What song was written and performed by Billy Joel to underscore the plight of fishermen on Long Island?
"city of that name during his tour in 1987, and ""The Downeaster Alexa"", written to underscore the plight of fishermen on Long Island who are barely able to make ends meet. Another well-known single from the album is the ballad ""And So It Goes"" (#37 in late 1990). The song was originally written in 1983, around the time Joel was writing songs for ""An Innocent Man""; but ""And So It Goes"" did not fit that album's retro theme, so it was held back until ""Storm Front"". Joel said in a 1996 Masterclass session in Pittsburgh that ""Storm Front"" was a"
"Tour"" with ""No Man's Land"". No Man's Land (Billy Joel song) ""No Man's Land"" is a single by Billy Joel. It was the third single from his 1993 album ""River of Dreams"". The song is about the growth of suburbia and its negative environmental and social aspects. It presumably refers somewhat specifically to Long Island (the line about ""lots more to read about Lolita and suburban lust"" is an indirect reference to Amy Fisher). It was the first song performed on ""Late Show with David Letterman"" in August 1993. All songs written by Billy Joel. Joel often opened concerts on"
"No Man's Land (Billy Joel song) ""No Man's Land"" is a single by Billy Joel. It was the third single from his 1993 album ""River of Dreams"". The song is about the growth of suburbia and its negative environmental and social aspects. It presumably refers somewhat specifically to Long Island (the line about ""lots more to read about Lolita and suburban lust"" is an indirect reference to Amy Fisher). It was the first song performed on ""Late Show with David Letterman"" in August 1993. All songs written by Billy Joel. Joel often opened concerts on the 1994 ""River of Dreams"
"an expensive summer colony for the affluent (""There ain't no Island left for Islanders like me""). The lyrics reference Block Island Sound, Montauk, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Gardiners Bay, amongst other locations. While the song is about a fictional person, it decries the plight of the Long Island Baymen (known locally as Bubbies). The Baymen represent a dying breed of people who, like small farmers, work with the environment to provide for their families, men and women forced out of their livelihoods by industrial ""factory"" overfishing destroying the traditional fishing grounds as well as the creep of urban society and"
"Perlman. The song is sung in the persona of an impoverished fisherman off Long Island and the surrounding waters who, like many of his fellow men, is finding it increasingly hard to make ends meet and keep ownership of his boat, a type known as a downeaster. The fisherman sings about the depletion of the fish stocks (""I know there's fish out there, but where God only knows"") and the environmental regulations (""Since they told me I can't sell no stripers"") which make it hard for men like him to survive, especially with the conversion of his home island into"
"government regulation. Joel was always sympathetic to the hard working men who worked the sea, even getting arrested during a protest supporting the Baymen. At one point Joel had underwritten a plan by his young boat captain to use his boat (""Alexa Ray"", a 46' custom downeaster) as a commercial fishing and charter fishing operation. As the two developed the plan, it became increasingly clear that the challenges facing a small commercial operation were greater than he had imagined. The idea was scrapped. It was not long after that this song came together. ""Alexa"" is the name of Billy Joel's"
"the song, it was titled ""Levittown"", after the Long Island town right next to Hicksville, where Joel had grown up. He had originally written a chord progression and lyrics for the song, but struggled for a topic for the song. Joel remembered reading about the decline of the steel industry in the Lehigh Valley, which includes the cities of both Bethlehem and Allentown. While the steel industry was based in Bethlehem with none of it in Allentown, Joel titled the song ""Allentown"" because it sounded better and was easier to find rhymes for. Although Joel started writing the song in"
"Goodnight Saigon ""Goodnight Saigon"" is a song written by Billy Joel, originally appearing on his 1982 album ""The Nylon Curtain"", about the Vietnam War. It depicts the situation and attitude of United States Marines beginning with their military training on Parris Island and then into different aspects of Vietnam combat. The theme of ""Goodnight Saigon"" is the poor treatment Vietnam War veterans received. The lyrics are about Marines in battle bonding together, fighting their fears and trying to figure out how to survive. The singer, a United States Marine, sings of ""we"" rather than ""I,"" emphasizing that the Marines are"
