Skip to main content
The Piano Man

    I have the music for Billy Joel's classic song called Piano Man. Lately, as I learn to play it, I have marveled at how well written it is. Not only can Bill turn a phrase but he can write a short story and stick it in a song.
    The singer is playing piano in a bar and paints an enduring picture of the bar's inhabitants. The regular crowd shuffles in. The old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin. He says, "Son, can you play me a melody? 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." Clearly, this is something that the writer had experienced.
    We hear about the bartender who is quick with a joke or to light up your smoke, but he thinks, quite humbly, that he should be a movie star. And of course, there is Davy, who is still in the Navy, and probably will be for life.
    Everyone who has drank in a bar or pub can identify with this song a bit. "They're sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it's better than drinking alone." For folks who play piano or keyboard, this song is a big favorite to play. For those who like to listen to music, it is a short story crammed into a song. It paints a picture that's sad and sweet, but I know it complete.
   I just went over to Wikipedia and typed in a search for the song. I saw that it only made it to #25 on the charts when released, which is incredible. I also saw that they made him cut the length. Oh, yeah, the waitress who was practicing politics? She became his wife.
    It's hard to believe that this song came out in 1973. Where have all those years gone? The kids are grown and gone. The grandkids have been born and are nearly grown.My hair is grey, what there is left, and I feel like going to a bar and slowly getting stoned. Maybe listening to some live music simply because "I'm in the mood for a melody."
   From the keyboard of life, I'm CE Wills.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Shadowgun: Crushing The Driller On Level 4

      Hey, everyone. Let's talk about the game called Shadowgun, the I-Pad game with which I have a love-hate relationship. Most of you who made it past the evil Cyber Lobster are doubtless locked in a death struggle with the Driller at the end of level 4. At this point you have been in the cave for a long time. The Driller breaks through the rock wall and chases you through the tunnel as you try to shoot out the green lights which slows the Driller down. If you are slick enough to shoot out all the lights and emerge from the cave, a rolling door crashes on the Driller and crushes his aggravating carcass. I have tried and failed to beat the Driller at least 250 times. I hate the Driller to the heights and depths my soul can reach. I hate it like a plague. I hate it with intensity of feeling. I hate it like a rich man hates taxes. Excuse me, I got carried away.       We had a big dinner here at the green retreat and my friend Trevor was ...

Faerie In a Glass Jar

    Hey, everyone. Sometimes gaming can be high-pressure. Take tonight, for instance. I was playing the excellent puzzle game titled 4 Elements #2. I have already done a review of it so I won't attempt to do so again. You have to match symbols and use 'power-ups' to get molten lava to flow around a board and bring life back to a faerie world. Cool. That's what I do. I'm into it. There are also a variety of mini-puzzles such as hidden objects and even putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Hey, when I get in trouble I call Carley.     Anyway, tonight, Carley wasn't around when a crisis struck. I was confronted with a faerie in a glass jar. She was crying for help. She said that she was running out of air. Every minute or two she would rattle the jar. In order to free her, I had to find all these objects and use them. Like there were some missing books. Then there was the pieces of a torch. When I found them I could light all the candles. I found the pieces of ...

You're Aiming the Missile Where?

    Hey, everyone, out there in game-land. The number 1 game on the friendly neighborhood app store is Call of Duty: Strike Team . No wonder, because it is a terrific game. The farther I play, the cooler it gets. But before I get to that, what are all these numbers indicating on my gun? Has to be some sort of ammo indicator for the clips, I guess. either that or some of my compadres has trouble doing his math homework. Whatever.     Hey. Check out the picture of me hitching a ride on an enemy truck so that my team can infiltrate a missile silo. Do you like the face mask? I bought it at a store called Fashions by Bane. Ha, ha. (Batman Reference) On this mission, my team was assisted by a Russian Spetsnaz squad. How's that for detente, comrade? These Spetsnaz guys make everything fun. What I mean is this. We shoot bunches of enemies and get into the bowels of the silo. We get to the gantry where the missile is (Pictured above) and we see that the rad...