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Famous Last Words Lyrics
Sitting here in Avalon, looking at the pouring rain
Summer time has come and gone, and everybody's home again
Closing down for the season, I found the last of the souvenirs
I can still taste the wedding cake and it's sweet after all these years
These are the last words I have to say
That's why this took so long to write
There will be other words some other day
But that's the story of my life
There's comfort in my coffee cup and apples in the early fall
They're pulling all the moorings up and gathering at the Legion Hall
They swept away all the streamers after the Labor Day parade
Nothing left for a dreamer now, only one final serenade
And these are the last words I have to say
Before another age goes by
With all those other songs I'll have to play
But that's the story of my life
And it's so clear standing here where I am
Ain't that what justice is for?
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn anymore
Stack the chairs on the table tops
Hang the sheets on the chandeliers
It slows down but it never stops
Ain't it sweet after all these years
And these are the last words I have to say
It's always hard to say goodbye
But now it's time to put this book away
Ain't that the story of my life
Summer time has come and gone, and everybody's home again
Closing down for the season, I found the last of the souvenirs
I can still taste the wedding cake and it's sweet after all these years
That's why this took so long to write
There will be other words some other day
But that's the story of my life
They're pulling all the moorings up and gathering at the Legion Hall
They swept away all the streamers after the Labor Day parade
Nothing left for a dreamer now, only one final serenade
Before another age goes by
With all those other songs I'll have to play
But that's the story of my life
Ain't that what justice is for?
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn anymore
Hang the sheets on the chandeliers
It slows down but it never stops
Ain't it sweet after all these years
It's always hard to say goodbye
But now it's time to put this book away
Ain't that the story of my life
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This is Billy Joel's goodbye. He's retiring from his music. That was the last song on his last CD. I love Billy Joel :)
This is not his final goodbye so to speak. It's his bittersweet "I'll see you later". He's saying I'll be back some other time to fulfill my obligations to my music, but this is all i'm gonna have for a while, but he'll be back again on tour and what not...after he overcomes there being nothing left in him to write about his life...he's given us his entire life in his career and in his music, now it's his time to just starting living his own life that he doesn't have to share with the public. There will be other words some other day means that when he has lived more of his life he'll be back to write about it if it's something significant enough, but as for now that's all he's got to tell...i'm so proud of this man...check out Vienna and think of a guy my age in college
I like that explanation.
It's so awesome how he drew the parallel from his own life to the Merlin legend. "Sitting here in Avalon..." Being that he's off doing his own thing until he's needed again.
I wonder if I'm taking that too far, and Avalon is actually a town where some event happened?
"with all these other songs I have to play" I take to mean that no one really wants to hear my new music anyway, they just want to play Piano Man, etc.
I wasnt a big fan of the River Dreams CD from a musical standpoint, but I do miss his lyrics.
Billy's basically taking a look back from all of his work and saying "That was good. I glad this happened," before closing the book and moving on.
This song almost makes me cry...It makes me think of the last few days of summer at the camp I worked at during my vacation. Everyone's going away, and we're taking everything down, and after so long it's really really hard to say goodbye.
Underrated songs and lyrics. I think this is one of his best songs and lyrics, but the production was overdone. His piano-only version of the song (on Inside the Actors' Studio) is better than the record version.
He has many songs likes this: Souvenir, Summer Highland Falls, Vienna, Through The Long Night, Where's The Orchestra, And So It Goes. Sad, wistful, melancholy. Sometimes the lyrics are literal, sometimes more abstract (like this one), but the overall feeling is the same.