"Cold Spring Harbor (album) Cold Spring Harbor is the debut studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on November 1, 1971 by Family Productions. ""Cold Spring Harbor"" was named after a hamlet of the same name in the Town of Huntington, New York. It is located on Long Island Sound near Joel's hometown. The front cover was photographed at Harbor Road in Cold Spring Harbor. His song ""Tomorrow Is Today"" drew from his period of depression and hospitalization the year before. Joel later released live versions of ""She's Got a Way"" and ""Everybody Loves You Now"", first included"
"the struggles of Long Island fishermen. Joel is also referenced in her father's 1989 song ""Leningrad"" (with lyrics: ""...He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced...""), in which ""He"" refers to a Russian man who became a circus clown after being in the Red Army. Joel is known for her melodic song writing, and has noted that her musical upbringing with her father gave her a ""unique inside-peek into the songwriting process,"" and ""It's no wonder I write music in the same way (my father) does: melody first, and lyrics second."" Joel said that by age 15 she was finishing"
"has also been performed and recorded by Alison Krauss and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The song is about story of a former slave which emphasizes difficulties of the everyday life at the time. Catfish John ""Catfish John"" is a song written by Bob McDill and Allen Reynolds, and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Russell. It was released in November 1972 as the fourth single from the album, ""Catfish John""/""Chained"". The song is credited with propelling Bob McDill into the front ranks of country songwriters. The song has also been performed by Jerry Garcia (Jerry Garcia Band, Old &"
"recorded by many artists since it was written. The Cliffs of Baccalieu ""The Cliffs of Baccalieu"" is a Newfoundland song written by Jack Withers (1899-1964). Many fisherman from Newfoundland spent their summers fishing on the Labrador coast. This song depicts a tense incident for a ship coming home from Labrador on its way to either Carbonear or St. John's with its fishing crew. The ship is caught in a gale as it nears Baccalieu Island. The vessel in the song is obviously a schooner, and it would have been burdened by a full load of salt cod caught along the"
"Los Angelenos ""Los Angelenos"" is a song written by Billy Joel that was first released on his 1974 album ""Streetlife Serenade"". A live version was released on the 1981 album ""Songs in the Attic"". At the time he wrote ""Los Angelenos"" the Long Island-raised Joel was living in Los Angeles, California. The lyrics describe Joel's impressions there. Authors Don and Jeff Breithaupt suggest that the song reflects the ""Left Coast displacement"" he was feeling at the time. Joel biographer Hank Bordowitz similarly describes ""Los Angelenos"" as showing ""that Billy was beginning to feel a bit homesick."" The lyrics to ""Los"
"Pressure (Billy Joel song) ""Pressure"" is a synthesizer-driven song from 1982 by Billy Joel about the pressure of creating and the pressure of being a provider. The song was a single from the album ""The Nylon Curtain"". In ""Night School"", a show airing on MTV in 1982 that ran roughly a half-hour long, in which he answers questions posed by audience members, Billy Joel reveals that the pressure he was talking about in the song was something along the lines of writing pressure and pressure to provide. The PBS children's TV series ""Sesame Street"" and New York PBS affiliate WNET"
"Michael Row the Boat Ashore ""Michael, Row the Boat Ashore"" (or ""Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore"", or ""Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore"", or ""Michael Row That Gospel Boat"") is an African-American spiritual. It was first noted during the American Civil War at St. Helena Island, one of the Sea Islands of South Carolina. It is cataloged as Roud Folk Song Index No. 11975. It was sung by former slaves whose owners had abandoned the island before the Union navy arrived to enforce a blockade. Charles Pickard Ware was an abolitionist and Harvard graduate who had come to supervise the plantations"
"No More Fish, No Fishermen No More Fish, No Fishermen is a song whose lyrics were composed by Canadian folklorist and singer Shelley Posen, about the demise of the Newfoundland fishery. Although it was written in 1996, it is often assumed to be a traditional song. The tune is based upon ""Coal Not Dole"" by Kay Sutcliffe and Paul Abrahams, who wrote the lyrics and melody respectively, about the death of the coal industry in northern England. ""Coal Not Dole"" was made popular by Coope Boyes and Simpson on their ""Funny Old World"" album, and is in turn based on"
