Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Billy Joel

About Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 album The Stranger.


Year:
1977
7:37
947 
#1

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A bottle of white, a bottle of red
Perhaps a bottle of rose instead
We'll get a table near the street
In our old familiar place
You and I, face to face

A bottle of red, a bottle of white
It all depends upon your appetite
I'll meet you any time you want
In our Italian Restaurant

Things are okay with me these days
Got a good job, got a good office
Got a new wife, got a new life
And the family's fine
We lost touch long ago
You lost weight I did not know
You could ever look so nice after
So much time

Do you remember those days hanging out
At the village green
Engineer boots, leather jackets
And tight blue jeans
Drop a dime in the box play the
Song about New Orleans
Cold beer, hot lights
My sweet romantic teenage nights

Brenda and Eddie were the
Popular steadys
And the king and the queen
Of the prom
Riding around with the car top
Down and the radio on
Nobody looked any finer
Or was more of a hit at the
Parkway Diner
We never knew we could want more
Than that out of life
Surely Brenda and Eddie would
Always know how to survive

Brenda and Eddy were still going
Steady in the summer of '75
When they decided the marriage would
Be at the end of July
Everyone said they were crazy
Brenda you know you're much too lazy
Eddie could never afford to live that
Kind of life
But there we were wavin' Brenda and
Eddie goodbye

They got an apartment with deep
Pile carpet
And a couple of paintings from Sears
A big waterbed that they bought
With the bread
They had saved for a couple
Of years
They started to fight when the
Money got tight
And they just didn't count on
The tears.

They lived for a while in a
Very nice style
But it's always the same in the end
They got a divorce as a matter
Of course
And they parted the closest
Of friends
Then the king and the queen went
Back to the green
But you can never go back
There again

Brenda and Eddie had had it
Already by the summer of '75
From the high  to the low to
The end of the show
For the rest of their lives
They couldn't go back to
The greasers
The best they could do was
Pick up the pieces
We always knew they would both
Find a way to get by
That's all I heard about
Brenda and Eddie
Can't tell you more than I
Told you already
And here we are wavin' Brenda
And Eddie goodbye

A bottle of red, a bottle of white
Whatever kind of mood you're in tonight
I'll meet you anytime you want
In our Italian Restaurant

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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 »

16 fans

Written by: Billy Joel

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


10 facts about this song

Artist
"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, who has been making music since the 1960s.
Album
The song appears on Joel’s 1977 album "The Stranger," which is considered to be Joel's breakthrough album and ranks as one of his most successful, going ten times platinum.
Song Length
"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" stands out because of its length. It is over seven minutes long, making it one of the longest songs in Billy Joel's discography.
Song Structure
Instead of following a traditional verse-chorus structure, the song is structured as a suite, composed of three distinct sections with different melodies and tempos.
Musical Style
Referred to as a mini-rock opera by many, the song switches between jazz, ragtime, and rock styles.
Concept
It is framed as a conversation in an Italian restaurant and tells the story of Brenda and Eddie, a fictional Long Island couple who divorce after trying to maintain their high school-era relationship into adulthood.
Critical Reaction
The song is considered a fan favorite and has been praised for its narrative structure, originality, and musical maturity.
Live Performances
Billy Joel has confirmed that he always tries to include the song in his sets due to its popularity with fans, even though its length and complexity make it challenging to perform live.
Song Influence
"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" has greatly influenced other artists, particularly among those in the rock and pop genres. It's often compared to Billy Joel's own piano ballad stylings and to the early work of Elton John.
Song Location
The song's title was inspired by a real Italian restaurant, Christiano’s, in Syosset, New York, where Joel used to dine. However, Joel could not remember the name of the restaurant, so he named the song "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant".

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