Billy Joel, born William Martin Joel on May 9, 1949, in the Bronx, is a celebrated American singer, pianist and songwriter.
He grew up in Hicksville, Long Island, introduced to classical music early on.
In the late 1960s, he played with the Hassles and later, the duo Attila. In 1971, after a challenging contract with Family Productions, Joel’s live song “Captain Jack” impressed Columbia Records.
His debut album for them, “Piano Man” (1973), contained the iconic title track. Several acclaimed albums followed, like “The Stranger” (1977) which became Columbia’s best-seller.
Joel’s music in the 1980s included videos and socially aware lyrics and he also ventured into classical compositions.
He was honored with multiple awards, including an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2014.
In this article I have selected the best quotes by Billy Joel.
Best Billy Joel Quotes
Honesty is such a lonely word. Everyone is so untrue… ~ Billy Joel.
There’s an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin. ~ Billy Joel.
Take risks. Take chances. Don’t be afraid. You gotta go into life brave. ~ Billy Joel.
I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection. ~ Billy Joel.
Musicians want to be the loud voice for so many quiet hearts. ~ Billy Joel.
You can’t go the distance with too much resistance. ~ Billy Joel.
I don’t care what consequence it brings, I have been a fool for lesser things. ~ Billy Joel.
My songs are like my kids. ~ Billy Joel.
Honesty is the best part of any art form. If you don’t have that, you’re kidding yourself and your listener. ~ Billy Joel.
I’m in a New York state of mind. ~ Billy Joel.
You can get what you want or you can just get old. ~ Billy Joel.
Like a boxer in a title fight, you have to walk in that ring alone. ~ Billy Joel.
If I ever reach heaven I expect to find three wonders there: first, to meet some I had not thought to see there; second, to miss some I had expected to see there; and third, the greatest wonder of all, to find myself there. ~ Billy Joel.
You can speak your mind but not on my time. ~ Billy Joel.
Rock and roll cola wars, I can’t take it any more. ~ Billy Joel.
They say that these are not the best of times, but they’re the only times I’ve ever known. ~ Billy Joel.
Some love is just a lie of the heart, the cold remains of what began with a passionate heart. ~ Billy Joel.
Even when I stop performing or stop making records I won’t stop being creative. Songwriting is a good outlet. ~ Billy Joel.
You can pay Uncle Sam with all your overtime, is that all you get for your money? ~ Billy Joel.
I can’t remember faces, don’t remember names, but after awhile and a thousand miles it all becomes the same. ~ Billy Joel.
Top Billy Joel Quotes
I’m carrying the weight of all the useless junk and modern man accumulates. ~ Billy Joel.
I have a theory that the only original things we ever do are mistakes. ~ Billy Joel.
This is the time to remember cause it will not last forever. These are the days to hold onto cause we won’t although we’ll want to. ~ Billy Joel.
I’ve crashed my car three times. ~ Billy Joel.
It’s okay if you mess up. You should give yourself a break. ~ Billy Joel.
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes; I’m afraid it’s time for goodbye again. ~ Billy Joel.
I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music. ~ Billy Joel.
Inspiring Billy Joel Quotes
Forced to recognize our inhumanity, our reason coexists with our insanity. And though we choose between reality and madness, it’s either sadness or euphoria. ~ Billy Joel.
Drank a lot of take home pay. ~ Billy Joel.
I would not leave you in your times of trouble. We never could have come this far. I took the good times, I’ll take the bad times, I’ll take you just the way you are. ~ Billy Joel.
She’s the quiet type who’s into heavy metal. ~ Billy Joel.
I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. ~ Billy Joel.
No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music. ~ Billy Joel.
There are people who have lost every trace of human kindness. ~ Billy Joel.
I’ve learned to dance with a hand in my pants. ~ Billy Joel.
This is our moment, here at the cross-roads of time. Time is relentless and as the past disappears, we’re on the verge of all things new. ~ Billy Joel.
I took a fresh pack of Luckies, a mint called Sen-Sen, my old man’s Trojans. ~ Billy Joel.
We drown our doubts in dry champagne and soothe our souls with fine cocaine. I don’t know why I even care, we get so high and get nowhere. ~ Billy Joel.
Popular Billy Joel Quotes
Where have you been hanging out lately honey? You can’t dress trashy ’til you spend a lot of money. ~ Billy Joel.
It’s alright, you can afford to lose a day or two. ~ Billy Joel.
I believe there is a time for meditation in cathedrals of our own. ~ Billy Joel.
Say goodbye to the oldies, but goodies, because the good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems. ~ Billy Joel.
