Only the Good Die Young - wikipedia Only the Good Die Young This article is about the Billy Joel song. For the song by Iron Maiden, see Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. For the song by Queen, see No - One but You ( Only the Good Die Young ). For the song by Def Leppard, see Songs from the Sparkle Lounge. `` Only the Good Die Young '' A-side label of U.S. vinyl single Single by Billy Joel from the album The Stranger B - side `` Get It Right the First Time '' Released May 1978 Format 7 '' Recorded 1977 Genre Rock Length 3 : 55 Label Columbia Songwriter ( s ) Billy Joel Producer ( s ) Phil Ramone Billy Joel singles chronology `` Movin ' Out ( Anthony 's Song ) '' ( 1978 ) `` Only the Good Die Young '' ( 1978 ) `` She 's Always a Woman '' ( 1978 ) `` Movin ' Out ( Anthony 's Song ) '' ( 1978 ) `` Only the Good Die Young '' ( 1978 ) `` She 's Always a Woman '' ( 1978 ) `` Only the Good Die Young '' is a song from Billy Joel 's 1977 pop rock album, The Stranger. It was the third of four singles released from the album. The song was controversial for its time, with the lyrics written from the perspective of a young man determined to deflower a Catholic girl. Contents 1 Song information 2 Demo version 3 Track listing 3.1 7 '' single ( 1978 ) 4 Charts 4.1 Weekly charts 4.2 Year - end charts 5 References 6 External links Song information The song was inspired by a high school crush of Joel 's, Virginia Callahan. The boy / narrator believes that the girl is refusing him because she comes from a religious Catholic family and that she believes premarital sex is sinful. He sings, You Catholic girls start much too late, but sooner or later it comes down to fate. I might as well be the one. Attempts to censor the song only made it more popular, after religious groups considered it anti-Catholic, and pressured radio stations to remove it from their playlists. `` When I wrote ' Only the Good Die Young ', the point of the song was n't so much anti-Catholic as pro-lust, '' Joel told Performing Songwriter magazine. `` The minute they banned it, the album started shooting up the charts. '' In a 2008 interview, Joel also pointed out one part of the lyrics that virtually all the song 's critics missed -- the boy in the song failed to get anywhere with the girl, and she kept her chastity. Demo version A demo, included in the box set My Lives, is a slower, reggae version of the song. Joel reprised the song 's motif in this version with a church organ. Joel has stated publicly that he changed the reggae beat to a shuffle beat at the request of his long time drummer, Liberty DeVitto, who hated reggae music. Track listing 7 '' single ( 1978 ) `` Only the Good Die Young '' -- ( 3 : 55 ) `` Get It Right the First Time '' -- ( 3 : 32 ) Charts Weekly charts Chart ( 1978 ) Peak position Canada RPM Top Singles 18 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 24 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 25 Year - end charts Chart ( 1978 ) Rank Canada 150 U.S. ( Joel Whitburn 's Pop Annual ) 158 References Jump up ^ Sagert, Kelly Boyer ( 2007 ). The 1970s. New York : Greenwood Press. p. 177. ISBN 0 - 313 - 33919 - 8. ^ Jump up to : Dean, Maury ( 2003 ). Rock N ' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 242. ISBN 0 - 87586 - 207 - 1. Jump up ^ The Story Behind Billy Joel 's `` Only the Good Die Young ''. PerformerSongwriter.com archive. Retrieved April 24, 2013 Jump up ^ Interview with Oprah Winfrey, The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2008 Jump up ^ Video on YouTube : Billy Joel tells how `` Only The Good Die Young '' came to sound the way it does crediting Liberty Devitto Jump up ^ `` Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada ''. Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2016 - 03 - 04. Retrieved 2015 - 12 - 27. Jump up ^ `` Item : 114 - Library and Archives Canada ''. Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 1999 ). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin : Record Research Inc. ISBN 0 - 89820 - 142 - X. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Billy Joel Studio albums Cold Spring Harbor Piano Man Streetlife Serenade Turnstiles The Stranger 52nd Street Glass Houses The Nylon Curtain An Innocent Man The Bridge Storm Front River of Dreams Fantasies & Delusions Live albums Songs in the Attic KOHЦEPT 2000 Years : The Millennium Concert 12 Gardens Live Live at Shea Stadium : The Concert Compilations Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 -- 3 Souvenir : The Ultimate Collection The Ultimate Collection The Essential Billy Joel Piano Man : The Very Best of Billy Joel My Lives The Hits Singles `` She 's Got a Way '' `` Piano Man '' `` You 're My Home '' `` Worse Comes to Worst '' `` Travelin ' Prayer '' `` The Ballad of Billy the Kid '' `` The Entertainer '' `` Just the Way You Are '' `` Movin ' Out ( Anthony 's Song ) '' `` Only the Good Die Young '' `` She 's Always a Woman '' `` Vienna '' `` The Stranger '' `` My Life '' `` Big Shot '' `` Honesty '' `` Until the Night '' `` All for Leyna '' `` You May Be Right '' `` It 's Still Rock and Roll to Me '' `` Do n't Ask Me Why '' `` Sometimes a Fantasy '' `` Say Goodbye to Hollywood '' ( Live ) `` She 's Got a Way '' ( Live ) `` Pressure '' `` Allentown '' `` Goodnight Saigon '' `` Tell Her About It '' `` Uptown Girl '' `` An Innocent Man '' `` The Longest Time '' `` Leave a Tender Moment Alone '' `` This Night '' `` Keeping the Faith '' `` You 're Only Human ( Second Wind ) '' `` The Night Is Still Young '' `` Modern Woman '' `` A Matter of Trust '' `` This Is the Time '' `` Baby Grand '' `` Back in the U.S.S.R. '' ( Live ) `` We Did n't Start the Fire '' `` Leningrad '' `` I Go to Extremes '' `` The Downeaster ' Alexa ' '' `` That 's Not Her Style '' `` And So It Goes '' `` Shameless '' `` All Shook Up '' `` The River of Dreams '' `` All About Soul '' `` No Man 's Land '' `` Lullabye ( Goodnight, My Angel ) '' `` To Make You Feel My Love '' `` Hey Girl '' `` All My Life '' `` Christmas in Fallujah '' Other songs `` Everybody Loves You Now '' `` Captain Jack '' `` Los Angelenos '' `` Root Beer Rag '' `` New York State of Mind '' `` Prelude / Angry Young Man '' `` Miami 2017 ( Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway ) '' `` Scenes from an Italian Restaurant '' `` Zanzibar '' `` Laura '' `` Scandinavian Skies '' `` Big Man on Mulberry Street '' Tours An Innocent Man Tour Face to Face 1994 Face to Face 1995 Face to Face 1998 Face to Face 2001 Face to Face 2003 Face to Face 2009 Face to Face 2010 Billy Joel in Concert Film Oliver & Company The Last Play at Shea See also Discography Movin ' Out Billy Joel Band The Hassles Attila Alexa Ray Joel Christie Brinkley Katie Lee `` Movin ' Out '' ( Glee episode ) Book Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Only_the_Good_Die_Young&oldid=801231365 '' Categories : 1978 singles Billy Joel songs Columbia Records singles Obscenity controversies in music Song recordings produced by Phil Ramone Songs about sexuality Songs critical of religion Songs written by Billy Joel 1978 songs Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Italiano Norsk nynorsk Português Edit links This page was last edited on 18 September 2017, at 13 : 53. 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Question: only the good die young billy joel meaning
Answer: the perspective of a young man determined to deflower a Catholic girl