Lyrics to
Big Shot

This version of Big Shot was released by Billy Joel in 1978.

Our Billy Joel Songs profile has Big Shot lyrics from 1978 and most if not all of the lyrics by Billy Joel that we have here at Decade Lyrics.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Billy Joel or about the 1970s in general.

Well you went uptown riding in your limousine
With your fine Park Avenue clothes
You had the Dom Perignon in your hand
And the spoon up your nose
And when you wake up in the morning
With your head on fire
And your eyes too bloody to see
Go on and cry in your coffee
But don’t come bitchin’ to me

Because you had to be a big shot, didn’t you
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn’t you
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
You know what everything’s about
You had to have a white hot spotlight
You had to be a big shot last night

They were all impressed with your Halston dress
And the people that you knew at Elaine’s
And the story of your latest success
Kept ’em so entertained
Aw but now you just can’t remember
All the things you said
And you’re not sure you want to know
I’ll give you one hint, honey
You sure did put on a show

Yes, yes, you had to be a big shot, didn’t you
You had to prove it to the crowd
You had to be a big shot, didn’t you
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
You’re so much fun to be around
You had to have the front page, bold type
You had to be a big shot last night

Well, it’s no big sin to stick your two cents in
If you know when to leave it alone
But you went over the line
You couldn’t see it was time to go home
No, no, no, no, no, no, you had to be a big shot, didn’t you
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn’t you
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
So much fun to be around
You had to have a white hot spot light
You had to be a big shot last night

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Billy Joel has released many songs over the years besides Big Shot. Billy Joel released songs from 1971 to 1993 spanning across albums like Cold Spring Harbor, Piano Man, Streetlife Serenade, Turnstiles, The Stranger, 52nd Street, Glass Houses, The Nylon Curtain, An Innocent Man, The Bridge, Storm Front, and River Of Dreams. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Billy Joel.

If you're a fan of 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1978 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Big Shot by Billy Joel

The lyrics to Big Shot are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Billy Joel used when the song was created in 1978. The lyrics to Big Shot have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Billy Joel and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to Big Shot by Billy Joel. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Big Shot" means the words set to the music of Big Shot, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Billy Joel. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Big Shot and the lyrics to Big Shot are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Billy Joel who came here looking just for the lyrics to Big Shot, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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