+ scroll down for Vienna by Billy Joel
VIDEOS DOWN THE PAGE: Cesár Sampson singing Billy Joel’s Vienna during the Eurovision 2026 grand final, plus Billy himself
Single:
Just the Way You Are entered the Australian singles chart* on 6 February 1978 and peaked at #6. It was #41 on the Top 100 of 1978.
Album:
The song is on The Stranger which entered the Australian albums chart* on 31 October 1977 and peaked at #2.
Songwriter:
Billy Joel
Producer:
Phil Ramone
Record label of Australian release:
CBS
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
BONUS VIDEO BELOW – the B-side song Vienna
Songfacts – Just the Way You Are:
Joel wrote Just the Way You Are about his first wife, Elizabeth. A pure expression of unconditional love, he gave it to her as a birthday present. Sadly, after nine years of marriage, Joel and Elizabeth divorced in 1982.
After Joel recorded this, he didn’t think much of it, considering it a “gloppy ballad” that would only get played at weddings. He credits his producer, Phil Ramone, with convincing him that it was a great song. Ramone brought Linda Ronstadt and Phoebe Snow into the recording studio to hear the song and of course they loved it, which was good enough for Billy. On Australian TV in 2006, Joel confirmed: “We almost didn’t put it on an album. We were sitting around listening to it going naaah, that’s a chick song.”
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/billy-joel/just-the-way-you-are
Songfacts – Vienna (the B-side of Just the Way You Are, also from The Stranger; video below):
Joel said he was visiting his estranged father in Vienna, Austria, when he saw an elderly woman sweeping the streets. He commented that it was awful to have an old woman doing that kind of work. His father said something like, “No, it isn’t. She’s being useful and she’s doing a service that benefits everyone. She’s not just sitting at home wasting away, and she’s got dignity.” Joel realised how American culture can push aside the elderly and strip them of their purpose and worth.
Billy’s parents divorced when he was young, and his father, Howard Joel, returned to his homeland of Vienna where he got married and started a new family. When Billy appeared on The Howard Stern Show in 2010, Joel revealed that he doesn’t always know what a song is about when he writes it, and he came to realise that he was dealing with his feelings about his father in this song.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/billy-joel/vienna
Lyrics – Just the Way You Are:
Don’t go changing to try and please me
You never let me down before, mmm-hmm
I don’t imagine you’re too familiar
And I don’t see you anymore
Click for full lyrics
Lyrics – Vienna:
Slow down, you crazy child
You’re so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you’re so smart, well, tell me
Why are you still so afraid?
Click for full lyrics
Also on Bang a Gong from the album The Stranger: She’s Always a Woman / Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)
BONUS: Vienna
Vienna was the B-side to Billy Joel’s single Just the Way You Are, also from the album The Stranger
The 70th Eurovision Song Contest in 2026 was held in Vienna, Austria. The grand final event included a rendition of the Billy Joel ballad Vienna by Cesár Sampson:
Also on Bang a Gong: Eurovision’s 70 years of songs
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