Billy Joel - Q&A: What Was The Inspiration For "Miami 2017"? (UPenn 2001)

[@juliekostas7322]

Such a compelling story teller. He's been the soundtrack of my life.

[@thetruth72667]

The best to ever do it!!! My absolute favorite. If your a big Billy fan you should check this out: www.reverbnation.com/dominickdipietrantonio the song is called "Turnstile moonwalk" there's also another song "Be Myself" that has a sax solo by Billy's original sax player Richie cannata.

[@sequoiasemperviren3163]

I saw him live for the first time in my life last October 20th at MSG. He opened with Miami 2017. My life is complete.

[@paulisaac78]

I can defintely tell the difference in Billy's voice in this viedo 16 yrs ago compared to now. Its much crisper and on!

[@catzipper]

Thats what happens as you age....your vocal cords & muscles change and thus your voice. And unlike certain other singers, he doesnt use studio tricks to tweak it in his older age

[@thegabrielfrost]

The music to that song is absolutely beautiful.

[@jabello]

My favorite song from him

[@lynusbinkley90]

An absolute master of his craft.

[@joeye3184]

Wonderful

[@haplopeart]

I love just listening to Billy, talk about music!

[@kevindriscoll6809]

The song I immediately thought of listening to the staccato sound of the floors collapsing in the South Tower on 9/11.

[@fay-amieaspen6046]

Love this song and New York State of Mind!

[@JPMcFly1985]

It's really interesting that the song isn't even about Miami or the year 2017 (which was crazy far in the future in 1975-76 when he wrote it), it's from the perspective of him as an old dude telling the story of the apocalypse to his grandkids.

[@nickavenoso7851]

Billy explains the song title in this video. It’s called Miami 2017 because many New Yorkers retire to Florida (specifically Miami).

[@coreyadams6575]

It’s funny at the start when he says “bufangulo” it means f*ck off in Italian

[@mattiadellamico888]

I’m from Italy, precisely would be “vaffanculo”

[@coreyadams6575]

Yes but that’s the way billy Joel said it because he has slang in is Italian

[@domaddeo401]

@@coreyadams6575 indeed - as it is in the Neopolitan dialect - appropriate, as it is very prevalent in New York.

[@paulzammataro7185]

I am here on 5/13/20. I just watched the video of him playing this for Robin Hood Foundation Covid-19 fundraiser. The lights on the Empire State Building synced to him playing this song............. Awesome! I'm pretty sure that he played this for both 9/11 and 12/12/12 previously. 🎹🗽🎶

[@johnc6042]

What a great story. I wish America was great again like that

[@dave929]

During the 9/11 benefit concert he said it was about an alien invasion. He added that he never thought something like it could happen, and said - “But we’re not going anywhere!”

[@robbieblevins756]

1:10 … “I thought, you know what? Bah fongul!”

[@bhg123ful]

Wow, I'm sure this song has a chilling effect on everyone considering this was only two months after 9/11. I could only imagine what people in the audience were thinking when he sang the lyrics "I saw the might tower fall." In fact I wondered if Joel was prescient when he wrote this. I think again with Covid this song has relevance as well. I spent 48 hours in NYC last summer, and it was great visiting during its post-lockdown recovery, but without the international tourist crowds. I heard he sung this song after 9/11 at a concert and yelled "We're not going anywhere.

[@dansfilms7901]

"We held a concert out in Brooklyn"

[@ryangreer6927]

@@dansfilms7901 yes at the concert for New York which was held in Brooklyn he opened the song by saying how he never thought the lyrics would become so relevant and said unlike the end of the song, we aren’t going nowhere. Very emotional moment definitely recommend watching I think it’s on Vimeo somewhere used to be up here not anymore

[@cheri7054]

Billy Joel is an amazing imitator

[@i_aint_ai]

Thats what he says

[@harryhood8698]

Its sad that the lyrics became reality on 9/11

[@gangpardos3833]

Bubba Booey the song itself now is actually use as a NYC rallying cry and i think he actually performed it in commeration of the evil day

[@willthetrill4849]

That one lyric which was “I watched the mighty skyline fall”

[@ShedeasVideos]

Not long now! And even if the lights don't go out, it's still going to be an interesting year :-/

[@montanan4007]

Can we get a Miami 2017 tribute concert by the time this year is over???

[@somena]

THAT was the first words in Italian that I ever learned from a Night Securiity Guard named ED, whose best friend was Italian. He said You need to learn THIS phrase "Fu'fa'guah - bachia' mia azzano!" :)

[@nugraharycr]

Meaghie Champion what does that mean ?

[@ainemairead4542]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@audreyorr2206]

1:58 "And I'm telling my grandchildren in 2017" Nice try bud, you still were having children in 2017

[@paulzammataro7185]

Does anyone else get choked up hearing this song now, and you didn't when it first came out? .. or is it just me? I assume it has to do with being older now, Son of Sam,the WTC bombing in '93, 9/11, Sandy, COVID-19, and the people drowning in their basement apartments 2 weeks ago. 🤔

[@Jpw824]

Did he ever play Miami 2017 IN Miami in 2017?

