More than 50 years after Billy Joel released the iconic, “Piano Man,” fans have a new theory surrounding the storyline and the Piano Man himself is weighing in on the speculation.
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During an interview with TODAY, Joel shared he’s aware of the new ideas swirling around the song, thanks to the internet and he’s here to clear up the questions. "Well, there’s this new theory out there now, that it’s actually about a gay bar," shared Joel.
"I was reading this. And I said, 'Oh, I see how that could be.' Paul is talking to Davy, who’s in the Navy, you know” he shared before connecting the song to The Village People’s, "In the Navy," from 1979 - an anthem embraced by the LGTBQ community. "So, yeah, there’s a whole theory about it. He doesn’t have time for a wife.”
While he sees where the theory stemmed, Joel says he had no intention to make any of the characters in the song gay, including Paul and Davy. "I never considered that, but I see it now," he said, concluding with, "It’s very funny, actually."
Joel recently wrapped up his longstanding residency at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on July 25, which marked his 150th show at the famed arena. As expected, the Piano Man went out in style with a next-level show which featured a setlist packed with hits and surprise guest appearances by Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, Jimmy Fallon, and Joel's two young daughters Della and Remy.
2024 has been a big year for Joel not only because of the finale of his long-standing residency, but he also released his first single after more than two decades, “Turn the Lights Back On,” which he performed at the GRAMMY awards.
According to Joel, the new song does not mean he’s jumping back into things as he told TODAY, "Did [releasing a new song] inspire me to want to write more stuff? Not particularly, no," Joel said. "Writing, to me, is torment. I don’t want to do that, anymore," he laughed.
So what does he want to do? He replied, "I’d like to write music. I don’t like to write songs, so much, because it’s really, really hard to write a good song, really hard.”