The Billy Joel Lyric that Took a Preemptive Strike at His Critics

Billy Joel is beloved by his fans for many reasons, not least of which is his willingness to get scrappy from time to time. That has occasionally led to dustups with the music press and critics. With one memorable song from his 1983 album An Innocent Man, Joel seemed to be launching a preemptive strike at those critics before they even had a chance to fire their own shot.

The song in question is “Keeping the Faith,” which, musically, lopes about with a somewhat unassuming air. But if you dig deep into the lyrics, there’s a bit of an edge there, as Joel seemed to anticipate his critics’ complaints about both the song itself and the album that contained it.

An Innocent Gesture

Fully understanding the lyrics to “Keeping the Faith” requires a look at the context of where Joel was at that point in his life and career. In 1982, Joel triumphed artistically and commercially with the album The Nylon Curtain. But it was a difficult album to make, as he labored in the studio to create a record as musically advanced as any he’d made before.

Meanwhile, there was strife in his personal life, as he underwent a divorce from his first wife shortly before the release of that record. He also suffered a serious motorcycle accident right at the tail end of the sessions for The Nylon Curtain. Although he had accomplished his professional goal of making a classic album, he was at wit’s end.

That was when he met his future wife Christie Brinkley and a couple other supermodels while on an island vacation. To show off a bit for them, he began playing some old-time rock and roll songs on a piano at the hotel bar. This put that era in his mind, and that was what he referenced throughout the 1983 album An Innocent Man.

“Faith” Rewarded

If it seems like I’ve been lost in let’s remember / If you think I’m feeling older and missing my younger days, begins Joel in “Keeping the Faith.” Ostensibly, this is just a narrator talking to a friend who’s wondering about this sudden nostalgic turn. But considering Joel’s status at the time, couldn’t it just as easily have been him sending a little shot to any critics who might have been sharpening their knives? You can almost imagine him, chest out, head high, his Long Island drawl in full effect, as he barks out the line to someone daring to challenge him.

After all, there was some precedent for this. In 1980, Joel’s song “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” tackled what he perceived as the silliness of trying to categorize music and pretend that anything is truly new in the world of rock and roll. Considering the song came from an album where Joel borrowed a lot sound-wise from the new wave movement at the time, the song sort of cleared the way for what he was trying to achieve.

Joel was indeed somewhat prescient about the reaction to An Innocent Man. Although reviews were generally positive, they often hinted at the material perhaps being a bit slight compared to what the artist had been doing on his most recent records. “Keeping the Faith,” therefore, didn’t seem all that paranoid after all.

The song goes on to sweetly recall the details of Joel’s teenage days, so it’s not like it’s all confrontational. But it’s telling the video for “Keeping the Faith” featured Joel singing the song while on trial, suggesting he saw the song as evidence for the defense. If that was indeed his intention, “Keeping the Faith” makes for a very convincing Exhibit A.

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