Billy Joel: Goodnight Saigon
Many know Billy Joel for an upbeat love song ‘Uptown Girl’ others for a softer ballad about a piano player in New York, ‘Piano Man’ and some for a brilliant song about news headlines ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire.’
In this post however I want to talk about his 1982 track ‘Goodnight Saigon’. The song was written By Joel about the Vietnam War and the bond formed between American Soldiers despite the conflict. It starts, where the Marines fighting began ‘Parris Island’ and is written from the perspective of a soldier fighting.
The song didn’t glamorise the war, it tried to tell a story of those who were there. Evoking imagery that every soldier who served could relate too. The sound of crickets and helicopters begin the song and that itself is almost a snapshot into the conflict.
According to a Rolling Stone Music Critic, Stephen Holden, ‘As the song unfolds, Joel's 'we' becomes every American soldier, living and dead, who fought in Southeast Asia."
The song seemed to provide something that those who served could relate to, it seemed to be ultimate music epitaph of the war in Vietnam.
My dad first played me this song, and alongside being a brilliant heartfelt song about those who served, it’s a brilliant piece of music. Joel’s vocal is haunting and his piano playing fits the subject perfectly. The centre piece of the song is the backing vocals from Vietnam Veterans, that sing the songs most important line ‘We’d all go down together.’
A line that many people will resonate too and a line that highlights the true strength of friendship and people.