Entertainer

About Entertainer

"The Entertainer" is a single by singer Billy Joel released as the only single from his 1974 album Streetlife Serenade. The song peaked at #34 on the US charts, a Top 40 hit for Joel that year. The song is a cynical and somewhat satirical look at the fleeting fame of a musician and fickle public tastes ("Today I am your champion / I may have won your hearts / But I know the game / You'll forget my name / And I won't be here / in another year / if I don't stay on the charts"); this theme would be examined in the later song "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". Another verse in the song references the shortening of Joel's song, "Piano Man", from 5 minutes and 38 seconds to 3 minutes and 5 seconds to fit a radio slot, referenced by the lyrics "It was a beautiful song, / but it ran too long / If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit / So they cut it down to 3:05." Additionally, the timing printed on the label of the 7" release of "The Entertainer" was 3:05, although the actual 45 length was 3:11 (while the album length was 3:41). In the single version, Verse 3 (which starts at 1:02 in the album version) is edited out, and Verse 2 (which starts at 0:40) contains a steel guitar in its second half, which is actually featured in the second half of the third verse in the album version; indeed, on the single mix, the instrumental crescendo of the album version is anticipated by bringing the fuller instrumentation of Verse 3 under the vocals of Verse 2. As a result of this, the slightly emptier original instrumentation of Verse 2 (which includes a downward slide on the synth) and the vocals of Verse 3 are completely omitted, while the instrumentation of Verse 3 (featuring the steel guitar) does appear, but earlier. more »

Year:

2001

119 Views

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I am the entertainer and I know just where I stand 
Another serenader and another longhaired band 
Today I am your champion, I may have won your hearts 
But I know the game, you'll forget my name 
And I won't be here in another year 
If I don't stay on the charts 

I am the entertainer and I've had to pay my price 
The things I did not know at first 
I learned by doing twice 
But still they come to haunt me, still they want their say 
So I've learned to dance with a hand in my pants 
And I rub my neck and I write em a check 
And they go their merry way 

I am the entertainer, I bring to you my songs 
I'd like to spend a day or two but I can't stay that long 
I got to meet expenses ,I got to stay in line 
Got to get those fees to the agencies 
And I'd love to stay but there's bills to pay 
So I just don't have the time 

I am the entertainer, I've come to do my show 
You've heard my latest record spin on the radio 
It took me years to write it, they were the best years of my life 
***>>***
If you're gonna have a hit you gotta make it fit 
So they cut it down to 3:05 

I am the entertainer, the idol of my age 
I make all kinds of money when I go on the stage 
You see me in the papers, I've been in the magazines 
But if I go cold, I won't get sold 
I get put in the back in the discount rack 
Like another can of beans 

I am the entertainer and I know just where I stand 
Another serenader and another longhaired band 
Today I am your champion, 
I may have won your hearts 
But I knew the game, you'll forget my name 
I won't be here in another year 
If I don't stay on the charts.

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Billy Joel

William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man," in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to the RIAA. He also has the third best-selling album in the United States with his Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2. more »

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