Days of Music Passed

I used to like Billy Joel.

Oh, yes, I can hear the gasps and hisses at the words, used to.

I have the first few of his highly successful albums. But that’s the problem: his albums and singles were so successful they were played almost constantly “back in the day.”

However, “back in the day” continues into the present.

I can’t tell you how many weddings I have attended in which “Just the Way You Are” was the bride and groom’s first dance song. In fact, that song alone has been played so many times, hearing it actually makes me nauseous.

If it were just one song, I could deal with that. But every single, it seemed, became a hit. And every hit was played ad nauseum on the radio. Even without listening to ’70s and ’80s stations, it’s a rare day I don’t hear a Billy Joel song on the radio.

Any song played repeatedly becomes tiresome. It takes several years without hearing it for nostalgia to kick in, so that a song, once liked, that has outworn its welcome, becomes a pleasant memory. Even a band that has never recorded a song I didn’t like (The Moody Blues) has one song that continues to be played far too often (“I’m Just a Singer in a Rock n Roll Band”). It has reached the point where I can no longer bear to hear it. But that song, along with Billy Joel’s hits, have yet to reach the point where they’re no longer played. So nostalgia can’t kick in.

It isn’t that I don’t like anything of Billy Joel’s. My favorite album of his is Nylon Curtain. I have two favorite Billy Joel singles: “Goodnight Saigon” and “Always a Woman.”

But even with the favorites, there’s a problem.

“Goodnight Saigon” is very sad for personal reasons. It brings home the aftermath of the Vietnam War that I saw my brother go through.

“Always a Woman” is a sweet, singable melody. But have you ever listened to the words?

I’m not sure if Billy is singing about a particular former  lover or about “Everywoman”. It speaks to me of the latter. And as I listen to the words, I’m ticking off all the things I don’t do. I’m not like that woman. If you listen closely, all of the things he’s letting go about her because “She’s always a woman to me,” make her sound like an absolute witch with a capital B.

 Pretty as the song is, I can’t imagine any woman feeling complemented by the words.

Maybe I look too closely at song lyrics.

“Just enjoy the song!”

But the words nag: If you’re female, this is you.

To which I say, Anyone ready for a little “Nights in White Satin?”