Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

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"Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 album The Stranger.

Although never released as a single, it has become one of Joel's most celebrated compositions among fans, appearing on most of his compilation albums. The song is effectively a medley of three individual songs which are fused together. In an interview, Joel cites the second side of The Beatles album Abbey Road as one of the main influences behind it. The song starts with a gentle melodic piano ballad, which sets the scene of two lovers in an Italian restaurant, moving on to a triumphant and uptempo jazz-influenced piece in the middle, which then segues into a rock and roll section (which Joel refers to as "The Ballad of Brenda and Eddie"). The lyric then concludes by returning to the restaurant scene.

Brenda and Eddie were actually close friends of Billy Joel during his childhood.^{[citation needed]} He wrote "Scenes from an Italian restaurant" as a tribute to their undying love.^{[citation needed]} As referenced in the song they were divorced in 1977 and re-married three years later in 1980.^{[citation needed]} Billy Joel wrote the lyrics to the song at the wedding reception on the back of a napkin. Brenda chose to have the reception at the same Italian restaurant at which her and Eddie's first date took place.^{[citation needed]} Joel was so moved by his close friends tale of love that "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is reportedly his favorite song.^{[citation needed]}

At 7:35, it is the longest of Joel's studio cuts.