Written by John Hiatt and Fred Koller
Recorded by The Jeff Healey Band, John Hiatt
 
There is no shortage of outstanding John Hiatt songs, and many of them feature delightful bridges. It’s tough to choose one, but when listening through his catalog, one song popped out and turned its angel eyes my way. Hiatt is a deeply respected songwriter and successful recording artist, but has never been a household name. He’s been covered a few times – most notably on Bonnie Raitt’s take on “Thing Called Love,” and The Jeff Healey Band’s version of "Angel Eyes." But more about Healy’s cover shortly. Let’s jump into the song. This is a straightforward love song about a guy who can’t believe his luck:
 
Girl, you're looking fine tonight
And every fella's got you in his sights
What you're doing with a clown like me
Is surely one of life's little mysteries
 
The protagonist is a humble, likeable loser. I’m sure he must have something going for him, right? Well, let’s see. He never learned to dance and isn’t much of a looker, and it’s possible that he was previously a virgin:
 
Well, I'm the guy who never learned to dance
I never even got one second glance
Across the crowded room, that was close enough
I could look, but I could never touch
 
So he wonders. What could he have possibly done to win her love and turn her angel eyes his way? We never do find out. But we do get a pretty nice bridge out of it.
 
Don't anybody wake me if this is a dream
'cause she is the best thing that's ever happened to me
All you fellas, you can but look all you like
But this girl, you see, she's leaving with me tonight
 
He gets a little confident by the end of the bridge. The bridge has clearly been a good experience for him – but then, just when he’s accepting things and feeling smooth, the fear sets in. If this is real love, if this isn’t a dream, if I am with the nicest-looking gal in town, well then, oh no, relationships scare me! But don’t worry, fans of this loveable loser, because this gal is so great, all she needs to do is look at him, and everything is a-ok.  
 
I heard The Jeff Healey Band cover before the original, as did most people other than Jeff Healey. While he had been playing it live, Hiatt never released the song until it made it onto a 1998 “Best Of” collection. It was the Healey recording that I originally heard and liked, but in my opinion, Hiatt’s version is dramatically better. Hiatt is a funny, charming fella, and this song is drenched in self-deprectiating humor and sweetness. Listening to Healey’s cover years later, I find it dry, a bit boring, and perhaps way too “80s.” What went wrong with music production in the 80s? That might be a topic for a different blog, but for some quick insight, ask the stars above!

-MJK

Written and Recorded by Billy Joel
 
There are few artists who divide music listeners more than Billy Joel. I’m not sure why so many people despise this guy. In my opinion, he’s one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, he’s a skilled musician, and he has the uncanny ability to absorb contemporary music trends and express them through his unique filter. His songs are often musically explorative, and his lyrics are rarely matched within the world of mainstream pop music. But hey, I grew up on Long Island in the 80s, and every Joel release was like a new national anthem for us. The details of his fallout with his band are foggy, and I hate to think that Billy had anything to do with the untimely death of one of my favorite bassists, Doug Stegmeyer. But maybe I’m getting too deep into the artist – we’re here to celebrate bridges! Joel has written some of my favorites, and maybe none better than “Just The Way You Are.”
 
“Just The Way You Are” is a song about a couple, after years of partnership, evaluating the state of their relationship. And what appears to be sentiments of unconditional love, later reveal more. The protagonist asks that his partner not change who she is: you don’t need to update your appearance, you don’t need to worry about impressing me with “clever conversation,” and I understand that we’re not going to get along every day:
 
I took the good times, I'll take the bad times
I'll take you just the way you are.
 
He’s 100% devoted to her. He’s not going anywhere, and he wants everything to continue as it has been. But like the one-sided nature of songs (other than duets), neither the listener nor the song’s protagonist knows how she feels. And here’s when we get to the bridge.
 
I need to know that you will always be
The same old someone that I knew
But what will it take 'til you believe in me
The way that I believe in you?
 
He’s pleading with her, expressing his love for her and how important it is to stay together and continue this relationship. Prior to the bridge, the message seems selflessly supportive. You don’t have to be anyone but yourself. But there’s more happening here. It’s not that she doesn’t need to change; it’s that he doesn’t want her to change. He wants – he needs! – her to be exactly who she was when they first met. He’s horrified to feel that she might have outgrown this relationship. To believe in him means believing in his vision of what he thinks this relationship should be.
 
You might say, “Come on, Matt, stop ruining love songs for us!” Hey, what can I say? I, too, used to think this was a song of pure, unconditional love, but this is not a song of loving someone for who they are, and it’s about loving someone for who they were. She didn’t go changing to please him, she changed to please herself, and often, seeing a change in someone else shines a light on one’s own inability to change. Self-improvement is the toughest thing we can do, and this protagonist has admitted that he “never wants to work that hard.”
 
“Just The Way You Are” is a song nuanced as much as love itself, and once again, it’s the bridge that offers us the truth behind the messy miscommunication of a couple in trouble. Billy Joel has gifted us with many great bridges – hey, he even has an album called “The Bridge,” but, off hand, I don’t know how many of the songs have bridges or if I would write about any of them. I’ll probably return to more of the 70s and 80s material for the next BJ entry. But until then, even if only one person reads this, I love you, that's forever, and this I promise from the heart.  

-MJK