Album: Piano Man (1973)

License This Song 

• From a town known as Wheeling, West Virginia
  Rode a boy with a six gun in his hand
  And his daring life of crime
  Made him a legend in his time
  East and west of the Rio Grande.
  
  Well he started with a bank in Colorado
  In the pocket of his vest, a Colt he hid
  And his age and his size
  Took the teller by surprise
  And, the word spread of Billy the kid
  
  Well he never traveled heavy
  Yes he always rode alone
  And he soon put many older guns to shame
  And he never had a sweetheart
  And he never had a home
  But the cowboy and the rancher knew his name
  
  Well he robbed his way from Utah to Oklahoma
  And the largest could not seem to track him down
  And it served his legend well
  For the folks they loved to tell about
  When Billy the kid came to town.
  
  Well one cold day a posse captured Billy
  And the judge said String him up for what he did.
  And the cowboys and their kin
  Like the sea, came pouring in
  To watch the hanging of Billy the kid.
  
  Well he never traveled heavy
  Yes he always rode alone
  And he soon put many older guns to shame
  And he never had a sweetheart
  But he finally found a home
  Under the boot hill grave that bears his name.
  
  From a town known as Oyster Bay Long Island
  Rode a boy with a six pack in his hand
  And his daring life of crime
  Made him a legend in his time
  East and west of the Rio Grande. Writer/s: BILLY JOEL
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 8

• Richard from Somerdale , NjAs someone probably said below this, the boy with a six-pack in his hand is not Billy Joel, but a bartender from Long Island. He wrote it in the "Songs in the Attic" notes.
• Randy from Reading, PaI think some of you take thinks too literally. I read an interview where he said he also wanted to do a movie sountrack but no one every asked him to. So this was his attempt. Yes and he knows the Rio Grande runs East to West, but North to South didn't have the same punch in the context of the lyrics.
• Charles from Glenside, PaIt appears to me that the Rio Grande runs predominantly from NW to SE, I gleaned this from an Atlas of the USA. Perhaps I'll consult a 'geology book' later on if any conflicts arise regarding any rock formations or strata along it's course.
• Bill Crawford from Oro Valley, AzThe Rio Grande does flow north to south from southwest Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico.Please update your geology books in NJ and we do drive cars not ride horses here in the west also :)
• Mike from Hamilton, NjThe song says "East and West of the Rio Grande" but the Rio Grande runs East to West, so it would have to be "North and South of the Rio Grande" to be accurate.
• Olivia from Webster Gro Ves, MoAll of this is true except this isn't written about billy joel, its written about someone else he knew named billy
• Jason from Hicksville, OhVery true...the Billy from Oyster Bay is not B.J.! If you look in the liner notes from the "Songs In the Attic" album, you'll see where he talks about that. You know, something interesting about Billy the Kid is that most of his life is a mystery. Very little is known about him! No one knows really where he was born or really what his parents names were. There are theories and such, but nothing factual. Some say BtK was born in Mahattan, others say different. BUT, as inaccurate as the song is, historians have said there was a time when BtK was sentenced to a hanging. On the day of, however, he escaped and moved south! If you're interested in the Kid you can read up on him at wikipedia.com or aboutbillythekid.com as well! Interesting stuff!
• Me from There, PaNo, the boy from Long Island refers to a bartender Billy used to know named Billy also.

More Songfacts:

We Will Rock YouQueen

Brian May wrote Queen's "We Will Rock You" so the crowds could participate in the song. They didn't have instruments, but they could clap their hands and stomp their feet.

TragedyBee Gees

The thunderclap sound heard in the Bee Gees song "Tragedy" was made by Barry Gibb with his mouth.

Private DancerTina Turner

Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits wrote "Private Dancer," which went to Tina Turner when he realized it wasn't a song for a man to sing.

TendernessGeneral Public

"Tenderness" by General Public was partly inspired by the outbreak of AIDS, which at the time was thought to be contagious.

MickeyToni Basil

"Mickey" by Toni Basil was originally a song called "Kitty" by a male group. She picked the new name after Micky Dolenz of The Monkees.

Fight SongRachel Platten

Rachel Platten refused to talk politics when her "Fight Song" became the anthem for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, a decision she came to regret.

Editor's Picks

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

Don FelderSongwriter Interviews

Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."