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In this blog post you can find the Piano Chords for Piano Man – the fantastic piano hit by Billy Joel.
This is a chord chart version of Piano Man where the piano chords are written above the lyrics of the song.
You can view the chord chart directly here on the page – but you are also welcome to download the piano chord chart for Piano Man as a PDF. Simply click the link at the bottom of the page.
REMEMBER: If you don’t know all the chords in this song – you can always download our FREE Piano Chord Charts PDF – Click Here to get it now.
A bit about the artist.
Billy Joel’s first album for Columbia was Piano Man, which in addition to featuring Captain Jack had a hit with the title track.
Two more albums followed along with some touring. But it was not until 1977 that Joel really had his break-through with the album The Stranger, which i.a. contains the classic Just The Way You Are.
This album has to date sold over 10 million copies and in 1978 triggered two Grammys: one for Record of the Year and one for Song of the Year. This album was also the start of a long collaboration with producer Phil Ramone.
In the fall of 1978, the sequel 52nd Street was released, selling more than two million copies in one month. This record received a Grammy in 1979 for Album of the Year.
In 1980, Billy Joel got his first number 1 hit in the United States with “It’s Still Rock’n Roll to Me”, from the hit album Glass Houses.
In 1982, Joel was injured in a motorcycle accident and was divorced the same year. That year, he released the Beatles-inspired album “The Nylon Curtain”.
The album “An Innocent Man” from 1983 achieved great success. Among the album’s biggest hits are “Uptown Girl”, “Tell Her About It” and “For The Longest Time”.
The record was a breath of fresh air from Joel on top of the more complex and artistically heavy Nylon Curtain album, and was partly inspired by his engagement to photo model Christie Brinkley.
In 1987, what happened, according to Joel himself, was the great highlight of his career, when he was the first Western artist to play a series of major concerts in the former Soviet Union. The documentary “A Matter Of Trust” and a live release on VHS, LP, MC and CD followed.
In 1989, Joel fired his former brother-in-law and manager for many years, Frank Weber, and sued him for fraud. That same year, Joel fired his band, which had been playing with him since 1973. Only drummer Liberty De Vito remained.
Record producer Phil Ramone was replaced by Mick Jones from Foreigner. Joel also filed a lawsuit against his former fraud lawyer, but the case was settled out of court before going to court.
Billy Joel’s studio album “Storm Front” from 1989 was another big sales success and included, among other things, the number 1 hit “We Didn’t Start The Fire”. The song “Shameless” from the same album also became a number 1 hit, but only several years later when country singer Garth Brooks recorded a cover version of it.
The last rock outing from Billy Joel came in 1993 with “River of Dreams”, which made its entry on the US charts as number 1, both album and single.
“Famous Last Words” is very aptly the title of the last track on this latest pop-rock album from Billy Joel.
Piano Man – Listen to the song here:
Here’s the chord chart with the piano chords for “Piano Man”. Below the chart you can find the PDF download. Enjoy.
“Piano Man” by Billy Joel
[Harmonica] (x2)
C C/B Am C/G F C/E D7 G
C C/B Am C/G F G11 C
C F/C Cmaj7 G11
C F/C Cmaj7 G11
[Verse]
C G/B F/A C/G F C/E D7 G
It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday The regular crowd shuffles in
C G/B F/A C/G F G11 C
There’s an old man sitting next to me making love to his tonic and gin
[Harmonica]
C C/B Am C/G F G11 C
C F/C Cmaj7 G11
[Verse]
C C/B Am C/G F C/E D7 G
He says son can you play me a memory I’m not really sure how it goes
C Em/B Am C/G F G11
But it’s sad and it’s sweet and I knew it complete when I wore a younger
C
man’s clothes
[Bridge]
Am Am/G D7/F# F Am Am/G D7/F# D7 G G/F C/E G7/D
[Chorus]
C G/B F/A C/G F C/E D7 G
Sing us a song you’re the piano man Sing us a song tonight
C G/B F/A C/G F G11
Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got us feeling
C
alright
[Harmonica]
C Em/B Am C/G F G11 C
C F/C Cmaj7 G11
C F/C Cmaj7 G11
[Verse]
C G/B F/A C/G F C/E D7 G
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine, he gets me my drinks for free
C G/B F/A C/G F
And he’s quick with a joke and a light of your smoke but there’s some place
G11 C F/C Cmaj7 G11
that he’d rather be
C G/B F/A C/G F C/E
He says Bill I believe this is killing me as the smile ran away from his
D7 G
face
C G/B F/A C/G F G11 C
Well I’m sure that I could be a movie star if I could get out of this place
[Bridge]
Am Am/G D7/F# F Am Am/G D7/F# D7 G G/F G
[Verse]
C G/B F/A C/G F C/E D7 G
Now Paul is a real estate novelist who never had time for a wife
C G/B F/A C/G F G11
And he’s talking with Davy who’s still in the navy and probably will be for
C
life
[Harmonica]
C G/B F/A C/G F G11 C
C F/C C F/C Cmaj7 G11
[Verse]
C G/B F/A C/G F C/E
And the waitress is practising politics as the businessmen slowly gets
D7 G
stoned
C G/B F/A C/G F
Yes, they’re sharing a drink they call loneliness but it’s better than
G11 C
drinking alone
[Instrumental]
Am Am/G D7/F# F
Am Am/G D7/F# F
Am Am/G D7/F# D7
G G/F C/E G/D
[Chorus]
C G/B F/A C/G F C/E
Sing us a song you’re the piano man Sing us a song
D7 G
tonight
C G/B F/A C/G F G11
Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got us feeling
C
alright
[Harmonica]
C C/B Am C/G F G11 C
C F/C Cmaj7 G11
C F/C Cmaj7 G11
[Verse]
C G/B F/A C/G F C/E D7 G
It’s a pretty good crowd for a Saturday and the manager gives me a smile
C G/B F/A C/G F
Cause he knows that it’s me they’ve been coming to see, to forget about
G11 C C F/C Cmaj7 G11
life for a while
C G/B F/A C/G F C/E D7 G
And the piano sounds like a carnival and the microphone smells like a beer
C G/B F/A C/G F G11
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar and say man what are you
C
doing here?
[Bridge]
Am Am/G D7/F# F Am Am/G D7/F# D7 G G/F C/E G/D
[Chorus]
C/E G7/D C G/B F/A C/G F C/E
Sing us a song you’re the piano man Sing us a song
D7 G
tonight
C G/B F/A C/G F G11
Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got us feeling
C
alright
[Harmonica]
C G/B F/A C/G F G11 C
C F/C Cmaj7 G11
C F/C Cmaj7 G11 G/F C/E G/D C
Download your FREE PDF: Piano Chords for Piano Man – Click Here
