Piano Man

Words & Music:

Billy Joel

 

C    F/C     C   G7    C    F/C    C    G7

 

     C      Em/B       Am     C/G     F       C/E            D7    G

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday.  The regular crowd shuffles in.

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

 

C    F/C   C   G7  [2x]

 

He says, "Son can you play me a memory?  I'm not really sure how it goes.

But, it's sad and its sweet and I knew it complete

When I wore a younger man's clothes."

 

CHORUS:

Am    Am/G       D7/F#   F   Am Am/G       D7/F#     D7      G   G/F   C/E   G7/D

Da-da-da dee-dee da--------  Da-da dee-dee da----------  Dah-dum.

C         Em/B             Am     C/G  F         C/E    D7    G

Sing us a song, you're the piano man.  Sing us a song tonight.

Well, we're all in the mood for a melody and you've got us feeling alright.

 

C    F/C     C   G7    C    F/C    C    G7

 

Now Paul at the bar is a friend of mine, he gets me my drinks for free.

And he's quick with a joke or to light of your smoke.

But, there's some place that he'd rather be.

He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me." as the smile ran away from his face.

"Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star, if I could get out of this place."

 

CHORUS:

 

Now, Paul is a real estate novelist who never had time for a wife.

And he's talking with Davy, who's still in the Navy and probably will be for life.

And the waitress is practicing politics as the businessmen slowly get stoned.

Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness but it's better than drinking alone.

 

CHORUS:

 

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday and the manager gives me a smile.

'Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see

To forget about life for a while.

And 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?"