Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
Side-A label of U.S. vinyl single
Single by Billy Joel
from the album The Stranger
B-side
ReleasedSeptember 1977[1]
Recorded1977
GenrePop rock[2][3]
Length3:28
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Billy Joel
Producer(s)Phil Ramone
Billy Joel singles chronology
"Just the Way You Are"
(1977)
"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
(1977)
"Only the Good Die Young"
(1977)
Music video
"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" on YouTube

"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" is a song written and recorded by Billy Joel, featured on his 1977 album The Stranger as the opening track.

The song critiques the ambitions of working- and lower-middle-class New Yorkers who strive for material success as evidence of social mobility, working long hours to afford the outward signs of having "made it".[4] Joel describes characters with blue-collar occupations attempting to distance themselves from their working class roots by acquiring status symbols, such as upgrading from a Chevy to a Cadillac or purchasing a home in Hackensack, New Jersey. He implies these efforts are ultimately futile. According to Joel, Anthony is not a real person, but rather "every Irish, Polish, and Italian kid trying to make a living in the US".

The recording concludes with the sound effect of a car, bass player Doug Stegmeyer's 1960s Corvette, starting and driving away, symbolizing departure.

Live performances of the song can be heard on 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert and 12 Gardens Live.

  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 436. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
  2. ^ "52nd Street". Rolling Stone. 14 December 1978.
  3. ^ Mitchell, Matt (January 20, 2024). "The 25 Greatest Billy Joel Songs of All Time". Paste. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  4. ^ Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 348. ISBN 0-87586-207-1.

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