"The Longest Time ""The Longest Time"" is a doo-wop single by Billy Joel. The song was released as a single in 1984 as the fourth single from the 1983 album ""An Innocent Man"". Following the theme of the album in paying tribute to Joel's musical influences, the song is presented in the style of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. It reached number 14 on the ""Billboard"" Hot 100 and number 1 on ""Billboard""s Adult Contemporary chart. In the United Kingdom the song reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. The song features Joel on lead vocals and all backing"
"at #43 on the Billboard year-end Hot 100 chart for 1983. In New Zealand it Hit Number 1 for four weeks and was one of the country's anthems of the year. The song later appeared on Joel's ""Greatest Hits: Volume II"" (1985), ""Концерт"" (1987), """" (2000), ""The Essential Billy Joel"" (2001), ""12 Gardens Live"" (2006) and """" (2011) albums. The song's theme is of the resolve of those coping with the decline of the American manufacturing industry and the emergence of the Rust Belt in the latter part of the 20th century. More specifically, it depicts the depressed, blue-collar livelihood"
"on St. Helena Island from 1862 to 1865, and he wrote down the song in music notation as he heard the freedmen sing it. Ware's cousin William Francis Allen reported in 1863 that the former slaves sang the song as they rowed him in a boat across Station Creek. The song was first published in 1867 in ""Slave Songs of the United States"" by Allen, Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison. The oldest published version of the song runs in a series of unrhymed couplets: <poem>Michael row de boat ashore, Hallelujah! Michael boat a gospel boat, Hallelujah! I wonder where my"
"The Cliffs of Baccalieu ""The Cliffs of Baccalieu"" is a Newfoundland song written by Jack Withers (1899-1964). Many fisherman from Newfoundland spent their summers fishing on the Labrador coast. This song depicts a tense incident for a ship coming home from Labrador on its way to either Carbonear or St. John's with its fishing crew. The ship is caught in a gale as it nears Baccalieu Island. The vessel in the song is obviously a schooner, and it would have been burdened by a full load of salt cod caught along the Labrador coast. ""The Cliffs of Baccalieu"" has been"
"in the shipyards there were from the backwoods of the South, ""subnormal swamp and mountain folk"" whom the locals described as ""vermin""; elsewhere, they were called ""squatters"". They were accused of having loose morals, high illegitimacy rates, and of allowing prostitution to thrive in their ""Hillbilly Havens"". The trailers themselves – sometimes purchased second- or third-hand – were often unsightly, unsanitary and dilapidated, causing communities to zone them away from the more desirable areas, which meant away from schools, stores, another necessary facilities, often literally on the other side of the railroad tracks. Billy Ray Cyrus' song ""Burn Down the"
"Greenland Whale Fisheries ""Greenland Whale Fisheries"" is a traditional sea song. In most of the versions collected from oral sources, the song opens up giving a date for the events that it describes (usually between 1823 and 1853). However, the song is actually older than this and a form of it was published as a ballad before 1725. The song tells of a whaling expedition that leaves for Greenland. The lookout spots a ""whalefish"", and harpoon boats are launched. However, the whale strikes the boat with its tail, capsizing it, and several men are killed. The captain grieves over losing"
"his men, but especially for having lost his prey. He then orders the ship to sail for home, calling Greenland a ""dreadful place."" Like most traditional songs, ""Greenland Whale Fisheries"" exists in different versions. Some change details (such as the date of the expedition), and others add or remove verses. Some modern versions, including the ones recorded by Theodore Bikel, The Chad Mitchell Trio, and later by The Pogues, flip the captain's expression of grief to make him regret losing his catch even more than losing his crew. In the version popularized by The Weavers and Peter, Paul and Mary,"
"Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer and pianist. Commonly nicknamed the ""Piano Man"", he has been making music since the 1960s, releasing popular albums throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He was born in 1949 in The Bronx, New York, and grew up on Long Island, New York, both places that influenced his music. After dropping out of high school, Joel took part in two short-lived bands, The Hassles and Attila, before signing a record deal with Family Productions and kicking off a solo career in 1971 with his first release, ""Cold"
"they were denied assistance; this resulted in the famous headline on the ""New York Daily News"", """". Joel stated that people in Los Angeles, including former New Yorkers, were deriding New York for its troubles. Joel says he thought, ""If New York's going to go down the tubes, I'm going to go back to New York."" He explains that the song depicts the apocalypse occurring in New York, ""the skyline tumbling down, this horrendous conflagration happening in New York City."" Joel stated that the song is titled ""Miami 2017"" because many New Yorkers retire to Miami and the narrator is"
