“And So It Goes” by Billy Joel

by Amanda London· Published May 5, 2022· Updated May 6, 2022

The Piano Man may look like your average Joe, but he’s also one of the best-selling musicians in industry history. You have to believe that reality has attributed to his impressive dating history, which features the likes of supermodels and what have you.

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For instance, Joel measures in at a humble 5 feet, 4 inches (1.66 meters) in height. Well, you know that supermodels tend to be quite tall – taller than the average man even. And one of such individuals he dated, Ella Macpherson, is rather 5 feet 11 inches (i.e. 1.82 m). They were a celebrity couple, even if only briefly, and of course those types of relationships attract a lot of external attention.

So as Billy explained it, one day he and Ella were chillin’ at Coney Island, and you know, paparazzi are whoever was around. So by the time he got around to viewing the pic of himself and his sweetheart that a passerby took, according to Joel’s own words he “looked like Bubbles the Chimp [standing] next to her”. And that’s when he realized that, on a sexually dimorphic level, he and Macpherson were incompatible.

But that’s just, theoretically, the interesting backstory behind this song (on top of the fact that there’s a notable age difference between Joel and Ella). But as far as the actual lyrics go, it is never specified exactly why the vocalist feels as if his relationship with the addressee must end. Rather, well first of all let it be known that the lyrics are very poetic. They may not be painfully metaphorical, but they do require a bit more thinking than what we commonly are met with as far as breakup songs go.

The Narrative of “And So It Goes”

Billy commences the narrative by seemingly referring to the general notion that suffering romantic disappointment is a recurring theme in many of our lives.

Then in the second verse, we get to the vocalist’s troubled relationship with the addressee. Most simply explained, it’s as if the two parties do not get along, i.e. possessing some serious communication issues between the two of them.

And leading into the chorus we can say that yes, to some extent the vocalist, as is more common in such pieces, is presenting himself as the victim. He does not go as far as to demonize the addressee. But the way he comes off is as the type who every time he held up an olive branch to her, it ended up getting slapped out of his hand, so to speak.

And in the third verse it is further put forth, as in the second, that he uses “silence” as a defense mechanism. Or interpreted more bluntly, it reads as if the vocalist gave the addressee the silent treatment. And by the looks of things, he has reasoned that is what made her ultimately leave.

To bring it all to a conclusion, the vocalist, once again poetically, lets it be known, most simply put, that he’s not the type to beg someone who doesn’t want to be with him to stay. In other words, once again taking on the role of the victim (in a manner of speaking), he lets the addressee know that if she decides to break his heart, then so be it. But as stated in the fourth verse, if it were up to him they would remain together.

Takeaway

So reading in between the lines, what this story reads like is the case of a man who has ascertained that certain personal actions on his part may not have been conducive to the perpetuation of the romance he is in. But at the same time, it doesn’t appear that he is definitively able to pin said actions down. And such a notion is also what the title is meant to allude to, i.e. the vocalist adopting sort of a que-sera-sera reaction to it all.

So if this song is about Billy Joel’s relationship with Ella Macpherson, as generally understood, then, at least as stated in this piece, the problem didn’t have anything to do with height or age. Well, maybe it did. But if that were the case, as implied in “And So It Goes”, such discrepancies would have been more of the elephant in the room than something that was actually discussed between the two parties.

Facts about “And So It Goes”

This is a song that Billy wrote back in the early 1980s. This was around the time he was actually with Ella Macpherson. He however, didn’t get around to releasing it until 17 October 1989.

This track was one of the many singles that was issued from “Storm Front”, which by the way was the Piano Man’s 11^th studio album. (And to note, it is also the final track on said album’s playlist.)

“And So It Goes” proved to be a moderate chart success, with the song most notably peaking at number five on Billboard’s US Adult Contemporary list. But also interesting to point out is that this song also popped up on the Japanese Singles Chart and in that regard peaked at number 12.

That said, whereas this track may not have fared too impressively industry-wise, it is known to be a personal favorite of the Piano Man himself. According to a reader poll published by Rolling Stone in 2015, Joel’s fans are quite fond of this tune also.

Billy produced this track alongside Mick Jones, the latter being associated with the well-known rock band Foreigner.

Linda Ellerbee is a prominent journalist who, if you will, coined the phrase “and so it goes”. And it is from her usage of it that Billy Joel reportedly got the title of this song.

Acoustically, this piece is said to have been inspired by a folk song that originated circa the 17^th century called “Barbara Allen”.

There is an official music video to “And So It Goes”. The directing of the said video is credited to Joel Hinman and Jeff Schock.

Billy Joel’s “Storm Front” Album

The “Storm Front” project, which Joel produced alongside English record producer Mick Jones, was released through Columbia Records. This album, which is the singer’s eleventh studio project, was made public on October 17 of 1989.

The album is without a doubt one of Joel’s most successful compilations. It contains several hit singles, with “We Didn’t Start the Fire” being one of the album’s most-popular songs. This track was issued, on September 27 1989, as the lead single from the album. And to note, this single reached No.1 on the Hot 100 in the US, and it was also shortlisted for multiple awards at the Grammys in 1990.

In addition to the above-mentioned single, this album was supported by six other singles. “Leningrad” and “I Go to Extremes”, being second and third singles respectively, were both issued during October of 1989. The last four singles were all released during the same period.

“Storm Front” achieved success in many regions including the US and Australia, where it peaked at No.1 on both nation’s official album charts. It peaked at No.4 and No.5 in Canada and the UK, respectively. This record peaked within the top-10 on various main album charts around the world including Germany, Belgium, and New Zealand.

The album has received several certifications. For example, it has been certified 4-times Platinum by the RIAA in the US. It has gone double-Platinum in Canada and Australia. It has been awarded Platinum certification in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry.