Sunday, August 07, 2005

IS IT BETTER TO "BE AN ISLAND"? Never to let anyone see behind the "stranger's" face?

THE STRANGER...... (Billy Joel)

Well we all have a face,
That we hide away forever;
And we take them out and show ourselves,
When everyone has gone.
Some are satin, some are steel,
Some are silk and some are leather,
They're the faces of the stranger.....
But we love to try them on .
Well we all fall in love,
And we disregard the danger;
Though we share so many secrets,
There are some we never tell.
Why were you so surprised,
That you never saw the stranger?
Did you ever let your lover,
See the stranger in yourself?
Don't be afraid to try again,
Everyone goes south,
Every now and then;
You've done it, why can't someone else?
You should know by now,
You've been there yourself.

Once I used to believe,
I was such a great romancer,
then I came home to a woman
That I could not recognize
Though I pressed her for a reason,
She refused to even answer
It was then I felt the stranger
Kick me right between the eyes.
I may never understand
How the stranger is inspired,
But he isn't always evil,
And he is not always wrong.
Though you drown in good intentions,
You will never quench the fire
You'll give in to your desire
When the stranger comes along


We all put on a face to the world, (that's when we wear the "stranger's" face.) We have a private face, our true face; which no one ever sees; but then we fall in love, we let our guard down, and reveal our true face to that one person and sometimes that person needs to put on the "stranger's" face himself. Deep down, he is still the same person that you love, but sometimes he may seem out of character. If that is so, and you see the "stranger" in his face from time to time, "true love" will always offer a reason for strange behaviour. There are times when even a true, true love, occasionally acts like a "stranger".
Then again, sometimes you think you know the person's real self, and it turns out that he was actually the "stranger" all along..........
Even though that may happen, and many times does, we should not be afraid to try to love again, and trust someone again...........

I think that this song is an exploration of the secret self we all have, which we all hide from others... but eventually, this self will always reveal itself, and it will always have its way.
What do you think? This song really intrigues me and I wonder how others interpret it.