This is a tough song, but an absolute masterpiece.  You can tell from the title that it's about the Vietnam war....but you have to listen to it to understand that it's about all wars, and the people who fight them.  It isn't a political song, and it doesn't offer social commentary.  It's just here to pay tribute to the experiences of the soldiers Billy knew who fought in the war.

He touches on the wounded, both physically and emotionally...and of course he touches on those who lost their lives.  He speaks of the day to day experiences....how they passed the time between patrol shifts....and on the fear and anxiety in anticipation of the next firefight, especially in the dark silent nights.

This song really hits me in multiple ways.  As a musician, it's brilliantly crafted....great chord progression, beautiful piano voicings, amazing dynamic shifts....a gorgeous and thoughtful blend of tender compassion and explosive power at different times in the song.  But as a human, it affects me even more.

My aunt was a combat nurse in a hospital in Saigon.  They treated the worst and most gruesome wounds you can possibly imagine, and of course way more than anyone should ever have to, they pronounced soldiers dead after trying their best to save them.  They also took shelling regularly and would have to cover themselves with mattresses in case the ceiling caved in on them.  She came home permanently scarred from Agent Orange, developing COPD and then a sclerosis similar in nature to ALS that eventually took her life.  

A very special friend of mine's father survived the war without significant physical injury, but came home with horrific PTSD and survivor's guilt after watching so many of his camarades die standing right next to him or right where he had just been.  It led to a lifetime of difficulties in a myriad of ways that 50 years later he is still coping with.  

And all of this is to say NOTHING of the carnage and destruction of countless lives and communities in Vietnam that have had to rebuild and heal in the years since.

This song will always be one of my favorites, and also one of the most difficult to perform or even listen to.  I've had the privilege of seeing Billy play it live in person 5 times....it's a very emotional experience whenever he does, and several members of his road crew come up on stage and sing the chorus arm in arm...."And we would all go down together, we said we'd all go down together, yes we would all go down together."  

It's a brilliant piece of art that I would give anything to be able to remove from existence by erasing the circumstances from our history that led to its creation.

Enjoy my cover of this song from a livestream show I did on July 5, 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and then check out my favorite performance of it by Billy Joel himself at Wembley Arena in London during his 1984 tour. 

If you'd like to explore my piano method more deeply, my best students use my video courses and join me for conversation and twice monthly Q&A Livestreams in my private community...you can find it all HERE. Thanks.

If the video doesn't show above, use THIS LINK to see it on YouTube

If the video doesn't show above, use THIS LINK to see it on YouTube