At the center of this narrative are two characters. One is the titular “uptown girl”, with the uptown adjective basically meaning that she is from a well-to-do, classy background. Meanwhile the singer himself is a “downtown man” which...
Billy Joel grew up in a Jewish household and has also dabbled in Christianity as a youth. But by and large he is recognized as an atheist, which is interesting given the religious undertone of this track. But that...
“Piano Man” is actually an autobiographical piece based on a particular juncture in Billy Joel’s life and career. At the time, he was working as a “piano man”, i.e. a lounge musician, in Los Angeles. And...