Joel Doesn’t Think the Song’s Good Music
Joel usually used to hear or compose the melody first, before writing the song, but in this case, he wrote the lyrics first. He admits that the song isn’t a good piece of music, but does hold historical significance.
While talking to the Billboard magazine, he described the song to be “terrible musically” and that hearing it is like having a mosquito buzzing around your head. Despite being an immensely famous song, Billy always maintained that it wasn’t his favorite.