How do you characterize the song "Movin' Out" by Billy Joel?

Happy Birthday, Billy Joel!

I always thought the song addressed the working-class ideal of having a house in the suburbs and a new car as measures of success.

Happy Birthday, from me too Billy Joel.
That is it about the lyrics, I agree. I think they were asking about the melody, I’m not sure. I just know I like it . I know it when I hear it kind of thing.

“Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)”

Anthony works in the grocery store
Savin’ his pennies for someday
Mama Leone left a note on the door,
She said,
“Sonny, move out to the country.”
Oh but workin’ too hard can give you
A heart attack
You oughta know by now
Who needs a house out in Hackensack?
Is that all you get for your money?

It seems such a waste of time
If that’s what it’s all about
Mama, if that’s movin’ up then I’m movin’ out.

Sergeant O’Leary is walkin’ the beat
At night he becomes a bartender
He works at Mister Cacciatore’s down
On Sullivan Street
Across from the medical center
He’s tradin’ in his Chevy for a Cadillac
You oughta know by now
And if he can’t drive
With a broken back
At least he can polish the fenders

And it seems such a waste of time
If that’s what it’s all about
Mama, if that’s movin’ up then I’m movin’ out.

You should never argue with a crazy mind
You oughta know by now
You can pay Uncle Sam with the overtime
Is that all you get for your money?

And if that’s what you have in mind
Yaeh that’s what your all about,
Good luck movin up, cause I’m movin’ out!

I’m movin’ out…

It’s what passed for rock in the 70’s.
Billy Joel sucks ass.

@filmfann what is your idea of a good song?

* I think they were asking about the melody* Do you mean what genre? If so, @filmfann is correct. It was considered rock at the time, but I would label it as pop.

Weird Al got it right.

My idea of a great song

@Pied_Pfeffer I think they might mean the degree of creativity when it comes to the melody, not so much the genre.
Do you mean @filmfann is right in that it shouldn’t be called rock?

Alright then @filmfann I’m baffled plus plus, but okay.

@bkcunningham what do think of the lyrics?

I love The Piano Man. I must say that first. He’s won six Grammy’s, had 14 platinum selling albums and he’s the number three best-selling solo artist of all time – behind Garth Brooks and Elvis.

I think it is about there being more to life than breaking your back to achieve status and a bigger house and a big shiny car. There’s more than status symbols to strive for in life.

@bkcunningham I agree, I also think winning the Grammy’s and selling the most means not much considering the horrid stuff that ends up winning, and selling. But Billy is amazing.

This is pretty interesting, @flo, if you like Joel.

The lyrics refer to the New York working-class immigrant masculine ethos, in which wage-earners take pride at working long hours to afford the outwards signs of having “made it” in America. The character “Anthony” questions if owning a house in Hackensack (a suburb of New York city) is worth the effort, while “Sergeant O’Leary” works 2 jobs in hopes of one day owning a Cadillac. (thanks, Dan – Columbia, MD)
Joel first wrote this song to a soft ballad mystery tune he had in his head. When he performed it for his band in the studio, they informed him WHERE he got the tune – it was identical to Neil Sadaka’s “Laughter In The Rain.” Embarrassed, Joel changed it to a more rocking tune. (thanks, Ken – Louisville, KY)
In 2002, The stage production Movin’ Out opened on Broadway. The show was based on Joel’s songs, and he won a Tony Award for the orchestration. The Broadway production closed in 2005, but lived on as a touring production from 2004–2007.
Billy Joel told USA Today July 9, 2008: “In the song, there’s the sound of a car peeling out. That was (bassist) Doug Stegmeyer’s car, who at the time had a ‘60s-era Corvette. He took his little tape machine in the car and hung the microphone out the rear end, and started burning rubber, screeching away from his house.
At the end, we went on and on and on and they faded it out. We were just having too much fun playing, we couldn’t stop! We’d look at Phil (Ramone, the album’s producer) and he’d just go, ‘Ah, just keep going, who knows how much of this we’re going to use, just go with it.’ The education of self-editing is a good process to learn.”

I never listened closely enough to the lyrics to figure them out—I just loved the energy of the song and Joel’s voice. Guess I can understand why some younger jellies don’t think much of him, but for my generation—or at least for me—he’s one of the best. My favorite Billy Joel song: And So It Goes.

If you haven’t seen the documentary of Joel’s concert at Shea right before the stadium was shut down, The Last Play at Shea, check it out. It’s terrific.

A pop song about the disallusionment of the middle class suburban lifestyle with fatalistic undertones.

Middle of the road shite…swerve to avoid.

I am not a huge fan of Billy Joel but that tune is catchy and depending on what else is on the radio, I may or may not listen to it.

@bkcunningham thank you for that. And he is funny too, I heard him (Added):interviewed by Alec Baldwin.

@Pachyderm_In_The_Room Those songs are great I agree. Those American Idol competetors are young, and they love B.J, Elton John, Neil Sedaka et al.

Plenty of young people in the audience, Here