Stop In Nevada
Song: Stop In Nevada
Album: Piano Man (1973)
Before I get into this song I just want to thank everyone who has taken the time to tell me what they think (good bad or a little of both) about A Year of Billy Joel. Thank you as well to everyone who has followed it and promoted it so far. I hope that you’ll continue to do so because I have eleven months of this to go.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Stop in Nevada is a straight up good song. Over the last few weeks I’ve enjoyed a number of Billy Joel songs but this is the first one where I feel like everything is just right for the song: Lyrics, music, melody, arrangement and vocals. You nailed it on this one Billy Joel. Well done. More of this please.
So what is it that I stands out about this song? For me it is the lyrics, which tell a story as well and as clearly as anything I’ve heard from a Joel song to this point. If you’re the kind of music fan who likes your songs to tell a story, this song is a great example.
The other thing that makes this an outstanding song is the feeling of sympathy it evokes for the character, a woman who left an unhappy marriage and heading out to California. In three brief verses Billy Joel tells the listener everything they need to know about who this person is and why they have made a life changing decision, then the chorus tells us where she is going and how she feels. The only notable thing the lyrics don’t spell out is if the stop in Nevada is to see Las Vegas or for a Reno divorce but I’d bet on the later. I’m nitpicking here, this is a great piece of songwriting and the fact that this detail isn’t spelled out helps the song by adding a little bit of mystery to it.
Move over “Travellin’ Prayer” because “Stop in Nevada” is my new favorite Billy Joel song (for now at least).
A few other random thoughts on this song:
1. I’m an easy mark for a “Woman leaves unhappy life for better future” song. Probbly because I was raised by a mother who did just that, albeit with less travel than this song.
2. We’ll probably never know the answer to this but is “Stop in Nevada” a very well written metaphor for Billy Joel’s own experience’s with the Family Productions record label? Family Productions put out the botched version of Cold Spring Harbor two years prior to the release of Piano Man. In the interim Billy Joel attempted to end his relationship with the label and he also headed to California, much like the person in this song. In Billy’s case he also took on the stage name Bill Martin and landed a regular gig at a bar in Los Angeles that served as the inspiration for the song “Piano Man.” Not bad for a new life.
3. On an album that is heavily influenced by country music, “Stop in Nevada” is the closest to what we think of as a classic country song in terms of lyrical content but musically it is unmistakably a Billy Joel song.
