The greatest song Billy Joel has ever written, according to Billy Joel

Posted On December 5, 2025December 5, 2025

Throughout his recording career, Billy Joel proved to be a serial hitmaker, relying solely on his piano to craft timeless songs. Joel’s compositions have achieved widespread acclaim, selling millions of copies and leaving a profound mark on music enthusiasts worldwide. Among his extensive repertoire, ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ stands out as Joel’s most famous composition, having transcended its origins to become a cherished anthem among fans.

Although ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ became one of his most popular songs, Joel himself isn’t a particular fan. “I think it’s probably the worst musical thing I’ve ever written,” Joel said during an interview with Howard Stern on his Sirius XM show in 2010. “I don’t think it’s much of a melody.”

When discussing his favourite songs, Joel values those that present emotional challenges but ultimately offer numerous rewards thereafter. Speaking with Stephen Colbert in 2017 and asked to talk about his favourite Billy Joel songs, the singer was happy to share his thoughts. Asked if he was athis own show, what songs would he request he was quick in response, “That’s a fair question,” he remarked, “what would i want to see me do? I tend to like the album tracks. Not the ones that are the hit singles. ‘Vienna’, ‘And So It Goes’, ‘You Maybe Right’, an obscure song called ‘She’s Right On Time’.”

And asked for his “number one song,” he confirms ‘Scenes from an Italian Restaurant’. But the look on his face when answering suggests that maybe he didn’t quite understand he would be ranking the tracks. And, this is confirmed when he was posed a similar question, he had a much different answer. For him, it was ‘And So It Goes’.

Discussing ‘And So It Goes’, the singer described it as his “top song”, adding: “My heart was broken. […] It had to be about a broken heart. Even the chords have a dissonant note in them and a lot of suspensions. The suspension is a hanging note that you want to resolve.”

In Joel’s eyes, the song had the perfect balance between sadness and sweetness. He explained: “The music signalled that this needed to be something melancholy, something that created sadness. [The relationship] didn’t work out because we were mismatched. This was about a woman who went off to Europe, and when she came back, it wasn’t going to work out. I knew that the opening line [of the song] was going to be very important, and a word like “sanctuary” has a good resonance to it.”

The lyrics, particularly at the beginning, reflect the emotional struggle Joel must have been feeling at the time. He sings: “In every heart there is a room / A sanctuary safe and strong / To heal the wounds from lovers past / Until a new one comes along.” As a result of its poignancy, Joel refers to the song as the one he’s most proud of.

As implied by the album title, Storm Front, the tracks escalate in intensity, akin to a storm approaching. While this particular song wasn’t initially penned for the album, Joel opted to include it as the closing track to symbolise the tranquil aftermath of the storm. The title also draws inspiration from television journalist Linda Ellerbee’s iconic catchphrase and book title, evoking a sense of sombre resignation often associated with those words.

The music was additionally influenced by the traditional English folk song ‘Barbara Allen’, per Songfacts. Joel shared with Stern that he first encountered the melody in Fireside Book of Folk Songs during his childhood, noting its distinctive nature: “It’s very difficult to find the time signature in that song,” he said, “it’s all up to the singer.”

Related Topics