Billy Joel

Released: August 8, 1983

Songwriter: Billy Joel

Producer: Phil Ramone

Let me tell you a story
About a woman and a man
Maybe you will find familiar
Maybe you won't understand

The man's name I don't remember
He was always Joe to me
But I can't forget the woman
She was always Christie Lee

He was working in a night club
That's where he played the saxophone
He used to fake the stock arrangements
He left the customers alone

But one night before the last song
About a quarter after three
He saw her standing at the coat check
And made his move on Christie Lee

Christie Lee, Christie Lee
Christie Lee, Christie Lee
Wooh, wooh

She was a nice piece of music
She had a rhythm all her own
He blew a solo like a blind man
She really dug his saxophone

She wanted more than just an encore
And he could play in every key
He left the stage and packed his alto
And took it home with Christie Lee

Oh I heard the man knew 'the bird' like the bible
You know the man could blow an educated axe
He couldn't see that Christie Lee was a woman
Who didn't need another lover
All she wanted was the sax

It took a while for him to notice
It took a while for him to see
He was never in control here
It was always Christie Lee

Christie Lee, Christie Lee
Christie Lee, Christie Lee
Wooh, wooh

Oh the man took a calculated gamble
Yes the man had the power to perform
But Christie Lee was more than he knew how to handle
She didn't need him as a man
All she wanted was the horn

They say that Joe became a wino
They say he always drinks alone
They say he stumbles like a blind man
They say he sold his saxophone

Even the band must face the music
That's what the moral is to me
The only time you hit the high notes
Is when you play for Christie Lee

Christie Lee, Christie Lee
Christie Lee, Christie Lee
Wooh
Christie Lee, Christie Lee

Christie Lee, Christie Lee
Christie Lee, Christie Lee
Ah, Christie Lee, Christie Lee

Christie Lee, Christie Lee

Billy Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American pianist, singer/songwriter, producer, and composer who ranks as one of the most iconic and influential artists from the mid to late 20th century.

He is the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, wrote a total of 121 songs that achieved 33 Top 40 hits in the US, a 6-time Grammy winner out of 23 nominations, and one of the best-selling recording artists of all-time with 150 million albums sold worldwide.

Joel has since continued to tour and sells out in stadiums globally. He also delved into classical music composition, arranging an album, Fantasies and Delusions released in 2001, opened a motorcycle shop on his native Long Island, and is now regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Among his numerous accolades, he was inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992, bestowed with the Kennedy Center Honors in 2013, and awarded the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by the Library of Congress in 2014.

more tracks from the album

An Innocent Man

From the album

An Innocent Man (1983)

Billy Joel popular songs

Christie LeeBilly Joel

Billy Joel

An Innocent Man