#travelin' prayer

[crispyflowerblaze]

don't know if this is too niche but i was watching the trudy's surprise wheel thing on neopets spin around and i was listening to travelin' prayer by billy joel and it was at the really really fast music and it just lined up so well with the wheel, it was a great moment

[harpyreborn]

One could see a tiefling in full paladin armor being tossed out of a tavern like a sack of potatoes, the tiefling hitting the ground with a thud and a grunt. At the tavern door were three burly human men, one responsible for carrying the tiefling outside, the other two tossing out steaming hot soup in an attempt to burn the tiefling. However, he'd blocked the projectile soup with a shield before it could hit him.

The man in front said, "Maybe next time you'll learn where you're not wanted, tail-swisher." After the men scoffed and swore at him, they headed back into the tavern, shutting the door behind them and locking it.

Heterochromatic eyes widen as the scene before her is played out. Rage bubbling in her belly as she witnesses the poor treatment of the…demon? Shes not quite sure what they are but that didn’t matter. No one, and she meant no one deserved to be treated so poorly. Thrown owt? Sure! But thrown out and SCALDED? That was taking it too damn far! Now Phenexis could have EASILY kicked the door in, drug the men out and beat the BLOOD out of them for the way they just treated that man. And by the gods she wanted too, but, his safety was her first priority. He may have blocked the soup, but being tossed put was rude and who knew what had happened inside the Tavern.

The five foot two tall, dark skinned young woman stooped down next to the tiefling and offered her hand.

“You ok dude? You hurt? My name’s Phenexis, I’m a healer and Apothecary.” She flashes him her signature friendly toothy smile. Its wide and bright and lights up her soft, round, freckled face.

[thebreakfastgenie]

What Your Favorite Song On Piano Man Says About You

Travelin' Prayer: you don't mind your partner having a life without you

Piano Man: get out of here

Ain't No Crime: you just want to be left alone

You're My Home: you're a hopeless romantic

The Ballad of Billy the Kid: you love history but also movies and you will point out the inaccuracies in movies but not to be a jerk it's just fun for you

Worse Comes to Worst: you have a backup plan

Stop in Nevada: you love divorce

If I Only Had the Words: you are terrible at communicating. do better.

Somewhere Along the Line: you're happy but you are ignoring something

Captain Jack: you know a lot of middle class white kids

[tboy-boone]

BILLY JOEL FOR THE ASK

vienna

you may be right

travelin' prayer

only the good die young

TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON

[heartsoulrocknroll]

Piano Man Live

This is my favorite way to experience the Piano Man album. The 1977 Greenvale show at CW Post may be my favorite Billy concert I've ever heard with my absolute dream Pre-Stranger set list. I am obsessed with those versions of Travelin' Prayer, Ain't No Crime, Worse Comes to Worst, and Somewhere Along the Line. That show also includes excellent performances of Ballad of Billy the Kid, You're My Home, and Captain Jack, but I think I like the ones from the 1976 Connecticut University show slightly more. This performance of If I Only Had the Words is the only true live performance I've ever been able to find, but I think it's phenomenal.

Travelin' Prayer

Piano Man

Ain't No Crime

You're My Home

The Ballad of Billy the Kid

Worse Comes to Worst

Stop in Nevada

If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You)

Somewhere Along the Line

Captain Jack

[billy-joel-ultimate-song-bracket]

Round 2 Poll 31

Please listen to both songs before voting!

Propaganda is allowed!

[valeroyeaux]

“travelin’ prayer” is an underrated billy joel song. imo. which counts for nothing.

[nwalthall]

New York City

© 2024 ned walthall

Livin' in a city of immigrants I don't need to go travelin' Open my door and the world walks in Livin' in a city of immigrants Livin' in a city that never sleeps My heart keepin' time to a thousand beats Singin' in languages I don't speak Livin' in a city of immigrants

City of black City of white City of light City of innocents City of sweat City of tears City of prayers City of immigrants

--Steve Earle, City of Immigrants

[movietonight]

My favourite lyrics on Piano man

inspired by @thebreakfastgenie

Travelin' Prayer

Said now, would ya guide her on the roads and make them softer for her feet

Piano Man

He says, “Son, can you play me a memory? I'm not really sure how it goes But it's sad, and it's sweet, and I knew it complete When I wore a younger man's clothes”

Ain't No Crime

Well now you tell me you love somebody And you'll love 'em forever You may love 'em forever But you won't like 'em all of the time

You're My Home

Home is just another word for you

The Ballad of Billy the Kid

But he finally found a home Underneath the boot hill grave That bears his name

Worse Comes To Worst

I'll do my writing on my road guitar And make a living at a piano bar

Stop in Nevada

And she doesn't know what's comin' But she sure knows what she's leavin' behind

If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You)

