The New Piano Man
- Posted on January 26, 2007
- Viewed 267 times
- (3) comments
New Piano Man
By Billy Joel and Edward Sans Gillies III
(Regrets to Mr. Joel)
VERSE 1
It’s 10:45 on a Sunday morn
The regular crowd shuffles in
There’s an old man sitting next to me
Playing bass but his ear’s made of tin
He says,
“Son, I can’t play these new melodies
I’m not really sure how they go
Won’t you sing ‘Tis so sweet?’
– I know that one complete
But this new-fangled stuff has to go!”
Oh la la la, de de da
La la, de de da
CHORUS
Sing the old songs, New Piano Man
Sing or prepare to fight
Well we’re all in the mood
For a worship war
And you’ve got us feeling uptight
VERSE 2
Now John on guitar
Loves his power chords
But he only plays in E
And he’s quick with a joke
Or to light up his smoke
After church when no one can see
He says, “Ed, this just isn’t fulfilling me”
As the smile runs away from his face,
Well I’m sure
That I could play for Mercy Me
If I could get out of this place.
Oh la la la, de de da
La la, de de da
REPEAT CHORUS
VERSE 3
Now Paul is an old school hymnologist
Who sings sweet duets with his wife
He’s a whiner and crier,
Stirring strife in the choir
And probably will be for life
And the pastor
Has mastered church politics,
His associates are all nicely cloned
Yes, they’re sharing a think
That’s called phoniness
But it’s better than thinking alone.
REPEAT CHORUS
VERSE 4
It’s a pretty good crowd
For a Sunday morn
And an elder gives me the look
‘Cause he knows that they’ll seethe
If I don’t quickly sing
A song from the sacred hymnbook
And the piano
It sounds very synthesized
And the microphone rings
Loud and clear
And they sit in their pews
Slowly coming unglued
And say,
“Man, what are you doing here?”
Oh la la la, de de da
La la, de de da
CHORUS
Edward Gillies sent me some lyrics he wrote out of his experience as a worship leader. I've encouraged him also to record a demo of the song. It's based on Billy Joel's "Piano Man". I think you'll enjoy it!
Comments
if you want a Globally Recognized Avatar (the images next to your profile) get them here. Once you sign up, your picture will displayed on any website that supports gravitars.
Rob Grayson on Fri, January 26, 2007
Thanks for posting this, Todd. It’s great - definitely one to add to the repertoire…(especially if, like me, you’re a longtime Joel fan).
Rob
I_am_not on Fri, January 26, 2007
Love it. This would be good for a sound check song. Perhaps some passersby might take note of the lyrics.
Ladonna on Fri, January 26, 2007
Well, Todd, thank you for publishing this great new version of Billy’s song. Obviously, the writer is a very talented man who is in close touch with the real attitudes and latitudes of church members toward us as church musicians, as well as toward our music.
Ladonna
Page 1 of 1 pages
Post a Comment