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Piano Man Lyrics Quiz

Guess the missing lyrics to the song "Piano Man" by Billy Joel.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: August 30, 2015
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First submittedJune 26, 2012
Times taken61,549
Average score80.5%
Rating4.90
5:00
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 / 41 guessed
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First Verse
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
the regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He says, Son can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet
And I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes
 
Chorus
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
 
Second Verse
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke
Or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says Bill, I believe this is killing me
As the smile ran away from his face
Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place
Third Verse
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talking with Davy
Who's still in the navy
And probably will be for life
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinking alone
 
Fourth Verse
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday,
And the manager gives me a smile
Cause he knows that it's me
They've been coming to see
To forget about life for awhile.
And the piano sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar
And put bread in my jar
And say "Man, what are you doin' here?"
+41
Level 90
Aug 26, 2012
Nailed it. I could've gotten 100% if you'd asked for every word. I love this song - had it memorized for decades.
+5
Level 46
Aug 26, 2012
Easily my favorite song of all time!
+2
Level 33
Aug 26, 2012
i agree, fantastic song :)
+2
Level 22
Aug 26, 2012
just ran out of time
+15
Level 44
Jun 28, 2016
How did you run out of time? Were you playing the entire song on the piano and only typing out the words as you came to them?
+3
Level 76
Dec 17, 2022
it's THAT beautiful!
+8
Level 45
Aug 26, 2012
100% on the first try! Would have gotten a 100% if you asked for all the lyrics! and I'm a 15 year old girl! :)
+23
Level 51
Dec 31, 2017
Nonsense! Girls don't listen to music!
+5
Level 31
Aug 26, 2012
I love billy Joel, you can take my We didn't start the fire lyrics quiz that i made too! Just click on the billy joel tab!
+1
Level 32
Aug 26, 2012
oh, heck yes
+1
Level 39
Sep 3, 2012
Love this song.
+1
Level 38
Sep 7, 2012
One of my favorite songs every. I could tell you every word and every note in this whole song.
+3
Level 37
Apr 12, 2014
I love this song - but just have one gripe. My name is David, and I was in the US Navy for six years... guess what kept getting sung to/at me in boot camp?!?
+1
Level 28
May 7, 2014
100 percent with 3:39 left. I took the quiz while listening to the song. :p
+1
Level 48
May 8, 2014
Love it! So encouraged to see how many younger generation jetpunkers know this song...
+1
Level 45
Jul 24, 2014
I was halfway through the quiz with the radio on in the background, the next thing I knew, piano man came on.

Freaky or what?

+1
Level 74
May 21, 2015
Awesome. But it's "all right", not "alright".
+2
Level 61
Jan 7, 2022
No. It's "alright."
+1
Level 75
May 21, 2015
44% of 11,000 people know every word - amazing
+8
Level 75
May 21, 2015
When I was in college our student government association offered a free concert at the lake. They sometimes did that for unknown artists who worked very cheaply. My roommate asked me to go with her to see the latest unknown wannabe. I said, "I'm not wasting my time. If this Billy Joel character was any good, people would be paying to see him." She went, and I stayed in the dorm studying. Sigh.
+2
Level 80
Dec 30, 2018
We have a famous radio presenter in Germany. He once interviewed an unknown British band in his studio. A few weeks later, he quickly needed a tape for something and thought, nobody knows these guys anyway. So he used the tape of that unknown band, deleting the interview.

A month later, that unknown British band released their song "Bohemian Rhapsody." He has never deleted anything ever again.

+1
Level 65
May 21, 2015
Memory Melody Mucked up on Memory
+3
Level 28
May 21, 2015
WOW!!!! 87496749%!!!! I'M STILL AN UNFERTILIZED EGG, AND NEVER HEARD THIS SONG BEFORE!!! BEAT THAT YANKEE!!!!
+3
Level 52
May 21, 2015
first time doing this quiz 40/41. I always thought it was "and the piano sounds like a carnivore" instead of "and the piano sounds like a carnival". But I guess since its the one that most people get wrong some of them might have been thinking the same as me.
+1
Level 25
May 8, 2020
I've always thought it goes: "the piano sounds like a cannonball". But this makes more sense.
+1
Level 83
Jan 7, 2022
For me, it was "the piano sounds like a power mower".
+1
Level 56
Feb 3, 2016
Great! Early in the morning, and that song is going to be stuck in my head all day!
+1
Level 69
Feb 22, 2016
Never heard of it
+1
Level 74
Jan 30, 2017
I always thought it sounded like "novelist," but thought it was supposed to be "maverick." What is a real estate novelist?

100%

+1
Level 66
Jan 29, 2018
He wishes he were a famous novelist. He does real estate for actual money.
+1
Level 44
Nov 23, 2017
i'm sitting at work on Thanksgiving and it sucks. these comments made me laugh out loud..thanks everyone for cheering me up, even from the past.
+1
Level 42
Dec 31, 2017
i always thought it was carnivore not carnival. i guess carnival makes more sense
+1
Level 66
Dec 31, 2017
Robot Chicken do a great skit on this song.
+1
Level 66
Jan 29, 2018
"a while" is two words.
+1
Level 88
Dec 31, 2019
It is in that context as a noun. "All right" are 2 words always.
+1
Level 58
Feb 22, 2018
aced it
+1
Level 56
Mar 30, 2018
Every word baby! Love it or hate everyone knows the words to that song.
+1
Level 58
Apr 1, 2018
1:12 left and im onwy twee
+1
Level 38
Apr 13, 2020
in the 4. verse, in the 5. row, you wrote awhile, instead of a while...
+1
Level 44
Jan 7, 2022
In the second verse he wrote "Bill" instead of "Vijay Mahandas Habanjasingh"
+1
Level 61
Oct 11, 2021
I'm a huge Billy Joel fan, especially the Piano Man album. I know some of his fans aren't mad about this song and think others are overlooked. But this song has everything: good lyrics, great melody in a key that makes it easy for people to sing. And I think there may be a little of an autobiography going on. I think he probably played in a bar like that before he made it big.
+1
Level 84
Jan 7, 2022
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness

But it's better than drinking alone

Brilliant songwriting. And I've always assumed, like you, that this was written as a slice of Billy's earlier life.

+1
Level 51
Jan 7, 2022
"Navy" needs to be capitalized.
+1
Level 52
Jun 6, 2023
I only didn't know how to spell loneliness :(