Quotes from Billy Joel

I don't know why people thought I was retiring.

There's a deep-seated paranoia that Americans have about not being Americans or something.

Musicians want to be the loud voice for so many quiet hearts.

I never said I wasn't going to play any more. I don't know where that came from.

Every child had a pretty good shot, to get at least as far as their old man got. But something happened on the way to that place. They threw an American flag in our face.

And the only people I fear are those who never have doubts... Save us all from arrogant men, and all the causes they're for.

There ain't much future for a man who works the sea, there ain't no island left for islanders like me.

Sing us a song you're the piano man. Sing us a song tonight. Cause we're all in the mood for a melody, And you've got us feeling all right.

I took a fresh pack of Luckies, a mint called Sen-Sen, my old man's Trojans.

Give a moment or two to the angry young man with his foot in his mouth and his heart in his hand.

I'm carrying the weight of all the useless junk and modern man accumulates.

You want to give people a reason to hate my guts more? I'm making more money.

If you are not doing what you love, you are wasting your time.

I am no longer afraid of becoming lost, because the journey back always reveals something new, and that is ultimately good for the artist.

I'm probably writing music now for the same reason as I started writing songs when I was 14 - to meet women.

No matter what culture you're from, everyone loves music.

Videos destroyed the vitality of rock and roll. Before that, music said, "Listen to me." Now it says, "Look at me."

I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity.

For whatever reason, not all people are born with the particular gift of being able to express ourselves through music. And, believe me, it is a gift.

In every heart there is a room, A sanctuary safe and strong, To heal the wounds from lovers past, Until a new one comes along

...And you're the only one who knows.

Most people are satisfied with the junk food being sold as music.

I hope it does not take the rest of my life until I find what it is I've been looking for.

You may be wrong, but you may be right.