"She's Got a Way" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

, originally released on his first studio album, ''

Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Huntington, in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island in New York. As of the 2010 United States census, the CDP population was 5,070. History Cold Spri ...

'' (1971) and as a single from that album in some countries. It was also featured as a single from the 1981 live album '' Songs in the Attic'', peaking at number 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in early 1982.

Lyrics and music

"She's Got a Way" is a love

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

. The lyrics to "She's Got a Way" have the singer describing how various characteristics of a particular woman, such as her laugh, make him love her, even though he can't understand why. To music critic

Mark Bego Mark Joseph Bego (born 23 September 1952, in Pontiac, Michigan) is an author known for his biographies focusing on the rock & roll and show business genres. Bego has written a total of 59 books, two of which have gone on to become New York Times ...

, it's a song about a woman who has "mesmerized" him. Joel biographer Fred Schruers describes the lyrics as a "plainspoken, never-quite-corny adoration of a loved one." According to a friend of the couple, Bruce Gentile, the song was written about Joel's first wife Elizabeth. Joel's liner notes for ''Songs in the Attic'' seem to agree with this, commenting, "Written in 1970, I still feel the same way." Schruers describes the song's

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

as alternating between "surging" and "relenting." The original studio version has minimal instrumentation. The most prominent instruments are Joel's piano and some

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

crashes. Schruers describes Joel's piano playing as "stately." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a slow, but never plodding love song." On the 1983 reissue of ''Cold Spring Harbor'', "She's Got a Way" also incorporated

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, which may have been inspired by a live performance at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

in New York City at which strings were included in the instrumentation. Schruers attributes some of the effect of the song to the way Joel sings the final word of the final phrase "I don't know what it is/But there doesn't have to be a reason anyway." Schruers describes the last word "anyway" as hanging in the air, "trailing off" and "disrupting the tempo" and thus "seemingly giving in to the emotion" of love. In a 1981 interview, Joel expressed mixed feelings about the song: "I thought it was cornball for years. I had trouble singing it at first. Then I got into it and decided everybody has a corny side, I suppose". Joel originally included "She's Got a Way" on a five-song

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

that included other songs that would appear on ''Cold Spring Harbor'', such as "

Everybody Loves You Now "Everybody Loves You Now" is a song written by Billy Joel. It was first released on his 1971 debut album ''Cold Spring Harbor (album), Cold Spring Harbor'' and was also released as a b-side to his singles "She's Got a Way" and "Tomorrow Is Today. ...

" and "Tomorrow Is Today". Joel made the tape in an unsuccessful attempt to secure his first solo recording contract with

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramount Records was formed in 19 ...

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

described the studio version as being "lovely" and rated it as one of Joel's "finest songs." Bego described it as a "beautiful love ballad" and one of Joel's "most serious and adult compositions." Joel biographer Hank Bordowitz called it a "remarkable composition that, while not great, at least indicate a rising talent." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

s Roy Waddell similarly described it as a "chestnut" that didn't get its "proper due" until the live version was released on ''Songs in the Attic''. Joel biographer Fred Schruers described it as the one "gem" from ''Cold Spring Harbor''. According to '' Rolling Stone Album Guide'' critic Paul Evans, "She's Got a Way" "set the pattern for the ballads Joel would soon turn out effortlessly."

Live version

The version released on ''Songs in the Attic'' was recorded at a live performance in June 1980 at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, Massachusetts. Joel performs the song with his own piano accompaniment. ''

'' called the live single a "delicate love ballad sincerely rendered." Ken Bielen describes the performance as being influenced by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

's style, and says that the small venue with its "attentive audience" provides an "intense intimacy." Schruers describes this version as being "a technically better performance much more in a

chest register Chest voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this term varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles and there is currently no one consistent opinion among vocal music professionals in regard to this term. Chest voice can be used in ...

" but does not consider it as poignant as the original version.

critic

calls this version "richer and warmer" than the studio version. Joel also performed this song on live TV on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' on November 14, 1981.

Chart performance

Cover versions

Michael Sweet covered this song on 2007's ''Touched''.

Phil Keaggy Philip Tyler Keaggy (born March 23, 1951) is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 55 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets. H ...

covered the song on 2007's ''Acoustic Café'', accompanied only by acoustic guitar. Ken Bielen described this version as being "sweet, gentle and simple."

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as "Witchy Woman", "Despe ...

sang "She's Got a Way" as a tribute to Joel when Joel was awarded a

Kennedy Center Honor The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five honor ...

in 2013. Margie Joseph recorded a femme version of the song, titled "He's Got a Way," in 1974. Her version uses

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

as the primary instrument, and adds a Hammond B-3 organ in the third verse to add a touch of

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

influence. She also adds a gospel

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

for background vocals which, in Bielen's opinion gives the impression that her interpretation may be directed towards God rather than a human lover. Bernadette Peters covered "He's Got a Way" on her 1996 album ''I'll Be Your Baby Tonight'', accompanied only on piano. Bielen described this version as being "technically perfect albeit emotion-filled." Erlewine says that she is "well-suited" to its "pseudo-show tune stylings."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:She's Got A Way Billy Joel songs 1971 songs 1972 debut singles 1982 singles Live singles Songs written by Billy Joel Columbia Records singles Philips Records singles Song recordings produced by Artie Ripp Song recordings produced by Phil Ramone 1970s ballads