December 26, 2013 – My thoughts…My story

I have been in love with this song since I heard it for the first time. I enjoyed it even more when I attended a Billy Joel concert in Washington DC in 2005 and he played this song as his closing number. I think it is one of the best songs ever.

It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday
the regular crowd shuffles in
There’s an old man sitting next to me
Makin’ love to his tonic and gin
He says, Son can you play me a memory
I’m not really sure how it goes
But it’s sad and it’s sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man’s clothes

Chorus:
Sing us a song, you’re the piano man
sing us a song tonight
Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody
And you’ve got us feelin’ alright

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he’s quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there’s someplace that he’d rather be
He says Bill, I believe this is killing me
As the smile ran away from his face
Well I’m sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place

Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he’s talking with Davy who’s still in the navy
And probably will be for life

And the waitress is practising politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they’re sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it’s better than drinking alone

Chorus:
Sing us a song, you’re the piano man
Sing us a song tonight.
Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody
And you’ve got us feelin’ alright.

It’s a pretty good crowd for a Saturday,
And the manager gives me a smile
‘Cause he knows that it’s me they’ve been coming to see
To forget about life for awhile.
And the piano sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say “Man, what are you doin’ here?”

Chorus:

Sing us a song, you’re the piano man
Sing us a song tonight.
Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody
And you’ve got us feelin’ alright

Last Sunday, we visited a village called Chincholi Morachi. The village is approx. 50 kms away from Pune on Ahmednagar highway. Chincholi means Tamarind trees and Morachi means peacock, thus translating name of the village as Village of Tamarind trees and Peacocks. The drive to the village is very pleasant with rolling hills on the side. I had been here earlier along with Saurav Roy in December last year. As soon as we reached the village, we spotted a peacock but before I could take a picture, the peacock ran away. We then parked ahead on the side of the road and then entered the fields to observe some peacocks. We also ran into a local villager who told us how he feeds the peacocks on the daily basis and they are running away because we are strangers. By this time, we had already spent like 45 mins there. The villager asked us to stay back for some more time and the peacocks would come. However, we decided to make a move and head back to Pune. Overall, we had a good trip.