[@nickavenoso7851]

He performed the song on New Year’s Eve 2016 at the BB&T Center as the clock struck midnight thus meaning he sang the song in Miami in 2017.

[@SuperHeartDotOrg]

Billy Joel created a song in 1976 called Miami 2017 Remember what happened to Miami and NY & East Coast and CA in 2017? How and why? I have all his records bought in 2017 and 1 Of my faves since 1976 💪❤️ Some people just know #messages LYRICS Seen the lights go out Broadway I saw the Empire State laid low And life went on beyond the Palisades They all bought Cadillacs And left there long ago They held a concert out in Brooklyn To watch the island bridges blow They turned our power down And drove us underground But we went right on with the show I've seen the lights go out on Broadway I saw the ruins at my feet You know we almost didn't notice it We'd seen it all the time on Forty second street They burned the churches down in Harlem Like in that Spanish civil war The flames were everywhere But no one really cared It always burned up there before I've seen the lights go out on Broadway I saw the mighty skyline fall The boats were waiting at the battery The union went on strike They never sailed at all They sent a carrier out from Norfolk And picked the Yankees up for free They said that Queens could stay And blew the Bronx away And sank Manhattan out at sea You know those lights were bright on Broadway That was so many years ago Before we all lived here in Florida Before the Mafia took over Mexico There are not many who remember They say a handful still survive To tell the world about The way the lights went out And keep the memory alive

[@joeylau7578]

mr Joel come to 🇨🇳 to do a Q&A with your Chinese fans Plz 😭

[@sbrechegno]

So i tought..vaffangul..ahah..hilarious

[@riccardoangeli802]

Per Piano Man niente e' impossibile la musica e' un gioco facile 🎹

[@nugraharycr]

what he says at 1:12 ?

[@djberniegonzalez]

fangool

[@nugraharycr]

bernie gonzalez thanks pal

[@Peterstarzynskitech]

Nugrahary Cahya Ramadhani it's a cuss word.

[@ainemairead4542]

This is a "HISTORY LESSON"""

[@sbrechegno]

And now..curiously the year 2017 was kinda like today's world..or worse

[@SuperHeartDotOrg]

LYRICS Seen the lights go out Broadway I saw the Empire State laid low And life went on beyond the Palisades They all bought Cadillacs And left there long ago They held a concert out in Brooklyn To watch the island bridges blow They turned our power down And drove us underground But we went right on with the show I've seen the lights go out on Broadway I saw the ruins at my feet You know we almost didn't notice it We'd seen it all the time on Forty second street They burned the churches down in Harlem Like in that Spanish civil war The flames were everywhere But no one really cared It always burned up there before I've seen the lights go out on Broadway I saw the mighty skyline fall The boats were waiting at the battery The union went on strike They never sailed at all They sent a carrier out from Norfolk And picked the Yankees up for free They said that Queens could stay And blew the Bronx away And sank Manhattan out at sea You know those lights were bright on Broadway That was so many years ago Before we all lived here in Florida Before the Mafia took over Mexico There are not many who remember They say a handful still survive To tell the world about The way the lights went out And keep the memory alive

[@robertwilcox8572]

Sadly, this song has become a metaphor for the whole country.

[@UnclaimedPants1]

what is miami 2017?

[@123321Nulli]

It's a town in Florida with a year in future times.

[@trollza21]

+Unclaimed Pantss its beter know by its unofficial name I've Seen the Lights go out on Broadway, the reason he called it 2017 is because he imagined it as grandparents explaining to their grandchildren about what happened to New York if it went bankrupt or "defaulted", and imagined New York as an apocalyptic wasteland. Side Note: THIS SONG HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11, but people connected 9/11 to it due to the similarities between the lyrics and the events that happened that morning.

[@trollza21]

Eli Rah the song was written in the 70's. and this lecture was in the early 2000's. people associate it with 9/11 or Hurricane Sandy simply because of the lyrics depicting New York in a state of decay. (PS Wikipedia is a very unreliable source for info)

[@paulzammataro7185]

@@thezombiecreeper He played it for the 12/12/12 benefit concert for Sandy. He also changed the words for Ssndy.

[@thezombiecreeper]

ThePianoMan yeah, when I wrote that comment, I was what they call, uhh, Retarded? Whatever. Now I know that Billy wrote this from the eyes of a guy in Florida telling this story to his grandkids about an “apocalypse” in NYC, even though it was mainly just the fact that NYC was, uhh, Bankrupt?

[@Dagobert1234]

It’s so sad to see these lyrics became reality for Chicago in 2019

[@dekopac311japan2]

Negative! its sad that the lyrics became reality on President Trump appearance

[@username3788]

Of course a good song has to be made political for no reason