What will it take for you to believe in me, the way that I believe in you? ~ Billy Joel.
Everyone is a hypocrite in one sense or another and I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. ~ Billy Joel.
You’ve got your passion. You’ve got your pride. But don’t you know that only fools are satisfied? Dream on, but don’t imagine they’ll all come true. ~ Billy Joel.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. ~ Billy Joel.
You want to give people a reason to hate my guts more? I’m making more money. ~ Billy Joel.
I don’t want some pretty face to tell me pretty lies, all I want is someone to believe. ~ Billy Joel.
I am no longer afraid of becoming lost, because the journey back always reveals something new, and that is ultimately good for the artist. ~ Billy Joel.
I once believed in causes, too. Had my pointless point of view. Life went on no matter who was wrong or right. ~ Billy Joel.
More than art, more than literature, music is universally accessible. ~ Billy Joel.
We’re only human, we’re supposed to make mistakes. ~ Billy Joel.
Like family, we are tied to each other. This is what all good musicians understand. ~ Billy Joel.
There ain’t much future for a man who works the sea, there ain’t no island left for islanders like me. ~ Billy Joel.
You may be wrong, but you may be right. ~ Billy Joel.
Famous Billy Joel Quotes
People in music lie, but they don’t expect you to believe them. People in Television actually expect you to believe the lies. ~ Billy Joel.
You’ll learn more from your accidents than anything that you could ever learn at school. ~ Billy Joel.
Don’t wait for answers, just take your chances. Don’t ask me why. ~ Billy Joel.
Do what you love, and you’ll always love what you do. ~ Billy Joel.
My friends and I are crazy. That’s the only thing that keeps us sane! ~ Billy Joel.
I have to thank my mother for paying for the piano lessons for all those years. ~ Billy Joel.
I’ve crashed my car three times. ~ Billy Joel.
I’ve played all kinds of places, laid all kinds of girls. ~ Billy Joel.
I’m sure you have some cosmic rationale, but here you are with your faith and your Peter Pan advice. ~ Billy Joel.
Videos destroyed the vitality of rock and roll. Before that, music said, Listen to me. Now it says, Look at me. ~ Billy Joel.
I’m not sure about life after this; god knows I’m not a spiritual man. ~ Billy Joel.
She can kill with her smile, she can wound with her eyes. ~ Billy Joel.
Sergeant O’Leary is walking the beat, at night he becomes a bartender. ~ Billy Joel.
I’ve reached the age where competence is a turn-on. ~ Billy Joel.
Hot funk, cold punk, even if it’s old junk, it’s still rock and roll to me. ~ Billy Joel.
It should be easy for a man who’s strong to say he’s sorry or admit when he’s wrong. ~ Billy Joel.
Only the good die young. ~ Billy Joel.
In every heart there is a room, A sanctuary safe and strong, To heal the wounds from lovers past, Until a new one comes along. ~ Billy Joel.
If you are not doing what you love, you are wasting your time. ~ Billy Joel.
Working too hard can give you a heart-attack. ~ Billy Joel.
I’ve passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage. I found that just surviving was a noble fight. ~ Billy Joel.
Inspirational Billy Joel Quotes
They say there’s a heaven for those who wait, some say it’s better I say it ain’t. ~ Billy Joel.
So I would choose to be with you, That’s if the choice were mine to make, But you can make decisions too, And you can have this heart to break. ~ Billy Joel.
We passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapes. ~ Billy Joel.
As long as there are memories, yesterday remains. As long as there is hope, tomorrow awaits. As long as there is friendship, today is beautiful. ~ Billy Joel.
They are sharing a drink called loneliness. ~ Billy Joel.
In hell there’s a big hotel where the bar just closed and the windows never opened. No phone so you can’t call home, and the TV works, but the clicker is broken. ~ Billy Joel.
I am, as I’ve said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary. ~ Billy Joel.
She’s got a smile that heals me. ~ Billy Joel.
In a way, we are magicians. We are alchemists, sorcerers and wizards. We are a very strange bunch. But there is great fun in being a wizard. ~ Billy Joel.
Call me a joker, call me a fool, right at this moment I’m totally cool. ~ Billy Joel.
We all end in the ocean. We all start in the streams. We’re all carried along, by the river of dreams. ~ Billy Joel.
I don’t want clever conversation, I never want to work that hard, I just want someone I can talk to, I want you just the way you are. ~ Billy Joel.
So these were the 89 top Billy Joel quotes and lyrics (the Piano Man).
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Tim Grover quotes and Christopher Walken quotes.
