Billy Joel

Released: October 19, 1989

Songwriter: Billy Joel

Producer: Mick Jones (Foreigner) Billy Joel

Well I see you in the morning
Putting on your pretty clothes
And I watch you do your makeup
Like they do in all those fashion shows

Then you turn to me so that I can see
If you put yourself together right
Then you go away and you're gone all day
But I know you're coming home tonight

And when you're home
Darling all you've got to be is you
But when in Rome do as the Romans do

Well it's alright if you're tired
When your day is done
You can see when you look at me
You're not the only one

It's a cold, cruel world for a working girl
But you can't let them see you cry
It's a fact of life, how a man and wife
Work full time to just get by

And when we're home
All it's gonna be is me and you
But when in Rome do as the Romans do

I've done some strange things I never thought I'd do before
But if the strain brings happiness
More or less

Then I don't mind masquerading
With all those other fools
I don't mind the games I'm playing
Because I've learned the rules

And when times are tough, I've got just enough
If you're standing right by my side
Darling more and more, I get hungry for
All the ways you keep me satisfied

Out on our own
There ain't nothing we can't get through
But when in Rome do as the Romans do

So I don't mind masquerading
With all those other fools
I don't mind the games I'm playing
Because I've learned the rules

It doesn't matter when we're home, all alone
All we've got to be is me and you
Out on our own, there ain't nothing that we can't get through
But when in Rome do as the Romans do

Swing that hammer and break that stone
(Like the Romans do)
Push those buttons and answer that phone
(Like the Romans do)

Coffee in the morning and martinis at night
(Like the Romans do)
Everybody's working up a big appetite
(Like the Romans do)

When in Rome do like the Romans do
(Like the Romans do)
When in Rome do like the Romans do
(Like the Romans do)
When in Rome do like the Romans do
(Like the Romans do)

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

Storm Front

From the album

Storm Front (1989)

Billy Joel popular songs

When in RomeBilly Joel

Billy Joel

Storm Front