When the simple lines have all been taken And the radio repeats them every day

Somewhere Along the Line

Well, it's a rainy night in Paris and I'm sitting by the Seine It's a pleasure to be soaking in the European rain

Captain Jack

So, you've got everything, ah, but nothing's cool They just found your father in the swimming pool And you guess you won't be goin' back to school Anymore

[crispyflowerblaze]

my ranking of Piano Man by Billy Joel, just how i feel right now

1) Piano Man: yeah i mean i adore this song, it's so great, and it's one of the Billy Joel songs i've known the longest

2) Captain Jack: man i freaking love this song, it's so cool, and like the music part leading up to the chorus, holy shit, and the chorus is so amazing too

3) Somewhere Along the Line: this one is just a bop, i have a lot of fun with it

4) The Ballad of Billy the Kid: i really like this song, the instrumental parts are so great and yeah i dunno i just really really like it

5) Worse Comes to Worst: really not too sure about this placement, honestly this and the next two could've gone either way but this felt the most right, yeah this one's really fun

6) Stop in Nevada: again, not too sure on the placement, but it's also really fun

7) Ain't No Crime: ditto, i just have to dock points cus the one line that's like "but you won't want him every day" and that doesn't rhyme but if he said night it would've rhymed! lol does anyone else agree with this

8) If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You): i really like some parts of this but personally it just doesn't stick out in my mind too much

9) Travelin' Prayer: same, has some really nice parts but doesn't stick out too much

10) You're My Home: very sweet but again, just doesn't stick out in my mind very much

[bitchyfoxymama]

Travelin Soldier - Steve Rogers X Reader

A/n: Angsty angst, just pure sadness based on this song. Wrote this awhile ago bc the song reminded me of Steve even though it takes place about 20-30 years later during the Vietnam War.

Warnings: war time, death, sadness, broken hearts

**************

The year was 1943 and you were a simple girl working in a diner across from coney island, were working in the diner after school, trying to make as much money as you could before you left for college the following year. You tightened the bow in your hair, grabbing your notepad when you see a handsome young man sitting in a booth. He  looked nervous, so you walked over to him and gave him a little smile.

“Hey there darlin’ how are you? Are you ready to order?” you say pulling out a pen.

  “would you mind sitting down for awhile and talking to me, I'm feeling a little low” he asks.

“Sure, but i'm off in an hour and i know a quiet place where we can go.”

An hour later you walked down to the pier and sat at the edge just staring out at the ocean

“Look i know you might have a boyfriend but I don't have anyone to send a letter back home too, my best friend is already off fighting in the war and i want to send a letter back to you” he says staring out at the ocean “My name is steve by the way, Steve Rogers”

“My name is (y/n) (l/n) and I would be honored to receive your letters steve” you say smiling and grabbing his hand while writing down your address. 

“Well ma’am it seems as though my bus has arrived, Ill send you the first letter as soon as i get to base” he said as you both walked back to the bus stop. 

“Alright i'll be waiting by my mailbox everyday until it comes, Steve Rogers,” you give him a tight hug and off he goes to fight in the war against the Axis powers.

Letter after letter was sent between me and Steve over the course of a few months but not everyone was happy with my growing love for Steve because he was 21 and you were only 18 but that never mattered because in his letters he shared his love for you as well. 

You were waiting for him to come back home to me. The letters started from an army camp in upstate New Jersey  and then from a camp in germany. In his letters he wrote how at night when he was worried or scared he would remember the day when you met on the pier and how you smiled.

“Don't worry but i won't be able to write for a while” said his last letter to you, but then the letters stopped all together. You were worried but Steve said he would come back home to you.

It was a friday night and you were getting ready to play your piccolo in the marching band when the lord's prayer was said and the national anthem rang.

“Folks, will you bow your heads for the list of locals killed in war. Steven Grant Rogers, James Buchanan Barnes....” When you heard Steve's name you ran off the bleachers and hid underneath them crying your eyes out, your future you’d planned in the few short months that you had known each other was gone. 

Never more, you thought as you thought you were going to be alone when the letters says ‘A soldier's coming home’

[tboy-boone]

Boy I wish I listened to Travelin' Prayer sooner. I am loving everything about this song

[heartsoulrocknroll]

Piano Man Ranked

This was so hard for me, because I love every song on this album. These rankings are based primarily on the album versions, but if I was unsure, the position was ultimately determined by my favorite live version. I firmly believe that you can't truly appreciate how great the songs on this album are without hearing them played live by the 1976-1982 Billy Joel band.

1) The Ballad of Billy the Kid

I am so obsessed with this song. I think it's one of the greatest songs Billy has ever written, from the excellent instrumentation and arrangement to the fanastic storytelling lyrics. I love the album recording. The clip-clop of the horse hooves. The campfire harmonica. But the back and forth between the band (especially when the strings come in) and those ICONIC piano riffs does something to my brain. I freak out every time I hear it even though I've heard it repeatedly for 12 years. And the piano work throughout the entire song is just phenomenal. The live versions obviously don't have the strings, but the post-1975 live versions with the core Billy Joel band have a whole different energy that make the strings unnecessary. I have to mention the 1976 University of Connecticut live performance of this song, because that particular combination of Billy's vocals, Billy's kickass piano playing, and the band's pure energy literally makes me the audibly-yellin', hand-wavin', object-throwin' kind of insane.

