The song that took Billy Joel three years to write: “Not going anywhere”
Although it seems like the most frustrating thing a musician can experience, writer’s block and hitting a creative wall are completely normal. In fact, most of the biggest legends of all time encountered such blockers from time to time, whether due to lack of inspiration or inability to write the words they feel. While Billy Joel remains one of the greatest storytellers of all time, he is also no stranger to the concept.
Of all the things that might be seen as a challenge to someone as proficient as Joel, one thing rarely touched upon is the overwhelming swirl of greats in his mind. Never one to restrict his appreciation to one singular genre, Joel has learned from all corners of the industry, using his position as an authentic lover of music to shape his own craft.
Perhaps this is also why he seems like one of the more holistic artists, with outsiders either viewing him as the icon who wrote ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’, the legend who can write heartfelt doo-wop ballads like ‘The Longest Time’, or the classically-proficient seasoned pro whose talent knows no bounds. For many, it’s all of the above, which proves that his admiration for varying artists has always served him best.
However, while there’s no mistaking that many of Joel’s best songs were crafted with an immense amount of love, care, and deep thinking, it perhaps feels less likely that Joel would ever struggle to write songs, especially not when his mind is a constant hub of all the greats who came before. It might be easy to think he could pluck ideas like reaching into a hat, but sometimes, things aren’t so simple.
For instance, ‘Allentown’ took around three years to write, which is an interesting fact considering how the song sounds like it fell out of Joel’s soul like any other hit. Still, he couldn’t focus the concept or let the lyrics flow freely, which caused a significant delay in its progress. “I couldn’t write ‘Allentown’ for about three years,” he told Vulture, admitting that it was initially called ‘Levittown’.
Strangely, it wasn’t time or advice from some wise figure that pushed Joel along; it was a young fan who came to see a show in Lehigh Valley that did the trick. “The song was not going anywhere,” he continued. “Then we played the Lehigh Valley and some kid said to me, ‘You’re gonna get big and you’re never gonna come back here’. And that pointed me in the right lyrical direction. That kid was right, by the way.”
The only bittersweetness here was that the kid had been right—Joel’s career surged, and he never played Lehigh Valley ever again. However, if there’s one thing to account for, it’s that this small, unknown child from this lesser-known region no doubt contributed to Joel’s progression, becoming as much a part of his story as if he had returned to Lehigh Valley as soon as the next day.
