Billy Joel

One of my first album’s was Billy Joel’s 52nd Street. Or was that my brother’s? Or perhaps my first was Streetlife Serenade that included the instrumental “Rootbeer Rag.” I don’t listen to Billy Joel much anymore, but a lullabye he wrote lives on at bedtime in our home.

According to a TV interview, Joel wrote this song for his daughter, Alexa, as an answer to her questions about dying. I sing it to my children often at bedtime. My children are seven, ten, and twelve. Lullabyes are not just for infants . . . my children still enjoy them, and so do I.

Do you know what lullabye I’m talking about? Here are the lyrics:

Goodnight, my angel
From Album “The River of Dreams”
By Billy Joel

Goodnight, my angel
Time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you’ve been asking me
I think you know what I’ve been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Wherever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away

Goodnight, my angel
Now it’s time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
And like a boat out on the ocean
I’m rocking you to sleep
The water’s dark and deep
Inside this ancient heart
You’ll always be a part of me

Lu-lu-lu-lu-lu-lu
lu-lu-lu-lu-lu-lu-lu-lu-lu

Goodnight, my angel
Now it’s time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child may cry
And if you sing this lullabye
Then in your heart
There will always be a part of me

Someday we’ll all be gone
But lullabyes go on and on…
They never die
That’s how you
And I
Will be