The Downeaster Alexa
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| “The Downeaster 'Alexa'” | |||||
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| Single by Billy Joel from the album Storm Front |
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| Released | 1990 | ||||
| Format | CD single | ||||
| Recorded | The Hit Factory, Times Square Studio, New York, NY | ||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Length | 3:44 | ||||
| Label | Columbia | ||||
| Writer(s) | Billy Joel | ||||
| Producer | Billy Joel Mick Jones |
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| Billy Joel singles chronology | |||||
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"The Downeaster 'Alexa'" is a song originally released in 1989 on Billy Joel's eleventh studio album Storm Front. The album itself went to number 1 while "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" placed #57 in the top 100. The song was re-released on Billy Joel's Greatest Hits Vol. 3 in 1997.
The song is sung in the persona of an impoverished fisherman in the Outer Lands and the surrounding waters who, like many of his fellow men, is finding it increasingly hard to make ends meet and keep ownership of his boat.[1] The fisherman sings about the depletion of the fish stocks ("I know there's fish out there, but where God only knows"), the conversion of his home island into a summer colony for the affluent ("There ain't no island left for islanders like me"), and hints at the problems caused by environmental regulation ("Since they tell me I can't sell no stripers"). The lyrics reference Block Island Sound, Montauk, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket, amongst other locations.
Alexa, the name of the fishing boat in the song, is the name of Billy Joel's daughter, Alexa Ray Joel. Joel does in fact own a downeaster lobster/swordfish hybrid boat by the name "Alexa", built on a Maine lobster boat hull. [2] The "Alexa", along with Joel's other boats, call Sag Harbor, Long Island, home.[citation needed]
[edit] Covers
- This song was covered (as "Downeaster Alexa") on The Corsairs' 2007 album 9 Live.
- The English roots duo Show of Hands recorded a version on their album Covers.
[edit] Chart positions
| Charts | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 57 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 18 |
| UK Singles Chart | 76 |
[edit] References
- ^ Piano Man rocks Albany - Poughkeepsie Journal, Thursday 19 April 2007
- ^ The Piano Man Builds His Dream Boat - Fortune, Monday 20 September 2004
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