Billy Joel

Released: July 9, 1986

Songwriter: Billy Joel

Producer: Phil Ramone

Why can't I lay low?
Why can't I say what I mean?
Why don't I stay home
And get myself into some boring routine?

Why can't I calm down?
Why is it always a fight?
I can't get unwound
Why do I throw myself into the night?

I'm on the outside
I don't fit into a groove
Now, I ain't a bad guy
So tell me what am I trying to prove?

Why can't I cool out?
Why don't I button my lip?
Why do I lash out?
Why is it I always shoot from the hip?

I cruise from Houston to Canal Street, a misfit and a rebel
I see the winos talking to themselves and I can understand
Why is it everytime I go out I always seem to get in trouble?
I guess I made an impression on somebody north of Hester and South of Grand

And so in my small way
I'm a big man on Mulberry Street
I don't mean always
Only at night when I'm light on my feet

What else have I got
That I'd be trying to hide?
Maybe a blind spot
I haven't seen from the sensitive side?

But you know in my own heart
I'm a big man on Mulberry Street
I've play the whole part
I'll leave a big tip with every receipt

I'm so romantic
I'm such a passionate man
Sometimes I panic
What if nobody finds out who I am?

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

The Bridge

From the album

The Bridge (1986)

Billy Joel popular songs

Big Man on Mulberry StreetBilly Joel

Billy Joel

The Bridge