@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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 Eddie 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
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 Eddie 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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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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Great version of a great song,
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Dusty Springfield
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Head > Heels
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Ed Sheeran
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Actually...the restaurant is located in Syosset, New York. It's called Christiano's. I've eaten there before, clearly because Billy Joel used to frequent the restaurant. Food is not so good, but they don't charge too much.
BILLY JOEL IS THE GREATEST ARTIST EVER. ...Long live Brenda and Eddie!
@Heather Surfpico Actually, it's the Fontana di Trevi at 151 West 57th Street in New York City, right across from Carnegie Hall. It apparently had great food. As reported in USA Today in 2008. It's closed, now.
I love how multidimentional this song is. It is most probably a pair of old friends (or old flames) who meet up in this restaurant and discuss the times they shared in high school. However, it could also be three different scenes from the same restaurant happening at the same time. One would be a pair of lovers meeting in their special place. Then the music changes, and two old friends/flames see each other again for the first time in a long time and discuss their current lives. Then the music changes slightly again, and it's a flashback to Brenda and Eddie's experiences. Finally, the music slows again, tying together each of the scenes. I love the levels of this song. Billy Joel really is a master of expression.
Folks, I've got some bad news. I've conducted a latitudinal study of people who attended the Parkway Diner in the mid-60s and based my interviews and data sets, Brenda and Eddie were anything but a 'hit' at this particular establishment. For the most part, patrons found them excedingly annoying and were elated to learn of their divorce. Furthermore, it turns out than many in Billy's peer group wanted a whole shitload more outta life at that time than to hang-out at a diner all night.
I love you, Matty Dubs.
Billy remembers how Brenda and Eddie's relationship fell apart, how they peaked in high school and were now just trying to make ends meet. Billy and a friend from high school catch up on each other's lives in their old meeting place. There's no hidden meaning for the ongoing 'reds and whites' debate. It's just wine. The whole song is sort of sweet and reminiscent, an account of his high school experience, so I doubt he would mention drugs. That's all. Great song. One of his best.
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go about 6:25 into the song...reds whites
Maybe it is the way hes saying it...but the 1st two times he says red it dosent sound like reds it sounds like red but the 3rd time it sounds like reds
I never said Billy Joel was that kind of person but he probably isnt talking about himself...Good song all together...but i really wanna know what the point of Brenda and Eddie are?
@cateyes0o I believe that is definitely "reds & whites". It would make very good sense too. I'd actually be kind of disappointed if it's not his intent. Even though I can't find anything to confirm this.
It's not uncommon these days for married people over 40 who shouldn't really be married to each to get divorced. So this song is interesting in that in old takes Brenda(r) and Eddie one summer to realize it. Eddie recognizing that "he could never afford to live that kind of life" is one of the greatest moments of self-reflection in the history of pop lyrics. Bravo, Eddie. Bravo.
STOOLHARDY - you must live in a bubble and be a little naive about the world. What do you think Captain Jack is all about? The whole song is about drugs!!! Billy Joel (no stranger to drugs, and the mean streets of NYC) has plenty of drug references in his songs. Most of them are refered to in 70's or 80's slang, something most people not in the drug-scene or city socialite loop could recognize. It's defintely Bottle of REDS and WHITES, a clear drug reference.
so the guy in captain jack has a screwed up life and takes to drugs as a soulution that is how drug are involved?
Nope - italians are very particular about correct wines with courses.. so they were selecting fromt eh wine list.<br />
@Gervin <br /> Sorry, but last time I checked people don't take drugs at nice Italian restaurants. Alcokell is right- the bottle of reds and bottle of whites is a reference to making a selection of wine off of a wine list. The line "It all depends upon your appetite" supports this, as wine is often paired with your meal.
@Gervin Truth. Except...reds and whites are WINES. No drugs in this one. But Captain Jack is a fictional name for the drug dealers Joel saw in his town growing up. Captain Jack has whatever you need. And a push will get you smilin'.
@Gervin Bruh... Captain Jack is about masturbation. It's super obvious.
@Gervin How is it that most people don't recognize that??? Of course its 'bottle of reds, bottle of whites', and YES that is a clear drug reference. And for the others here, Captain Jack is absolutely about masturbation. He says it in the song for Christ's sake - "and you just sit at home, and masturbate". I'm all for taking whatever meaning is important to you when you experience a song, but some things are pretty clear and undisputable. My 2 cents...
stoolhardy- if billy joel doesnt sing about drugs, then how do u explain captain jack?
@ss12310 Masturbation, plain and simple.
my favorite Billy Joel song hands down, I love it.
kool