There's a lot of tension in this town
I know it's building up inside of me
I've got all the symptoms and the side effects
Of city life anxiety
I could never understand why the urban attitude
Is so superior
In a world of high-rise ambition
Most people's motives are ulterior, oh

Sometimes I feel as though I'm running on ice
Paying the price too long
Kind of get the feeling that I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong?

I'm a cosmopolitan sophisticate
Of culture and intelligence
The culmination of technology
And civilized experience
But I'm carrying the weight of all the useless junk
A modern man accumulates
I'm a statistic in a system
That a civil servant dominates, oh

And all that means is that I'm running on ice
Caught in a vise so strong
I'm slipping and sliding, 'cause I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong?

You've got to run, run, run, run, oh, oh-oh-oh
Run, run, run, run, oh, oh-oh-oh

As fast as I can climb
A new disaster every time I turn around
As soon as I get one fire put out
There's another building burning down
They say this highway's going my way
But I don't know where it's taking me
It's a bad waste, a sad case, a rat race
It's breaking me, oh

I get no traction 'cause I'm running on ice
It's taking me twice as long
I get a bad reaction 'cause I'm running on ice
Where did my life go wrong?

You've got to run, run, run, run, oh, oh-oh-oh
Run, run, run, run, run, run, oh, oh-oh-oh

Running on ice
Running on ice
Running, running on ice
Running on ice, running on ice
Slippin' and slidin', running on ice
Running on ice, slippin' and slidin'
Running on ice
				

[Verse 1]
We walked on the beach beside that old hotel
They're tearin' it down now, but it's just as well
I haven't shown you everything a man can do
So stay with me, baby
I've got plans for you

[Chorus]
This is the time to remember
'Cause it will not last forever
These are the days to hold on to
'Cause we won't, although we'll want to
This is the time
But time is gonna change

[Post-Chorus]
You've given me the best of you
But now I need the rest of you

[Verse 2]
Did you know that before you came into my life
It was some kind of miracle that I survived
Some day we will both look back
And have to laugh
We lived through a lifetime
And the aftermath

[Chorus]
This is the time to remember
'Cause it will not last forever
These are the days to hold on to
'Cause we won't, although we'll want to
This is the time
But time is gonna change

[Post-Chorus]
I know we've got to move somehow
But I don't want to lose you now

[Bridge]
Sometimes it's so easy
To let a day slip on by
Without even seeing each other at all
But this is the time you'll turn back to and so will I
And those will be days you can never recall

And so we embrace again
Behind the dunes
This beach is so cold on winter afternoons
But holding you close is like holding the summer sun
I'm warm from the memory of days to come

[Chorus]
This is the time to remember
'Cause it will not last forever
These are the days to hold on to
'Cause we won't, although we'll want to
This is the time
But time is gonna change
[Post-Chorus]
You've given me the best of you
But now I need the rest of you
				

[Intro]
One, two
One, two, three, four

[Verse 1]
Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
And they may not want it to end
But it will, it's just a question of when
I've lived long enough to have learned
The closer you get to the fire the more you get burned
But that won't happen to us
'Cause it's always been a matter of trust

[Verse 2]
I know you're an emotional girl
It took a lot for you to not lose your faith in this world
But I can't offer you proof
But you're gonna face a moment of truth
It's hard when you're always afraid
You just recover when another belief is betrayed
So break my heart if you must
It's a matter of trust

[Bridge]
You can't go the distance
With too much resistance
I know you have doubts
But for God's sake, don't shut me out

[Verse 3]
This time you've got nothing to lose
You can take it, you can leave it whatever you choose
I won't hold back anything
And I'll walk away a fool or a king
Some love is just a lie of the mind
It's make believe until it's only a matter of time
And some might have learned to adjust
But then it never was a matter of trust

[Bridge]
I'm sure you're aware love
We've both had our share of
Believing too long
When the whole situation was wrong

[Verse 4]
Some love is just a lie of the soul
A constant battle for the ultimate state of control
After you've heard lie upon lie
There can hardly be a question of why
Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
But that can't happen to us
'Cause it's always been a matter of trust
[Outro]
It's a matter of trust
It's always been a matter of trust
It's a matter of trust
'Cause it's always been a matter of trust
				

[Verse 1]
You see her sitting with her coffee and her paper
With her high top sneakers of Italian design
With a long cool stare she aggravates the tension
Makes up her face while she makes up her mind

