Vienna (Billy Joel song)

"Vienna"
Song by Billy Joel
from the album The Stranger
A-side	"Just the Way You Are"
Released	1977
Recorded	A & R Recording, New York City
Genre	Soft rock
Length	3:34
Label	Columbia Records
Songwriter(s)	Billy Joel
Producer(s)	Phil Ramone
Billy Joel singles chronology
"Only the Good Die Young" (1977) "Just the Way You Are" / "Vienna" (1977) "The Stranger" (1978)

Vienna is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 album The Stranger, released as the B-side to his "Just the Way You Are" single.

In a July 2008 New York Times article, Joel cited this as one of his two favorite songs, along with "Summer, Highland Falls".

It was played in a 1981 episode of Taxi called "Vienna Waits". Marilu Henner's character Elaine Nardo refers to the song while on vacation in Europe with Alex Reiger, played by Judd Hirsch. Due to licensing restrictions, the song has been omitted from the episode on DVD, though is intact on the Hulu versions of the episode. "Vienna" can also be found on the soundtrack of 13 Going on 30.

Despite being only a B-side, the song has become one of Joel's most popular songs, especially in the later years. It's a firm fan favorite, even more than its A-side and hit "Just the Way You Are", and it's Joel's 5th most streamed song on Spotify.

Composition

The song begins with a piano melody in the right hand and chords in the left, ultimately cadencing to the tonic chord of Bb. However, when the verse starts the first chord is a Gm, which is the relative minor chord of Bb. A change to the vi chord doesn't always indicate a change in key, however each verse ends with a V-i authentic cadence in Gm, indicating that a key change has taken place. The chorus begins with an Eb chord, the IV chord in Bb, which is a half step up from D, giving a rising feeling going from the verse to the chorus. The end of the chorus cadences back to the tonic of Bb with the chords C, Gb, F, Bb. Gb is the tritone substitution of the V chord for F, and F to Bb forms another authentic cadence.

Lyrically, Joel was inspired visiting the city of Vienna and his father, who left the family when Joel was a child. Joel has stated that Vienna is a metaphor for old age, but also may have been subconsciously about his father.

Cover versions

• In 2011, American singer Ariana Grande covered the song, initially sending the MP3 to her fans if they donated to her 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami appeal, and then later making it available to the public via her YouTube channel.
• In 2012, American Idol contestant Elise Testone performed the song on the 11th season of the show the week the contestants sang Billy Joel's songs.
• In 2012, Mac Miller covered the song under his alias Larry Fisherman.
• In 2013, Christian Borle performed it in "The Phenomenon", the 14th episode of the second season of Smash.
• In 2015, the Austrian band Granada released their version, "Wien wort auf di", sung in an Austrian dialect of German.
• In 2016, contestant Andrew DeMuro performed the song at the Blind Auditions on The Voice of the show and was made a part of Adam Levine's team.
• In 2019, Grace VanderWaal performed Vienna during her "Ur So Beautiful" tour.
• In 2019, Israeli singer Roie Labes released his version for the song in Hebrew, named "וינה".
• In 2019, actor Ben Platt performed the song in the eighth episode of the first season of The Politician. The song appeared on the soundtrack for the show as well.
• In 2021, Norwegian singer Anne Charlotte performed the song as the opening act of the annual Gullbarbie-concert.

In popular culture

• "Vienna" is featured in the soundtrack of the 2004 romantic comedy 13 Going on 30, starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo.
• "Vienna" become a somewhat popular sound on social media app TikTok, being used for a simple dance. Several other Billy Joel songs have also grown in popularity on the app in late-2020 and early-2021.