Billy Joel
The Bridge (1986)
1. Running on Ice
2. This is the Time
3. A Matter of Trust
4. Modern Woman
5. Baby Grand
6. Big Man on Mulberry Street
7. Temptation
8. Code of Silence (feat. Cyndi Lauper)
9. Getting Closer
Running on Ice
(Billy Joel)
There's a lot of tension in this town
I know it's building up inside of me
I've got all the symptoms and the side effects
Of city life anxiety
I could never understand why the urban attitude
Is so superior
In a world of high rise ambition
Most people's motives are ulterior
Sometimes I feel as though I'm running on ice
Paying the price too long
Kind of get the feeling that I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong
I'm a cosmopolitan sophisticate
Of culture and intelligence
The culmination of technology
And civilized experience
But I'm carrying the weight of all the useless junk
A modern man accumulates
I'm a statistic in a system
That a civil servant dominates
And all that means is that I'm running on ice
Caught in a vise so strong
I'm slipping and sliding, cause I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong
You've got to run
You've got to run
As fast as I can climb
A new disaster every time I turn around
As soon as I get one fire put out
There's another building burning down
They say this highway's going my way
But I don't know where it's taking me
It's a bad waste, a sad case, a rat race
It's breaking me
I get no traction cause I'm running on ice
It's taking me twice as long
I get a bad reaction cause I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong
You've got to run
You've got to run
Running on ice
Running on ice
Running on ice
This is the Time
(Billy Joel)
We walked on the beach beside that old hotel
They're tearin' it down now, but it's just as well
I haven't shown you everything a man can do
So stay with me, baby
I've got plans for you
This is the time to remember
'Cause it will not last forever
These are the days to hold on to
'Cause we won't, although we'll want to
This is the time,
But time is gonna change
You've given me the best of you
But now I need the rest of you
Did you know that before you came into my life
It was some kind of miracle that I survived
Some day we will both look back
And have to laugh
We lived through a lifetime
And the aftermath
This is the time to remember
'Cause it will not last forever
These are the days to hold on to
'Cause we won't, although we want to
This is the time,
But time is gonna change
I know we've got to move somehow
But I don't want to lose you now
Sometimes it's so easy
To let a day slip on by
Without even seeing each other at all
But this is the time you'll turn back to and so will I
And those will be days you can never recall
And so we embrace again
Behind the dunes
This beach is so cold on winter afternoons
But holding you close is like holding the summer sun
I'm warm from the memory of days to come
This is the time to remember
'Cause it will not last forever
These are the days to hold on to
'Cause we won't, although we'll want to
This is the time,
But time is gonna change
You've given me the best of you
But now I need the rest of you
A Matter of Trust
(Billy Joel)
Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
And they may not want it to end
But it will, it's just a question of when
I've lived long enough to have learned
The closer you get to the fire the more you get burned
But that won't happen to us
Because it's always been a matter of trust
I know you're an emotional girl
It took a lot for you to not lose your faith in this world
I can't offer you proof
But you're gonna face a moment of truth
It's hard when you're always afraid
You just recover when another belief is betrayed
So break my heart if you must
It's a matter of trust
You can't go the distance
With too much resistance
I know you have doubts
But for God's sake don't shut me out
This time you've got nothing to lose
You can take it, you can leave it
Whatever you choose
I won't hold back anything
And I'll walk away a fool or a king
Some love is just a lie of the mind
It's make believe until it's only a matter of time
And some might have learned to adjust
But then it never was a matter of trust
I'm sure you're aware love
We've both had our share of
Believing too long
When the whole situation was wrong
Some love is just a lie of the soul
A constant battle for the ultimate state of control
After you've heard lie upon lie
There can hardly be a question of why
Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
But that can't happen to us
Because it's always been a matter of trust
Modern Woman
(Billy Joel)
You see her sitting with her coffee and her paper
With her high top sneakers of Italian design
With a long cool stare she aggravates the tension
Makes up her face while she makes up her mind
Now you're in trouble, maybe she's an intellectual
What if she figures out you're not very smart
Or maybe she's the quiet type who's into heavy metal
Boy, you got to get it settled
Cause she's breaking your heart
Don't try to put on an act
You can't do that to a modern woman
And you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman
She looks sleek and she seems so professional
She's got a lot of confidence, it's easy to see
You want to make a move
But you feel so inferior
Cause under that exterior
Is someone who's free
She's got style and she's got her own money
So she's not another honey you can quickly disarm
She's got the eyes that make you realize
She won't be hypnotized by your usual charm
You've got your plan of attack
That won't attract the modern woman
When you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman
The time goes by and you're sharing an apartment
She says she loves you but she doesn't know why
In the morning she leaves you with your coffee and paper
It's a strange situation for an old fashioned guy
But times have changed
Things are not the same, baby
You overcame such a bad attitude
Rock and roll just used to be for kicks
And nowadays it's politics
And after 1986 what else could be new
You got to learn to relax
And face the facts of modern woman
And you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman
Baby Grand
(Billy Joel)
Late at night
When it's dark and cold
I reach out
For someone to hold
When I'm blue
When I'm lonely
She comes through
She's the only one who can
My baby grand
Is all I need
In my time
I've wandered everywhere
Around this world
She would always be there
Any day
Any hour
All it takes
Is the power in my hands
This baby grand's
Been good to me
I've had friends
But they slipped away
I've had fame
But it doesn't stay
I've made fortunes
Spent them fast enough
As for women
They don't last with just one man
But baby grand
Will stand by me
