Piano Man Quotes

Context

This line is from the song "Piano Man" by Billy Joel from the album Piano Man (1973).

Though it's become a standard for lounge singers, overly-enthusiastic karaoke patrons, and bar sing-alongs everywhere, this song started its life as a fictionalized retelling of Joel's experiences playing in a piano bar.

Joel himself is the piano man, playing under the fictitious name Bill Martin. And get this: every character depicted in the song was based on a real person he met at the bar.

"Sing us a song, you're the piano man" is a plea from the bar patrons, each of them living with a broken or unfulfilled dream. The bar patrons use the piano man's music as the escape they need to forget about their problems and shut out the world for a while. 

Nowadays we just binge-watch Netflix.

Where you've heard it

Walk into any piano bar in the world and you'll hear this song. It'll most likely be played by an exasperated pianist, who could play you Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff—anything other than "Piano Man"—but nooo, you just had to go and request it for the ten thousandth time.

If you haven't been to a piano bar in a while, turn on your local oldies station and you'll et an earful—from the radio and from your passengers screaming it at the top of their lungs.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Everyone knows this song, and odds are high if you sing it in a crowded room, you'll get a sing-along going in no time. After all, we're all in the mood for a melody.