The Piano Man

Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you got us feeling alright

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"

Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum

Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody

And you got us feeling alright

The Piano man song has underscored a large portion of my life.  It came out when I was 11 years old and I finally got to see THE PIANO MAN- Billy Joel in concert last night and I just can't stop thinking about it. My ears are still ringing from the volume of the music  ( I had to put tissue in my ears to try and save my hearing last night)...but  that's not what has caught my attention...... last night 20,000 fans filled the Vivant arena to hear songs that brought back memories of good times from years past.   Last night when Billy Joel "harmonica'ed " up  and the first strains of the Piano Man melody ripped through the air it was thrilling.  He sang and played and the "regular crowd" sang loud and proud with him.  It was beautiful to hear all of those voices singing "la, la, di di da.... dum" together.  We were mostly strangers who came together for the love of this man's music and for a short time, we were all there in the moment, swaying, singing The Piano Man and forgetting our problems and differences.  We were all connected and all was right in the world.  I couldn't keep the tears from falling. It was a profound moment of collective Joy.

I recall another moment of collective Joy that had to do with this Piano Man song 6 years ago.  

I wrote about it in my journal:

Monson’s Canada Choir trip 2011.  We have walked around Victoria, BC and sung at historical places all day.  Now it’s free time .  Superintendant Bryan Bowles took all of the chaperones on the choir trip to dinner at Pagliacci’s...in Victoria, British Columbia, and we all ordered Italian food. The restaurant was really noisy.   Billy Joel’s Piano Man came on the speaker over head. Larry Smith, Laura Belnap and I all  started singing it softly at the table to each other, and pretty soon all of the people at our table were singing and laughing and conducting the song with their forks.  Now  the other restaurant eaters were looking at us and the waitresses were smiling  because we were singing quite loudly and  when we got to the chorus of the song, I shouted out to the entire smiling restaurant.... ”Everybody”....and everyone in the restaurant joined in with us and sang the chorus to Piano Man, at the top of their lungs......"La di da di dee da da la da di dee da da dum.."  swaying back and forth to the rhythm.....like in a movie.  We all clapped for and high fived each other as we got to the end.  Strangers singing, laughing and smiling together.  So many smiles.  It was a moment of collective JOY

At this point in my life The Piano Man equals collective joy and human connection. Must be why I love it so much.

One of my favorite Authors --Social Scientist Brene Brown write about human connection and collective moments .  She says:

We need to come together in Joy and in Pain.  We need these constant reminders.  They fortify our belief in each other.We know that  people are wonderful and they can be hard.  Every day life can be incredibly hard and the people around us can push us to the end of our nerves and our civility.

So how do we cultivate and grow this belief of inextricable human connection internally?  The answer  is…Show up for moments of collective joy and pain  so we can actually bear witness to inextricable human connection. 

We need to engage in moments of joy and pain with strangers.  We have to catch enough glimpses of  people connecting to one another and having fun together that we believe it’s true and possible for all of us.

Psychologist Susan Pinker tells us:  There is no substitute for in person interactions.

Staying away from people is equal to dying from or experiencing poor health from a pack a day cigarette habit, hyper tension or obesity.

On the other hand, SOCIAL INTERACTION can bolster our immune system,  send positive hormones surging through our blood stream and brain and help us live longer.

No wonder I have cherished my Canadian restaurant Piano Man experience and now I have another collective joy moment from last night to go along with it.

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