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
I've come far
From the life I strayed in
I've got scars
From those dives I played in
Now I'm home
And I'm weary
In my bones
Every dreary one night stand
But baby grand
Came home with me
Ever since this gig began
My baby grand's
Been good to me
Big Man on Mulberry Street
(Billy Joel)
Why can't I lay low
Why can't I say what I mean
Why don't I stay home
And get myself into some boring routine
Why can't I calm down
Why is it always a fight
I can't get unwound
Why do I throw myself into the night
I'm on the outside
I don't fit into the groove
Now I ain't a bad guy
So tell me what am I trying to prove
Why can't I cool out
Why don't I button my lip
Why do I lash out
Why is it I always shoot from the hip
I cruise for Houston to Canal street
A misfit and a rebel
I see the winos talking to themselves
And I can understand
Why is it everytime I go out
I always seem to get in trouble
I guess I made an impression on somebody
North of Hester and south of Grand
And so in my small way
I'm a big man on Mulberry street
I don't mean all day
Only at night when I'm light on my feet
What else have I got
That I'd be trying to hide
Maybe a blind spot
I haven't seen from the sensitive side
But you know in my own heart
I'm a big man on Mulberry street
I play the whole part
I leave a big tip with every receipt
I'm so romantic
I'm such a passionate man
Sometimes I panic
What if nobody finds out who I am
Temptation
(Billy Joel)
It's time for me to be on my way I know
I've got business to conduct and I've got places to go
But I can't help looking at her sleeping instead
Another morning I'll have trouble climbing out of this bed
Because - she's such a temptation
It's driving me crazy
And it's my fascination that's making me act this way
And I know what all of my friends say
They're afraid that I'm losing my touch
But she's such a temptation
I look so tired 'cause I don't get much sleep
And I've got too many commitments that are too hard too keep
And I try to be rational and I try to be wise
But it all gets blown to pieces when I look in her eyes
Because - she's such a temptation
And nothing can save me
Any my only salvation is tearing myself away
I know what all of my friends say:
There's a danger in wanting too much
She's such a temptation
I should be leaving, but I can't cut it loose
I have my reasons for resistance, but I have no excuse
And I lose my composure; I could use some restraint
I never claimed to be a hero, and I never said I was a saint
She's such a temptation
And it's driving me crazy
And it's my fascination that's making me act this way
And I can just hear all my friends say:
"Better watch out, you're losing your touch"
She's such a temptation
Yes she is
She's such a temptation
Yes she is
Yes she is
She's such a temptation
Code of Silence (feat. Cyndi Lauper)
(Billy Joel)
Everybody's got a million questions
Everybody wants to know the score
What you went through
It's something you
Should be over now
Everybody wants to hear the secrets
That you never told a soul before
And it's not that strange
Because it wouldn't change
What happened anyhow
But you swore to yourself a long time ago
There were some things that people never needed to know
This is one that you keep
That you bury so deep
No one can tear it out
And you can't talk about it
Because you're following a code of silence
You're never gonna lose the anger
You just deal with it a different way
And you can't talk about it
And isn't that a kind of madness
To be living by a code of silence
When you've really got a lot to say
You don't want to lose a friendship
There' s nothing that you have to hide
And a little dirt couldn't hurt no one anyway
And you still have a rage inside you
That you carry with certain pride
In the only part of a broken heart
That you could never save
But you've been through it once, yo know how it ends
You don't see the point of going through it again,
And this ain't the place, and this ain't the time,
And neither's any other day
So you can't talk about it
Because your following a code of silence
You're never gonna lose the anger
You just deal within it a different way
So you can't talk about it
And isn't that a kind of madness
To be living by a code of silence
When you've really got a lot to say
I know you well enough to tell you've got your reasons
That's not the kind of code you're inclined to break
Some things unknown are best left alone forever
And if a vow is what it takes
Haven't you paid for your mistakes
After the moment passes
And the impulse disappears
You can still hold back
Because you don't crack very easily
It's a time honored resolution
Because the danger is always near
It's with you now
But that ain't how it was supposed to be
And it's hard to believe after all these years
That it still gives you pain and it still brings tears
And you feel like a fool, because in spite of your rules
You've got a memory
But you can't talk about it
Because you're following a code of silence
You're never gonna lose the anger
You just deal with it a different way
But you can't talk about it
And isn't that a kind of madness
To be living by a code of silence
When you've really got a lot to say
Getting Closer
(Billy Joel)
I went searching for the truth
But in my innocence I found
All the con men and their acrobats
Who stomped me in the ground
If I count up their percentages
I know they're getting rich
But they haven't taken everything
Those paybacks are a bitch
Though I've lost quite a lot
I am still in control
They can keep what they've got
But they can't have my soul
And if I don't have this all worked out
Still I'm getting closer, getting closer
I still have far to go no doubt
But I'm getting closer, getting closer
What was ripped off by professionals
Is not all that it seems
While I must live up to contracts
I did not give up my dreams
If I see it as experience
It hasn't gone to waste
Lately all the missing pieces
Have been falling into place
And if I could go back and start over somehow
I would not change that much
Knowing what I know now
Though there have been sins
I will regret
Still I'm getting closer, getting closer
I don't have all the answers yet
But I'm getting closer, getting closer
I'm a mark for every shyster
From Topanga to Berlin
And I should have learned to kick them out
As soon as they crawled in
So to every bank in Switzerland
That stores my stolen youth
I'm alright because despite the laws
You cannot hide the truth
And although you will say
I am still too naive
But I have not lost faith
In the things I believe
And if I don't have this all worked out
Still I'm getting closer, getting closer
I still have far to go no doubt
But I'm still getting closer, getting closer