I"ve read that Billy fashioned that song after The Wreck...it was written about the fisherman near Long Island and the tough times they've had making a living..His boat was named for his daughter Alexa.
Billy Joel On TV And Radio This Week!
November 15, 2010 - 4:34 pm
With the release of "Billy Joel: The Hits" on Tuesday November 16th, and the success of "The Last Play At Shea," demand for Billy is at fever pitch!
•Tonight, "Access Hollywood" is beginning its LEGENDS series and kicks off with Shaun Robinson’s interview with BILLY. The show airs November 15th at 7:30 p.m. EST on NBC, but check your local listings for additional air times.
•Don't miss BILLY's one-on-one interview in the studio with HOWARD STERN on Tuesday November 16th! Tune in at 8 a.m. EST. If you miss it, the program will re-air on SIRIUS Satellite Radio.
•On Thursday November 18th, the A&E network will premiere a new episode of "Biography" dedicated to BILLY! You can view your TV listings for air times.
And check out the new BillyJoel.com homepage, the central destination for all things Billy Joel!
Well I'm on the Downeaster "Alexa"
And I'm cruising through Block Island Sound
I have charted a course to the Vineyard
But tonight I am Nantucket bound
We took on diesel back in Montauk yesterday
And left this morning fromhe bell in Gardiner's Bay
Like all the locals here I've had to sell my home
Too proud to leave I worked my fingers to the bone
So I could own my Downeaster "Alexa"
And I go where the ocean is deep
There are giants out there in the canyons
And a good captain can't fall asleep
I've got bills to pay and children who need clothes
I know there's fish out there but where God only knows
They say these waters aren't what they used to be
But I've got people back on land who count on me
So if you see my Downeaster "Alexa"
And if you work with the rod and the reel
Tell my wife I am trolling Atlantis
And I still have my hands on the wheel
Now I drive my Downeaster "Alexa"
More and more miles from shore every year
Since they told me I can't sell no stripers
And there's no luck in swordfishing here
I was a bayman like my father was before
Can't make a living as a bayman anymore
There ain't much future for a man who works the sea
But there ain't no island left for islanders like me