Consider Billy Joel’s antimaterialistic #17 single “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” specifically Sergeant O’Leary, who is trading in his Chevy for a Cadillac-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack:

And if he can’t drive with a broken back / At least he can polish the fenders

Let’s leave aside the question of how Sergeant O’Leary is walking the beat or working as a bartender with a snapped spine–maybe the point is that all this toil is going to destroy him. But polishing car fenders involves a fair bit of physical movement–how’s O’Leary going to do that with a broken back?

posted 26 August 2013 in Tasty Bits and tagged Billy Joel, Unlikely Lyrics. no comments yet