The Entertainer - Live at the Great American Music Hall - 1975

Lyrics

[Instrumental Intro] [Verse 1] I am the entertainer And I know just where I stand Another serenader And another long-haired band Today, I am your champion I may have won your hearts But I know the game, you'll forget my name And I won't be here in another year If I don't stay on the charts Oh [Verse 2] I am the entertainer And I've had to pay my price The things I did not know at first I learned by doin' twice Ah, but still they come to haunt me Still they want their say So I've learned to dance With a hand in my pants Let 'em rub my neck, and I write 'em a check And they go their merry way Oh [Verse 3] I am the entertainer I've been all around the world I've played all kinds of palaces And laid all kinds of girls I can't remember faces I don't remember names Ah, but what the hell You know it's just as well Cause after a while and a thousand miles It all becomes the same [Verse 4] I am the entertainer I bring to you my songs I'd like to spend a day or two I can't stay that long I've got to meet expenses I got to stay in line Gotta get those fees to the agencies And I'd love to stay but there's bills to pay So I just don't have the time [Verse 5] I am the entertainer, I come to do my show You've heard my latest record It's been on the radio Ah, it took me years to write it They were the best years of my life It was a beautiful song, but it ran too long If you're gonna have a hit You gotta make it fit So they cut it down to 3:05 [Verse 6] I am the entertainer The idol of my age I make all kinds of money When I go on the stage Ah, you've seen me in the papers I've been in the magazines But if I go cold, I won't get sold I'll get put in the back in the discount rack Like another can of beans [Outro] I am the entertainer And I know just where I stand Another serenader And another long-haired band Today, I am your champion I may have won your hearts But I know the game and you'll forget my name I won't be here in another year If I don't stay on the charts [BILLY JOEL, spoken] Thank you Thank you Droopy socks, alright? Nothing ever happens to Bowie onstage, he's perfect He never has droopy socks, yeah I don't even think he wears them Uh, okay [AUDIENCE, spoken] "Souvenir!" "Billy the Kid!" "If I Only Had the Words!" [BILLY JOEL, spoken] "Billy the Kid," yeah [AUDIENCE, spoken] Yes! Yeah! Yeah! [BILLY JOEL, spoken] Okay Well this is— This song is uh Total and absolute bullshit From beginning to end And I had a great time Seeing the interpretations of this song "Oh by this here he meant— He was being symbolic with the foom fah…" And it's just bullshit story from beginning to end, uh But, uh There's nothing wrong with creative bullshit, I mean Every— Alright Every s— Every single guy who's ever walked into a bar has been very creative with bullshit, y'know? "Hey baby, zooba zaba, zooba zaba," y'know [AUDIENCE, spoken] How old were you when you first started playing? [Laughs] [BILLY JOEL, spoken] It all began in a little radio station in, uh Hempstead, Long Island I started piano when I was a little kid [AUDIENCE, spoken] Play! [BILLY JOEL, spoken] Any— Are there any other questions? "Play?" Very good, very good