For my final passions blog, I will be discussing the song “The Stranger”.
This song comes from Joel’s fifth studio album of the same name. It was originally released in 1978 as a single in Japan and peaked on the Japanese charts at #2. The song was produced by Phil Ramone and is one of Joel’s more underrated tracks.
The song opens very quietly with a whistle track and piano accompaniment. Although Joel wanted this opening to be by a woodwind instrument, his producer encouraged him to drop the idea and move forward with a personal whistle track.
The song is about the collective unknown surrounding people or things we think we know. Joel says the song can also relate to how we sometimes don’t know ourselves. Joel modeled this song after this idea when he had a halfhearted suicide attempt at 21 in which he drank furnisher polish to take his own life.
The song opens with the lyrics: “Well, we all have a face, That we hide away forever, And we take them out, And show ourselves when everyone has gone.” This reflects the idea of the entire song. This describes the underpinnings of society as most people go about their lives with a hidden personality that the world never truly sees.
Going into the second verse, the idea of falling in love with another person but not knowing their “stranger” is explored. “Well, we all fall in love, But we disregard the danger, Though we share so many secrets, There are some we never tell, Why were you so surprised, That you never saw the stranger? Did you ever let your lover, See the stranger in yourself?” By asking this daunting question about if we ever truly know the people we are with, Joel continues to relay personal experience. “Once I used to believe I was such a great romancer, Then I came home to a woman, That I could not recognize…it was then I felt the stranger kick me right between the eyes.” This turn of events in the song as Joel moves from talking about the stranger within oneself, to the stranger in others, to the stranger’s revenge on the narrator from the person they are with.
As the song closes, the moral is that “the stranger” is not always negative, but rather to be wary when it comes to this prospect. The whistle intro returns to close out the song and it feels as though a mysterious movie has just come to a close. This song paints a beautiful picture with its instrumentation and really creates the feeling of mystique and distrust that aligns with the lyrics.
This blog has been such a joy to write and I am so glad that I got this time to dissect some of my favorite music. Thanks for reading!
One Comment
I had no idea Joel ever struggled with his mental health. The fact that he used music to cope, and to help others find someone who understands what they are going through, is amazing. The vulnerability Joel provides to his listeners is inspiring. It takes a lot of courage to share your own struggles and the fact he did this for his hundreds of thousands of fans is astonishing. I really enjoyed each of your blog posts. Thank you for introducing me to a plethora of new songs by Joel!