What did Billy Joel mean by "Their ain't no Island let for Islanders like me"? (New York: loans, to buy)

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by BigMike50

OBH,

Tell you the truth I couldn't care less....I was breaking some balls. Anyone from L.I. knows the song is about the fishing industry of the Island. As far as I'm concerned L.I. is the only real Island

I'm in a good mood today anyway.... My business plan as been giving the green light from my county and work starts this Monday

Unsuccessful at ball breaking ... better luck next time ... I'm sure you're good at it on occasion.

Congrats on getting off the dole ... or is that not happening and NYS and Social Security are on the hook forever and ever and ever?

[ENFD240]

Originally Posted by BigMike50

OBH,

Tell you the truth I couldn't care less....I was breaking some balls. Anyone from L.I. knows the song is about the fishing industry of the Island. As far as I'm concerned L.I. is the only real Island

I'm in a good mood today anyway.... My business plan as been giving the green light from my county and work starts this Monday

[laidbackhippie]

Originally Posted by BigMike50

==Song Facts==

Downeaster Alexa: In the first verse of the song, Billy Joel establishes that he’s a working on a Downeaster fishing vessel called the “Alexa”. There is an actual fishing berthed along the coast of Maine called the Alexa (note: Maine’s coast is often referred as “Down East”.

Block Island Sound, Vineyard, Nantucket: The song is written for the mariners working in North Eastern United States, and so many of the geographical places are mentioned, Block Island Sound (a nautical passage way off of Long Island’s East End and near and of course the actual Block Island), the Vineyard refers to Martha’s Vineyard, an that is much like the Hamptons, once predominantly a fishing village is now quite and used primarily as a summer resort for those who can afford it. Nantucket Island, a fairly island off of Massachusetts is similar in back story to Martha’s Vineyard.

Montauk is the eastern most point of Long Island and often associated with the famous Many fishing vessels port in Montauk and the surrounding areas. Prior to the wealthy the Hamptons, the whole south fork used to be a working class cluster of fishing This is also relatively near Gardiner’s Bay, which is one of the bodies of water that the north and south forks of Long Island.

There is a single political point to the song that is delivered using two primary The point is that making a living as a mariner is becoming a lot harder as the fish become Hence the line “there’s no luck in sword fishing here”. The second example is the use the word “islander”.

Islander: In the line “there ain’t no island left for islanders like me” – Joel isn’t about a specific island and it would be foolish to think that he’s specifically talking all of Long Island. A great majority of America’s North Eastern fishing industry is up of families living on islands all up the coast, from New York to Maine. In fact, the of Maine is often referred to as “down east” and inspired the term “Downeaster”. Down is often used in travel magazines and in everyday lingo that refer to the coast of Maine. From the Cranberry Isles to the islands of Casco Bay, all the way down to Cape Cod and Vineyard, nearly every working resident of these communities can relate to the because this song was in fact written about ALL of them. The line “there ain’t no left for islanders like me” also refers to the “Hamptonization” of these islands and that becoming tougher for fishermen to make their living on the water for the reason that can’t afford to be on the waterfront with the wealthy moving into these areas.

DUDE ! "Downeaster" is the common style of fishing boat the The Alexa is which is made in Maine.

The song is about LONG ISLAND fisherman being pushed out of business by regulations, overfishing and development.

[NYEconomist]

Originally Posted by laidbackhippie

DUDE ! "Downeaster" is the common style of fishing boat the The Alexa is which is made in Maine.

The song is about LONG ISLAND fisherman being pushed out of business by regulations, overfishing and development.

Dude, don't ya know that BigMike is just bustin' balls (trying to back track on his poor reading comprehension).

[ShouldIMoveOrStayPut...?]

So then what gives with America's song "A horse with no name"?

Why doesn't the horse have a name?
What does it imply that you can't remember your name in the desert?

And Jackie Paper has a pretty suspicious sounding last name in "Puff The Magic Dragon" as far as I'm concernerd....

I took Gypsma's advice and tride playing the records backwards, to no avail...

[laidbackhippie]

Originally Posted by NYEconomist

Dude, don't ya know that BigMike is just bustin' balls (trying to back track on his poor reading comprehension).

well................ his business plan WAS accepted and...............

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by ShouldIMoveOrStayPut...?

So then what gives with America's song "A horse with no name"?

Why doesn't the horse have a name?
What does it imply that you can't remember your name in the desert?

And Jackie Paper has a pretty suspicious sounding last name in "Puff The Magic Dragon" as far as I'm concernerd....

I took Gypsma's advice and tride playing the records backwards, to no avail...

Speaking of desert...what about the cowgirl in the sand? If old enough to change her name, and she doesn't have a name to begin with, can it really change? And what's with rubies in the dust with bands begin to rust? Is that the same rust which never sleeps? And does rust truly ever sleep?

Perhaps Jackie Paper can hook me up.

So confuzzled!

[laidbackhippie]

Originally Posted by ShouldIMoveOrStayPut...?

So then what gives with America's song "A horse with no name"?

Why doesn't the horse have a name?
What does it imply that you can't remember your name in the desert?

cos there ain't no one for to give you no fame...................

[ShouldIMoveOrStayPut...?]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

Speaking of desert...what about the cowgirl in the sand? If old enough to change her name, and she doesn't have a name to begin with, can it really change? And what's with rubies in the dust with bands begin to rust? Is that the same rust which never sleeps? And does rust truly ever sleep?

Perhaps Jackie Paper can hook me up.

So confuzzled!

It could have something to do with the artist being Canadian and the fact that the "ship" on the front of the Canadian dime is actually a Grand Banks Schooner which was named the "Bluenose"

I wonder if any of the crew who skippered her had a surname of Paper?

You sometimes wonder if the whole thing doesn't smack of conspiracy

Originally Posted by laidbackhippie

cos there ain't no one for to give you no fame...................

O.K...I can see where that may cause name amnesia.

[Crookhaven]

Why Do We Hate Billy Joel? | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Cant we trade him for Springsteen? Had he never recorded anything after Brinkley we would've been fine.