2) Somewhere Along the Line

This song reminds me a bit of James Taylor in parts, but then those big backing vocals and piano riffs come in and take the song in another direction. The melody is great, the lyrics are some of the best on the album, and Billy just goes nuts on the piano, especially on the break after the third verse, during the fourth verse, and on the break that closes the song. I love the album recording, but this is another song that really comes to life in the live setting with the slightly higher tempo, the more prominent guitar riffs, Liberty on the drums, and Billy singing and playing like the world-class singer and piano player that he is.

3) Worse Comes to Worst

This song rocks so hard and blends so many musical styles. The signature guitar riff is super funky. The pedal steel guitar makes another appearance for more country undertones. The background vocals provide a gospel flavor, while the steel drums come in later on for a bit of a Caribbean feel. But even still, this remains distinctly a rock 'n' roll song. The album version is great for the aforementioned reasons, but the live versions rock so much harder. I love the 1977 CW Post live version more than life itself. I know I never shut up about it, but my god, Liberty's drumming adds so much drive to these early songs, and Billy sings the hell out of this song live.

4) Travelin' Prayer

I love absolutely everything about this song. The brushes on the drums, the bass, the opening piano, the banjo, the fiddle, the lyrics, Billy's vocal, the psychotic tempo. This is just a fantastic country/bluegrass song that takes what is great about those genres and improves it with the incorporation of Billy's brilliant piano breaks, especially the piano solo during the first instrumental break, which just rocks. This song doesn't have as strong of a country feel without the banjo and fiddle, but the live performances with Liberty's energetic drums, Richie's sax additions, Doug's driving bass, and Billy's piano improvs are incredible in an entirely different way.

5) Ain't No Crime

The soulful, gospelly vibes of this song really do it for me. I LOVE the use of the organ, and the piano riffs slap so hard it ain't funny. This is another song that needs to be heard live to be truly appreciated, with Liberty on the drums and Richie adding some sax. Billy goes crazy on the piano and does such a fantastic, soulful vocal on this song live.

6) Captain Jack

This is just an epic song. Billy's piano parts in the intro and the verses are beautifully done. The combination of Billy's organ and that legendary guitar riff in the chorus is so dramatic and really gives the song its epic feel. The lyrics are a great commentary on how people can have everything and still be overcome by the aimlessness and hopelessness of life. I like the album version, but this is another song that really takes on a whole new life in the live setting with Billy improvising on the piano and singing so incredibly well, while Liberty adds the dramatic opening cymbals and the ridiculous driving drum transitions from the third and fourth verses into the third and fourth choruses. 😭😭

7) Piano Man

No matter how many times I hear this song, I will never stop loving it. It's popular for a reason: it's great. That iconic opening piano riff gets me every time. The harmonica parts are great. The piano break after the third verse rocks on the album, and rocks even harder live. These are some of the best lyrics on the album. They are excellent, immersive, storytelling lyrics with a great rhyme scheme.

8) If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You)

This is a gorgeous melody with a distinctly beautiful opening piano riff, more beautiful piano work throughout the song, and some nice strings toward the end. This is also one of those songs that really makes me go, "Damn, that guy can sing." I am a freak about singing, and there is a live version of this (supposedly from Carnegie Hall in 1974) in which Billy gives a vocal performance that brings me to tears if I focus on it too hard. Billy may not like the sound of his own voice, but I'd give anything to sing like that.

9) You're My Home

This is a great, country-sounding song. It's one of those classic, beautiful Billy Joel melodies. The album version isn't very piano-heavy, but there are a few nice piano bits in there. And the instrumentation is great nonethless, from the finger picking on the acoustic guitar to the pedal steel guitar. Billy's vocal here is really beautiful as well.

10) Stop in Nevada

This is a beautiful song with a great melody and a great build from the quiet piano and pedal steel in the verses to the big, full choruses with the backing choir and the strings

[billy-joel-ultimate-song-bracket]

Losers Bracket B Round 1 Poll 13

Please listen to both songs before voting!

Propaganda is allowed!

[murderballadeer]

hey no offence but in fort worth all the neon’s burnin’ bright, pretty lights of and blue, but they’d shut down all the honky-tonks tonight and say a prayer or two if they only knew you always said the highway was your home but we both know that ain’t true it’s just the only place a man can go when he don’t know where he’s travelin’ to but colorado’s always clean and healing, tennessee in spring is green and cool, it never really was your kinda town but you went around with the fort worth blues