, "Why do you say that?" He said, "Well, you're probably gonna become a big star. Nobody who ever becomes big comes back here." And I felt so sad for this kid, he seemed so bitter about it. I said, "Well, I'm coming back, no matter what."

Know what you love and do what you love. If you don't do what you love, you're just wasting your time.

My friends and I are crazy. That's the only thing that keeps us sane!

Musicians know all about unemployment. You're unemployed a lot, and I think there's a great deal of empathy between musicians and people who are out of work.

You're not the only one who's made mistakes, but they're the only things that you can truly call your own.

I run into people from the Lehigh Valley and Allentown all over the world, and they're obviously doing pretty well. They say, "Oh, it's pretty nice there now and there's a lot of new businesses that have come into the area." Nobody's telling me, "Yeah, I left." Everybody says, "You know, I'm there. It's great. It's really nice there, and you made our town famous."

I am the entertainer and I know just where I stand Another serenader and another long haired band Today I am your champion, I may have won your hearts, But I know the game, you'll forget my name, And I won't be here in another year If I don't stay on the charts.

I am the entertainer, I've come to do my show You've heard my latest record, it's been on the radio It took me years to write it, they were the best years of my life It was a beautiful song but it ran too long If you're gonna have a hit you gotta make it fit So they cut it down to 3:05.

She can kill with a smile. She can wound with her eyes. She can ruin your faith with her casual lies. And she only reveals what she wants you to see. She hides like a child, but she's always a woman to me.

Well we're waiting here in Allentown For the Pennsylvania we never found For the promises our teachers gave If we worked hard If we behaved So the graduations hang on the wall But they never really helped us at all No they never taught us what was real

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.

You get paid like a really good call girl. Walking offstage is like the walk of shame.

You can walk away from your mistakes You can turn your back on what you do Just a little smile is all it takes And you can have your cake and eat it too. Loneliness will get to you somehow But ev'rybody loves you now.

We passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapes.

Your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation.

It was so easy living day by day Out of touch with the rhythm and blues But now I need a little give and take The New York Times, The Daily News.

There will be miracles After the last war is won Science and poetry rule in the new world to come Prophets and angels Gave us the power to see What an amazing future there will be

They are sharing a drink called loneliness.

I have to thank my mother for paying for the piano lessons for all those years.

Some people find it's easier to hate.