Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

About Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" is a song written and recorded by Billy Joel. The track details the singer's disgust with the upwardly mobile bourgeois aspirations of working- and lower-middle-class New Yorkers who take pride in working long hours to afford the outward signs of having "made it". Characters have stereotypically ethnic names (Anthony, Mama Leone, Sergeant O'Leary, Mr. Cacciatore) and blue-collar jobs. Joel considers their rejection of their working-class roots (trading a Chevy for a Cadillac and buying a house in Hackensack, New Jersey) ultimately futile. Near the end of the recording is the sound of a motorcycle starting up and driving away; the bass player Doug Stegmeyer's 1960s Corvette was used. According to Joel, Anthony is not a real person, but rather "every Irish, Polish, and Italian kid trying to make a living in the U. S." "Movin' Out" originally appeared on Joel's 1977 album The Stranger. A live performance of it can be heard on 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert. more »

Year:

1977

3:30

400 Views

Playlists:

#3

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Anthony works in the grocery store
Savin' his pennies for someday
Mama Leone left a note on the door
She said, Sonny, move out to the country
Workin' too hard can give you
A heart attack (ack)
You oughta know by now (oughta know)
Who needs a house out in Hackensack
Is that what you get with your money

It seems such a waste of time
If that's what it's all about
Mama if that's movin' up
Then I'm movin' out
I'm movin' out

Sergeant O'Leary is walkin' the beat
At night he becomes a bartender
He works at Mister Cacciatore's down
On Sullivan Street
Across from the medical center
He's tradin' in his Chevy for a Cadillac
You oughta know by now
And if he can't drive
With a broken back
At least he can polish the fenders

It seems such a waste of time
If that's what it's all about
Mama if that's movin' up
Then I'm movin' out
I'm movin' out

You should never argue with a crazy mind (mmm)
You oughta know by now
You can pay Uncle Sam with the overtime
Is that all you get for your money
If that's what you have in mind
If that's what you're all about
Good luck movin' up
'Cause I'm moving out
I'm moving out

I'm moving out

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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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