Billy Joel - No Man's Land Lyrics

Revisiting these awesome albums, getting ready for Billy Joel's last concert in Mexico City 2020!

Reminds me of “Vertigo” by U2.

This song came out in late 1993. Now we are paying the price for the consumerism.

Arrow brought me here.

It's where SpawnOfSatan45 will end up sometime soon...

This song feels like an unofficial sequel to *We Didn't Start the Fire.*

Is anyone else doing a Billy Joel music marathon here on YouTube? Or is it just me?

Btw, this is a great song! It's underrated, I think, compared to some of his more famous songs but still very good in my opinion.

Lol I've been stuck in a loop of his songs for a while now and just did a major marathon last night!

i am painting lions whilst listening and loving it even if the painting is going downtown

Still rock and roll to me

Valentines or Balantines(a very classy blend - Jim Murrays No. 1) - it sounds more like Ballantines to me!!(the only thing that could make this song better - if only he played it in Manchester last week!!)

Allentown part 2

I've seen those big machines come rolling through the quiet pines
Blue suits and bankers with their Volvos and their valentines
Give us this day our daily discount outlet merchandise
Raise up a multiplex and we will make a sacrifice
Now we're gonna get the big business
Now we're gonna get the real thing
Everybody's all excited about it

Who remembers when it all began
Out here in no man's land
Before they passed the master plan
Out here in no man's land
Low supply and high demand
Here in no man's land

There ain't much work out here in our consumer power base
No major industry, just miles and miles of parking space
This morning's paper says our neighbor's in a cocaine bust
Lots more to read about Lolita and suburban lust
Now we're gonna get the whole story
Now we're gonna be in prime time
Everybody's all excited about it

Who remembers when it all began
Out here in no man's land
We've just begun to understand
Out here in no man's land
Low supply and high demand
Here in no man's land

I see these children with their boredom and their vacant stares
God help us all if we're to blame for their unanswered prayers
They roll the sidewalks up at night, this place goes underground
Thanks to the condo kings there's cable now in Zombietown
Now we're gonna get the closed circuit
Now we're gonna get the Top 40
Now we're gonna get the sports franchise
Now we're gonna get the major attractions

Who remembers when it all began
Out here in no man's land
Before the whole world was in our hands
Out here in no man's land
Before the banners and the marching bands
Out here in no man's land
Low supply and high demand
Here in no man's land

Shannon Corwin

The Lyrics,Thanks a lot！

A really good song and a really great artist. For me a song that sums up the world and the UK currently.

Cant wait to hear this on arrow

anyone from arrow

Team Arrow

no one calls them that EVER

Cisco !!!

What does this song have to do with arrow

Now it's high(cheap) supply and low demand.

The anti-anthem of urban development.

And anti-capitalism because this is the end result.

AllGuts NoGlory Well, communism did the same thing lol. They still built their urban cities and apartments.

To me this song could of been much better if Billy had of dropped the synth and grunged it up with some chunky guitar instead. It would be great to see someone redo this, grungy.

What I like about this song is that it's got a hard-driving beat that kicks mega-ass.

Christie Brinkley made the album cover

You can see her painting it in the river of dreams music vidieo

It doesn't fit with the name of the album but it's a great song

The album was very narrative driven. Like Sargent Peppers. It was Billy's gift to future generations....it...it didn't work.

+spike284 It worked fine.

It fits the album kind of negative and he was seeing our shitty future. It was good for awhile.

Great song even in 2016

So this is one of my exam texst. dose anybody know if their was any particullar motiv for this song, beside its obvious message?

No Man's Land is supposed to be the out and open wilderness like when I was a kid there were lots of forest and wood and than than they started knocking down the woods and building identical row houses. There used to be smaller malls than they built multiplexes which are like malls/consumerism on steroids. Malls were starting to become like their own universes. Our way of life outdoors was sacrifised for consumerism which is lifeless. He's expressing his discontent at the time with the Northeast which would soon spread tot he rest of the country. Maybe not as badly, but look at walmart and the song is scary as fuck. "Thanks to the condo kings there's cable now in Zombie town." Everyone thought commercialism was new exciting and great, but look at what it produced what we have now. No life just alot of cheap shit from China.

Sorry too late to help with a test but as for the ongoing discussion........I know that Billy has a number of songs about history and more specifically about war. I know that in war, "no man's land" is typically the area just outside of one's trenches. It makes me think that he is referring to no one's land, as the no man's land that would be present during the sacrifice people give during world wars, of course most that actually fight are doing it for their children and their country, bottom fed note/dollar is that the wars are fought for the same people that are profiting from the big business.

See Levittown NY 1945-1994

What kind of class are you taking and where can I sign up? LOL

@Mark Andersen I had no idea what "no man's land" was until a year ago. I always thought it was slang for being out in the boondocks, in the country like somewhere with backwards people and dirt roads and you don't know where the hell you are and I had no idea it was the barren land between 2 fighting parties in a war.

