Released: July 27, 1970
Songwriter: Jon Small Billy Joel
Producer: Jon Small Billy Joel
[Verse 1]
Cast on a desert isle
Beside a cool green sea
Left our loaded bags
Another turn for me
Nothing but a wreck
Is lying very near
But I have a need
Will have to come from here
[Chorus]
And it's a strange place
To live my life in too
And it's a hard time
To start all over
Shipwrecked!
Abandoned!
Tear this castle down!
[Verse 2]
Lost on a dreary plain
We sigh alone, unclean
Left our loaded bags
Another turn for me
Closing books and wealth
The answers have to learn
Meaning where to stop
And watch the castle burn
[Chorus]
And it's a hard thing
To tell my secret too
And I've been so pressed
To give a message
How can I know?
Tell me man!
To tear this castle down!
[Slow interlude 1]
Mmm-hmm
Oh-oh!
When you find the time
Reach back into your mind
Tell me what you see
Are there pictures of me?
[Fast interlude 1]
I draw a circle round
The broken ruins there
You have let them twist your mind
And cut off all your hair
Please do not be truly hurtful
Tell me how you feel
Do you really like it, baby?
Are you being real?
[Slow interlude 2]
Gold and crimson and green
Wait for you in a dream
Turn them round in your way
Or they will number your days
[Fast interlude 2]
All the people who attend to a motive
Cast upon a raging and bewildering sea
No, I really cannot feel, I'm gonna drive it
'Cause your mama is concerned with what the future's gonna be
So you're hanging on already and the sky is getting
Blacker and the waves are rising higher than a tree
Where is the captain?
Where is the captain?!
Oh-oh
Oh, hmm
[Verse 3]
Cast on a desert isle
Beside a cool green sea
Left our loaded bags
Another turn for me
Nothing but a wreck
Is lying very near
But I have a need
Will have to come from here
[Chorus]
And it's a bad time
To live my life in too
And I've been so pressed
To give a message
How can I know?
Ah, tell me man!
Tear this castle down!
Cast on a desert isle
Beside a cool green sea
Left our loaded bags
Another turn for me
Nothing but a wreck
Is lying very near
But I have a need
Will have to come from here
[Chorus]
And it's a strange place
To live my life in too
And it's a hard time
To start all over
Shipwrecked!
Abandoned!
Tear this castle down!
[Verse 2]
Lost on a dreary plain
We sigh alone, unclean
Left our loaded bags
Another turn for me
Closing books and wealth
The answers have to learn
Meaning where to stop
And watch the castle burn
[Chorus]
And it's a hard thing
To tell my secret too
And I've been so pressed
To give a message
How can I know?
Tell me man!
To tear this castle down!
[Slow interlude 1]
Mmm-hmm
Oh-oh!
When you find the time
Reach back into your mind
Tell me what you see
Are there pictures of me?
[Fast interlude 1]
I draw a circle round
The broken ruins there
You have let them twist your mind
And cut off all your hair
Please do not be truly hurtful
Tell me how you feel
Do you really like it, baby?
Are you being real?
[Slow interlude 2]
Gold and crimson and green
Wait for you in a dream
Turn them round in your way
Or they will number your days
[Fast interlude 2]
All the people who attend to a motive
Cast upon a raging and bewildering sea
No, I really cannot feel, I'm gonna drive it
'Cause your mama is concerned with what the future's gonna be
So you're hanging on already and the sky is getting
Blacker and the waves are rising higher than a tree
Where is the captain?
Where is the captain?!
Oh-oh
Oh, hmm
[Verse 3]
Cast on a desert isle
Beside a cool green sea
Left our loaded bags
Another turn for me
Nothing but a wreck
Is lying very near
But I have a need
Will have to come from here
[Chorus]
And it's a bad time
To live my life in too
And I've been so pressed
To give a message
How can I know?
Ah, tell me man!
Tear this castle down!