[Verse 2]
Now you're in trouble, maybe she's an intellectual
What if she figures out you're not very smart
Or maybe she's the quiet type who's into heavy metal
Boy, you got to get it settled
Cause she's breaking your heart

[Chorus]
Don't try to put on an act
You can't do that to a modern woman
And you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman

[Verse 3]
She looks sleek and she seems so professional
She's got a lot of confidence, it's easy to see
You want to make a move
But you feel so inferior
Cause under that exterior
Is someone who's free

[Verse 4]
She's got style and she's got her own money
So she's not another honey you can quickly disarm
She's got the eyes that make you realize
She won't be hypnotized by your usual charm

[Chorus]
You've got your plan of attack
That won't attract the modern woman
When you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman

[Instrumental]

[Verse 5]
Time goes by and you're sharing an apartment
She says she loves you but she doesn't know why
In the morning she leaves you with your coffee and your paper
It's a strange situation for an old fashioned guy

[Verse 6]
But times have changed
Things are not the same, baby
You overcame such a bad attitude
Rock and roll just used to be for kicks
And nowadays it's politics
And after 1986 what else could be new
[Chorus]
You got to learn to relax
And face the facts of modern woman
And you're an old fashioned man
She understands the things you're doin'
She's a modern woman

[Outro]
She’s a modern woman
You got the casual hip that don’t exist to the modern woman
She’s a modern woman
She’s my dream woman
She’s a modern woman, yeah, yeah, yeah!
She’s a modern woman
				

[Verse 1: Billy Joel]
Late at night when it's dark and cold
I reach out for someone to hold
When I'm blue, when I'm lonely
She comes through, she's the only one who can
My baby grand is all I need

[Verse 2: Ray Charles]
In my time, I've wandered everywhere
Around this world, she would always be there
Any day, any hour
All it takes is the power in my hands
This baby grand's been good to me

[Chorus: Billy Joel & Ray Charles]
I've had friends, but they slipped away
And I've had fame, but it doesn't stay
I've made fortunes, I spent them fast enough
But as for women, they don't lust with just one man
But my baby grand is gonna stand by me

[Verse 3: Billy Joel & Ray Charles]
They say that no one's gonna play this on the radio
Why, I don't believe that
They said the melancholy blues were dead and gone
But only songs like these played in minor keys
Keep those memories holding on

[Chorus: Billy Joel & Ray Charles]
I've come far from the life I strayed in
And I've got the scars from those dives I played in
Now I'm home, and I'm weary
And in my bones, every dreary one night stand
My baby grand is coming home with me
With me

[Outro: Billy Joel]
But ever since this gig began
My baby grand's been good to me
				

Why can't I lay low?
Why can't I say what I mean?
Why don't I stay home
And get myself into some boring routine?

Why can't I calm down?
Why is it always a fight?
I can't get unwound
Why do I throw myself into the night?

I'm on the outside
I don't fit into a groove
Now, I ain't a bad guy
So tell me what am I trying to prove?

Why can't I cool out?
Why don't I button my lip?
Why do I lash out?
Why is it I always shoot from the hip?

I cruise from Houston to Canal Street, a misfit and a rebel
I see the winos talking to themselves and I can understand
Why is it everytime I go out I always seem to get in trouble?
I guess I made an impression on somebody north of Hester and South of Grand

And so in my small way
I'm a big man on Mulberry Street
I don't mean always
Only at night when I'm light on my feet
What else have I got
That I'd be trying to hide?
Maybe a blind spot
I haven't seen from the sensitive side?

But you know in my own heart
I'm a big man on Mulberry Street
I've played the whole part
I'll leave a big tip with every receipt

I'm so romantic
I'm such a passionate man
Sometimes I panic
What if nobody finds out who I am?
				

It's time for me to be on my way I know
I've got business to conduct
And I've got places to go

But I can't help looking at her sleeping instead
Another morning I'll have trouble
Climbing out of this bed

Because she's such a temptation
It's driving me crazy
And it's my fascination
That's making me act this way

And I know what all of my friends say
They're afraid that I'm losing my touch
But she's such a temptation

Oh, I look so tired 'cause I don't get much sleep
I've got too many commitments
That are too hard to keep

And I try to be rational and I try to be wise
But it all gets blown to pieces
When I look in her eyes

Because she's such a temptation
And nothing can save me
And I might find salvation
If I can tear myself away

'Cause I know what all of my friends say
There's a danger in wanting too much
But she's such a temptation

Oh yeah, I should be leaving but I can't cut loose
I have my reasons for resistance
But I have no excuse

