One more song for our present-time unit. A man plays the piano in a bar, and tells us about the people who come in every Saturday.
Learn from Songs · Unit 1: Present time · B1
Piano Man
A song about a regular Saturday night in a bar: the present simple for scenes and routines (the crowd comes in at nine), the present continuous for what is happening right now, and the language of dreams (want to be, would rather be, dream of being), with Marcos and his lyre.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
Like a little play, with characters!
MARCOS
I play the lyre. I could do that.
PHILO
Not in tune, you couldn’t.
Before you listen: the song
Los Angeles, 1972–1973
In 1972, the young Billy Joel had problems with his first record company, and couldn’t record any music. So for six months he played piano in a bar in Los Angeles, the Executive Room, under a false name: Bill Martin.
He watched the people who came in every night, and turned them into a song. In “Piano Man”, it is nine o’clock on a Saturday, and the regular crowd comes in. An old man wants to hear a song from his youth. John the bartender wants to be a film star. Paul, a writer, never has time to write his novel. A businessman would rather be somewhere else. They all drink, they all listen, and for a few minutes, the music makes them forget.
It was Billy Joel’s first big hit, and he still finishes almost every concert with it.
Everybody in the song has a dream, and nobody is following it.
Listen: the characters
PHILO
Listen once, and write down every character: who are they, what do they do, and what do they want?
SOPHIA
Then listen again, and answer Section A.
🎹 Listen to the song: “Piano Man” (Billy Joel, 1973).Watch the official video →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Piano Man”, Billy Joel.Read the lyrics →
The present simple: a regular scene
DEMETRIA
It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday. The crowd comes in. The old man sits next to him.
SOPHIA
Billy Joel uses the present simple for things that happen every Saturday, the regular scene. And sometimes the present continuous for what is happening at that moment: the waitress is practising politics, the businessmen are getting drunk.
Dreams: want to be, would rather be
MARCOS
John wants to be a film star. Paul dreams of writing a novel. The businessman would rather be anywhere else.
SOPHIA
want to + verb; would like to + verb; would rather + base verb (no to); dream of / about + -ing; hope to + verb. And for dreams you never follow: He’s sure he could be a star, if he could get out of this place.
Sophia’s comparison: the bard at the feast
SOPHIA
In the Odyssey, the blind singer Demodocus plays the lyre at the feast of the Phaeacians. He sings about Troy, and a stranger at the table hides his face and weeps.
PHILO
Odysseus! Because the song was about his own life.
DEMETRIA
So the Piano Man is a kind of Demodocus. People listen to him, and hear their own lives.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| present simple | regular scenes and routines | The crowd comes in at nine. |
| present continuous | what is happening at that moment | The old man is sitting next to me. |
| want to be / would like to be | wishes | John wants to be a film star. |
| would rather + base verb | preference | He’d rather be anywhere else. |
| dream of / about + -ing | dreams | Paul dreams of writing a novel. |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. What time does the song start?
2. Where is the singer?
3. What does the old man want?
4. What does John the bartender want to be?
5. What is Paul’s problem?
6. What does the crowd ask the singer to do?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. Every Saturday, the crowd in at nine. (come)
8. He wants an actor. (be)
9. She’d rather at home tonight. (stay)
10. He dreams writing a novel.
11. Listen! He our song. (play, now)
12. The music them forget their problems. (make)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I would rather to stay here.”
14. “She wants to be a doctor.”
15. “He dreams to be famous.”
16. “Music makes me feel happy.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Discuss. 1. Which character do you feel sorry for most? Why? 2. Why do you think people don’t follow their dreams? 3. What music makes you forget your problems?
Write (100–130 words). Saturday night. You are a musician (or a waiter) in a café on a Saturday night. Describe the regulars: who comes in, what they do every week, what they are doing tonight, and what each of them wants to be or would rather do.
Now play the gamebook: a Saturday night at the Dolphin tavern, with Marcos and his lyre.Play the gamebook →