| "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Billy-joel-movin-out-anthonys-song-columbia-US-vinyl.jpg) Side-A label of U.S. vinyl single | ||||
| Single by Billy Joel | ||||
| from the album The Stranger | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | September 1977[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1977 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock[2][3] | |||
| Length | 3:28 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Billy Joel | |||
| Producer(s) | Phil Ramone | |||
| Billy Joel singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" on YouTube | ||||
"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" is a song written and recorded by Billy Joel, featured on his 1977 album The Stranger as the opening track.
The song critiques the ambitions of working- and lower-middle-class New Yorkers who strive for material success as evidence of social mobility, working long hours to afford the outward signs of having "made it".[4] Joel describes characters with blue-collar occupations attempting to distance themselves from their working class roots by acquiring status symbols, such as upgrading from a Chevy to a Cadillac or purchasing a home in Hackensack, New Jersey. He implies these efforts are ultimately futile. According to Joel, Anthony is not a real person, but rather "every Irish, Polish, and Italian kid trying to make a living in the US".
The recording concludes with the sound effect of a car, bass player Doug Stegmeyer's 1960s Corvette, starting and driving away, symbolizing departure.
Live performances of the song can be heard on 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert and 12 Gardens Live.
- ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 436. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
- ^ "52nd Street". Rolling Stone. 14 December 1978.
- ^ Mitchell, Matt (January 20, 2024). "The 25 Greatest Billy Joel Songs of All Time". Paste. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 348. ISBN 0-87586-207-1.