"Philadelphia. Joel and his touring band from 1971-1972 (Larry Russell on bass guitar, Al Hertzberg on lead guitar, Rhys Clark on drums) performed 12 songs, seven from Cold Spring Harbor and five songs he had not yet recorded. Some of the songs were later recorded for the ""Piano Man"" LP, including ""The Ballad of Billy the Kid"", ""Travelin' Prayer"", and ""Captain Jack"". ""Captain Jack"" was immediately embraced by WMMR's audience. For the next year and a half, the station kept its live version of the song in regular rotation. Listeners called in, wanting to know where they could find the"
"aesthetically significant"". ""Piano Man"" has been used in a TV commercial from the Railway company NS in The Netherlands in 2017. Piano Man (song) ""Piano Man"" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. His first single in North America, it was included on Joel's 1973 album of the same name and later released as a single on November 2, 1973. The song is sung from Joel's point-of-view working as a piano player at a bar, reminiscing on his experiences working there and the people that he encounters. ""Piano Man"" is based on Joel's real-life experiences working"
"which to draw. His song ""The Old Chisholm Trail"" was featured in the end credits of ""The Grandest Enterprise Under God"" episode (Episode 5) of the TV documentary miniseries ""The West"". He was included in Robert Crumb's series of ""Heroes of Blues, Jazz and Country"" trading cards. He is credited as being the first person to sing ""The Preacher and the Slave"", a song by Joe Hill, in public. He was a lifelong member of the Industrial Workers of the World. In the early 1920s he worked and organized union men in the oil fields of west Texas, where he"
"Rock Island Line ""Rock Island Line"" is an American folk song. Ostensibly about the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it appeared as a folk song as early as 1929. The first recorded performance of ""Rock Island Line"" was by inmates of the Arkansas Cummins State Farm prison in 1934. The beginning of the most popular version of the song tells the story of a train operator who smuggles pig iron through a toll gate by claiming all he had on board was livestock, but this episode was a later addition not present in the traditional, 1929 version. The song's"
"of residents of Allentown, Pennsylvania in the wake of Bethlehem Steel's decline and eventual closure. The introductory rhythm of the song is reminiscent of the sound of a rolling mill converting steel ingots into I-beams or other shapes. Such a sound was commonly heard throughout South Bethlehem when the Bethlehem Steel plant was in operation from 1857 through 1995. Joel regarded the song as being ""hopeful"" towards the plight of the unemployed steel workers. Even though the lyrics tell a sad tale, the singer is saying ""We're not moving out or giving up...We're going to try."" When Joel started writing"
"in 1811; Afro-Caribbeans rowing a boat in Antigua ca.1814; Black stevedores loading a steamboat in New Orleans in 1841; and a Euro-American crew hauling halyards on a clipper-brig out of New York ca.1840s. Other such multi-job songs were: ""Round the Corn(er), Sally"", ""Fire Down Below"", ""Johnny Come Down to Hilo"", ""Hilo, Boys, Hilo"", ""Tommy's Gone Away"", ""The Sailor Likes His Bottle-O"", ""Highland Laddie"", ""Mudder Dinah"", ""Bully in the Alley"", ""Hogeye Man"", ""Good Morning, Ladies, All"", ""Pay Me the Money Down"", ""Alabama, John Cherokee"", ""Yankee John, Stormalong"", and ""Heave Away (My Johnnies)"". While the non-sailor occupations noted above were mainly within"
"lineup for some of Joel's classic albums of the 1970s and 1980s including ""Turnstiles"", ""The Stranger"", ""52nd Street"", ""Glass Houses,"" and ""Songs in the Attic"". In 2014, Cannata, DeVitto, and Javors reunited and performed a short set of Joel's songs at the ceremony during which they were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, (with Stegmeyer, posthumously), primarily for their work with Joel. They officially formed a band, The Lords of 52nd Street, which plays faithful renditions of the original Joel recordings. David Clark of the Joel tribute band Songs in the Attic plays piano and provides lead"
"than one hundred short stories and copyrighted four plays. Captain Jack's written accounts of life on the frontier are noted for their true representation of the real dangers of harsh pioneer life. Many of Captain Jack's books and poems are still performed and recorded as songs, such as ""The Death of Custer"", ""Rattlin' Joe's Prayer"" (which became the basis, reset as narrated by a soldier, of the song ""Deck of Cards"") where a miner preaches a sermon from playing cards, and ""California Joe and the Girl Trapper"". His poem ""Only a Miner Killed"" has been cited as the basis for"