Thursday Thirteen (Vol. 43)

Thirteen Billy Joel Songs That Refer to a Place



I was about to steal this idea from someone and find 13 songs from my song library that share a word or a theme or something and then I realized that just in Billy Joel songs alone I could find 13 that refer to a specific place. And since "The Stranger" was the only 8-track my first boyfriend with a car had, Billy Joel always holds special memories for me!

1.    Stop in Nevada - kinda like my husband who can't travel west of the Mississippi without the trip somehow routing through Las Vegas.

2.   Vienna - international!

3.    Leningrad - even more international!

4.    Say Goodbye to Hollywood - after my few hours spent there earlier this summer, doesn't seem like a difficult thing to do

5.    New York State of Mind - I don't think Billy Joel was thinking of the 22 years I spent growing up near Utica, NY

6.    Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) - I don't know what the Miami reference is, but love the song.

7.    Zanzibar - international AND exotic!

8.    Allentown - I've been told by someone who travels there for business that the people there are kind of over the whole Billy Joel song thing.

9.    The Great Wall of China - Billy Joel goes Asian.

10.    Goodnight Saigon - and more Asian still.

11.    Summer, Highland Falls - wherever it is, I think we were all there in our teen years.

12.   Big Man on Mulberry Street - getting to the end of the list...stretching for place names.

13.    The River of Dreams - another big stretch, but a place nonetheless.

Di