And I lose my composure, I could use some restraint
I never claimed to be a hero
And I never said I was a saint

She's such a temptation
It's driving me crazy
And it's my fascination
That's making me act this way

And I can just hear all my friends say
"Better watch out, you're losing your touch"
But she's such a temptation

Yes she is
She's such a temptation
Yes she is, oh yes she is
She's such a temptation
				

[Verse 1: Billy Joel]
Everybody's got a million questions
Everybody wants to know the score
What you went through
It's something you should be over now
Everybody wants to hear the secrets
That you never told a soul before
And it's not that strange
'Cause it wouldn't change what happened anyhow
But you swore to yourself a long time ago
There were some things that people never needed to know
This is one that you keep, that you bury so deep
No one can tear it out

[Chorus: Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Both]
And you can't talk about it
'Cause you're following a code of silence
You're never gonna lose the anger
You just deal with it in a different way
And you can't talk about it (No, you can't talk)
And isn't that a kind of madness
To be living by a code of silence
When you've really got a lot to say

[Verse 2: Billy Joel]
You don't wanna lose a friendship
There's nothing that you have to hide
And a little dirt
Couldn't hurt no one anyway
And you still have a rage inside you
That you carry with a certain pride
In the only part of the broken heart
That you could ever save
But you've been through it once, you know how it ends
You don't see the point of going through it again
And this ain't the place and this ain't the time
And neither's any other day

[Chorus: Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Both]
So you can't talk about it
'Cause you're following a code of silence
You're never gonna lose the anger
You just deal with it in a different way
So you can't talk about it (No, you can't talk)
And isn't that a kind of madness
To be living by a code of silence
When you've really got a lot to say

[Bridge: Billy Joel]
I know you well enough to tell you've got your reasons
That's not the kind of code you're inclined to break
Some things unknown are best left alone forever
And if a vow is what it takes
Haven't you paid for your mistakes?

[Verse 3: Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper]
After the moment passes
And the impulse disappears
You can still hold back
'Cause you don't crack very easily
It's a time-honored resolution
'Cause the danger is always near
It's with you now
But that ain't how it was supposed to be (No, no, no)
And it's hard to believe after all these years
That it still gives you pain and it still brings tears
And you feel like a fool, 'cause in spite all your rules
You've got a memory
[Chorus: Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Both]
But you can't talk about it
'Cause you're following a code of silence
You're never gonna lose the anger
You just deal with it in a different way
But you can't talk about it (No, you can't talk)
And isn't that a kind of madness
To be living by a code of silence
When you've really got a lot to say

[Outro: Cyndi Lauper]
'Cause you can't, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah now, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Woo, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Ooh yeah, yeah, yeah
				

[Verse 1]
I went searching for the truth
But in my innocence I found
All the con men and their acrobats
Who stomped me in the ground
If I count up their percentages
I know they're getting rich
But they haven't taken everything
Those paybacks are a bitch

[Pre-Chorus]
Though I've lost quite a lot
I am still in control
They can keep what they've got
But they can't have my soul

[Chorus]
And if I don't have this all worked out
Still I'm getting closer, getting closer
I still have far to go, no doubt
But I'm getting closer, getting closer

[Verse 2]
What was ripped off by professionals
Is not all that it seems
While I must live up to contracts
I did not give up my dreams
If I see it as experience
It hasn't gone to waste
Lately all the missing pieces
Have been falling into place

[Pre-Chorus]
And if I could go back
And start over somehow
I would not change that much
Knowing what I know now

[Chorus]
Though there have been sins I will regret
Still I'm getting closer, getting closer
I don't have all the answers yet
But I'm getting closer, getting close

[Bridge]
I'm getting closer, yeah, oh, oh, oh

[Instrumental Break]

Can't get no farther, no, no, no

[Verse 3]
I'm a mark for every shyster
From Topanga to Berlin
And I should have learned to kick them out
As soon as they crawled in
So to every bank in Switzerland
That stores my stolen youth
I'm alright because despite the laws
You cannot hide the truth
[Pre-Chorus]
And although you will say
I am still too naïve
But I have not lost faith
In the things I believe

[Chorus]
And if I don't have this all worked out
Still I'm getting closer, getting closer
Still have far to go, no doubt
But I'm getting closer, getting close

[Outro]
Woohoo, ooh, ooh
I'm getting closer, yeah, yeah
I can't get no farther, no, no, no

Searching for the truth
In my innocence I found
Stomp me in the ground
Getting closer, yeah, yeah, ooh-hoo