Very prophetic lyrics

It's almost creepy. This and Duran Duran-Too Much Information

Scary truth, look inside yourselves forma peace, its the only place left....

At about 10 years old, this was one of my favorite CD's to play... because there was naked people on the cover :D

That's funny, sounds very middle schoolish

this is one of the worst songs ever, and unfortunately it's the work of one of the best pop artists ever. oof. cringe.

+ajdc88 are you for fucking real?! The WORST song ever!?! geez I hope you're a troll.

It's like he saw the future. :(

@Jonathan Robbins I second this

I think it's his best song. Pains me that he doesn't do it in concert. Other songs are more meaty in terms of message and complexity but this is as good a rock anthem as has ever been done.

+Shawn Rose I was at that concert too! It was awesome! He played all of my favorite songs.

pbealle1 it is. Surprised too. Activism wasn't hip then?

I agree completely! This song should definitely be better known and much more appreciated than it is.

He played it when I saw him in San Fran 3 years ago. Still one of my favorite songs by him and definitely one of his most underrated tunes!

Billy Joel channel recently put up a live version of him doing this in Boston. It blows the studio version away!

is it just me or did U2 kind of rip off the vibe of this song for "vertigo"? 

@Brent Knowles The songs are similar but I don't think they ripped it off. It's in the same key, has the same chords, and has kinda the same groove, but those could easily be coincidence. Plus, the chord progression and melodies are a little bit different.

+Brent C Knowles 'Vertigo' sucks anyway haha

Wow brings back memories. I was 12 when I got my first CD Player and this CD. Countless times playing this whole album. Still great

Same story for me, just at age 6. Dad came home with this new CD disc changer contraption and River of Dreams. No matter how many years have gone by without hearing it, I'll never forget a single lyric. It's that burned into my brain. Wouldn't have it any other way!

Nub. I had the cacette.

This came out when it was 7. I said Dad who this and he laughed! He had to learn to like Billy after that.

No Man's Land should've been released side-by-side with Allentown!

@Dreaded88 Well he wrote this after. But it would have cool
to see the comparison.

Mark Mandel - precisely why it's listed as AUDIO.

This song motivated me to get out of my job as a sales associate at Big 5 Sporting Goods and get back to music school; working on a doctorate now.

@Justin Kennedy Good for you! I wish I had your drive and ambition. Not everybody does, you know. I thought I had ambition at one time. But I found that when you get out in the real world and you see how things work, and how unfair it all is and how cold blooded people can be, it can leave you feeling pretty disillusioned. Especially if you're a sensitive person like me. Maybe that's the key to financial success in this life. De-sensitize yourself and become a robot disguised as a human being. Yeah, that's the ticket! By the way, there's nothing wrong with hard work. But hard work doesn't always pay off. That's another lie that they force feed to everybody. That "hard work always pays off." I found out for myself what a load of crap that is. Hard work by itself isn't enough. But I'm no dream squasher. I hope you realize your dream. Whatever that dream may be.

@James McKeon I agree, 100% man. Dreams are a beautiful thing, but sometimes hard work just doesn't pay off, like you say. The reason I was so bitter in 2010 was because I had worked for many years to become a musician and it didn't really pan out for me. I think what got me back on the horse was just the enjoyment of practicing. Maybe the music industry doesn't give back to those who deserve, but I find my instrument always gives back to me what I give to it. That alone is enough most days, except when I've really been kicked in the teeth. When that happens, I turn on this Billy Joel jam and feel better--haha!

go for it do what you want!! im in school to be a commerical airline pilot set your mind and you can do it!!

+Justin Kennedy  Good for you man and good luck with it all!  I hope you can do something interesting in the music world.  I wish I could have done something like that.  I love music, have been listening avidly since I was a kid in the 80's.  Unfortunately, I don't have any real talent for music, just a big appreciation of it and those who do.  Best wishes, and keep us posted on what you do here, if you will.  Thanks!

Justin Kennedy good luck man!

この曲、カッコいい！！

I bought this from a charity shop (thrift store if you're American) for £1 yesterday, not expecting much, and was amazed by how good this record is.

+Edward Simmonds was it vinyl or cd when you got this???

Billy Joel is my all time favorite singer or band, and this is my second favorite after "Glass Houses." (I bought every single CD when all the Media stores like "Media Play" were going out of business! $25 for three CD's ain't too shabby.)

I actually got this album the same way from a thrift shop and it's actually really good travel music if you regularly make hour and a half drives

It's a versatile album , I strongly recommend to checkout the rest of his work.

Cold Spring Harbor it's really good , it's personal as this.

One of my favourite Billy Joel albums. Can't believe this came out 20 years ago and I saw him here in Boston for this tour. 

I know it! Saw him in Charleston, SC that year. <3

"No major industries, just miles and miles of parking space". My hometown, Pittsburgh, to a tee.

Great song to listen to if your having a bad day.

"Music video by Billy Joel performing No Man's Land"? Hardly a video by any normal use of the word.

see title