Greatest Hits Volume III Released: 1997 Keeping The Faith An Innocent Man A Matter Of Trust Baby Grand This Is The Time Leningrad We Didn't Start The Fire I Go To Extremes And So It Goes The Downeaster "Alexa" Shameless All About Soul Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) The River Of Dreams To Make You Feel My Love Hey Girl Light As The Breeze

"Only recently had I realized that there was enough material for a third (collection). I was surprised," says Joel. "I looked at the list of songs and said, 'Wow, these are legitimate songs!' I don't sit down and say, 'I'm going to write a hit'; I just don't work like that. I write an album's worth of material and hand it to the record company and say, 'Here, now it's yours. You figure out how to slice this meat up.' "

Conspicuously absent is the 1986 top 10 hit "Modern Woman," simply because "I hated that thing!" Joel declares with a laugh. "It shouldn't be so arbitrary that I can say, 'I hate that thing so much, don't put it on there,' but something had to die so that others could live and have room on this thing. I sacrificed 'Modern Woman.' "

To Make You Feel My Love

Bob Dylan
A Bob Dylan song's not supposed to be all sweet and sugary; Bob's got a lot of vinegar in him. And I thought my way of doing a Bob Dylan song would not be unlike Bob's approach. We put a harmonica in there, there's an organ playing, there's that crazy cakewalk snare thing. But it couldn't be too smooth, it couldn't be too polished, it couldn't be too rich. It has to be a little lean and salty, and it has to have a little funk in it.

When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love

When evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love

I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong

I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the avenue
There's nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

The storms are raging on the rollin' sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing like me yet

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
To make you feel my love

I was 13 or 14 when that record came out by Freddie Scott. I always loved it. There was something so wistful and soulful about that record. I think I was just starting to fall in love with girls . . . I recorded that song a few years ago. I had split up with Christy and my daughter was going to live far away, and I was very sad. When I was singing that song, that's who I was singing it to, my little girl.

Hey girl! I want you to know,
I'm gonna miss you so much if you go
And hey girl! I tell you no lie,
Something deep inside of me's going to die
If you must say so long
If this is good-bye

Oh! Hey girl! This can't be true
How am I supposed to exist without you
And, hey girl! Now don't put me on,
What's gonna happen to me when you're gone
How will I live,
How can I go on
How can I go on
Hey girl!

Oh! Hey girl! Now sit yourself down,
I'm not ashamed to get down on the ground
And then beg you to stay
Don't go away
Hey girl!
Don't go away
Hey girl!
Don't go away

Leonard Cohen
I recorded that song back in 1994, and I just thought that song was so great as soon as I heard it. Leonard Cohen is such a talented writer, and he sings so low that you can't really hear him half the time. Not enough people know about Leonard Cohen and how, in a way, he was as profound as Dylan.

She stands before you naked
You can see it, you can taste it
But she comes to you
Light as the breeze
You can drink or you can nurse it
It don't matter how you worship
As long as you're
Down on your knees

So I knelt there at the delta
At the alpha and the omega
At the cradle of the river
And the seas
And like a blessing come from heaven,
For something like a second,
I was healed, and my heart
Was at ease

O baby I waited
So long for your kiss
For something to happen
Oh-something like this

And you're weak and you're harmless
And you're sleeping in your harness
And the wind going wild
In the trees
And it's not exactly prison
But you'll never be forgiven
For whatever you've done
With the keys

O baby I waited
So long for your kiss
For something to happen
Oh-something like this

It's dark and it's snowing
Oh my love I must be going
The river is starting to freeze
And I'm sick of pretending
I'm broken from bending
I've lived too long
On my knees
And she dances so graceful
And your heart's hard and hateful
And she's naked
But that's just a tease
And you turn in disgust
From your hatred and from your love
And she comes to you
Light as the breeze

O baby I waited
So long for your kiss
For something to happen
Oh-something like this

There's blood on every bracelet
You can see it, you can taste it
And it's please baby
Please baby please
And she says, drink deeply, pilgrim
But don't forget there's still a woman
Beneath this
Resplendent chemise

So I knelt there at the delta
At the alpha and the omega
I knelt there
Like one who believes
And like a blessing come from heaven
For something like a second
I was cured, and my heart
Was at ease

O baby I waited
So long for your kiss
For something to happen
Oh-something like this

 

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Last Updated February 15, 2005
Contact me at billy_joel_49@yahoo.com