The Great Wall of China

Album: River Of Dreams (1993)
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Songfacts®:

  • Joel left little doubt that this song was a scathing attack on his former manager and ex-brother-in-law Frank Weber, who he had been battling in the courts for four years. In a great example of why you shouldn't do business with family, Joel put Weber in charge of his finances and then accused him of mismanaging his money.
  • In this song, Joel sings about how he and Weber could have made it to the Great Wall of China if Weber had just believed in him. The reason Joel chose the Great Wall for this metaphor was because he had already been to Cuba and Russia, and felt that China was still a great unknown for Westerners.

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