She's Always a Woman
"She's Always a Woman" is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 album, "The Stranger". It is a love song about a modern woman whom the singer has fallen totally in love with to the extent of falling for her endearing quirks as well as her flaws. The single peaked at No. 17 in the U.S. in 1977, and at No. 53 in the UK in 1986, when it was released as a double A-side with "Just the Way You Are". It re-entered the UK chart in 2010, reaching No. 29. The  song is played in the compound time signature of 6/8. Origin and meaning. The song was released in 1977, following several other hits from "The Stranger" including "Just the Way You Are", "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" and "Only the Good Die Young". Musically, Joel has said that he was influenced by Gordon Lightfoot and his mellow acoustic guitar ballads. It is a love song that Joel wrote for his then wife, Elizabeth Weber. Elizabeth had taken over management of Joel's career, and was able to put his financial affairs in order after Joel had signed some bad deals  and contracts. She was a tough and savvy negotiator who could "wound with her eyes" or "steal like a thief", but would "never give in". Because of her tough-as-nails negotiating style, many business adversaries thought she was "unfeminine," but to Joel, she was always a woman. The two eventually divorced in 1982. Composition. Joel stated in an interview that he was attempting to replicate the fingerpicking common in folk guitar music. He accomplishes this by playing arpeggiated triads in the right hand. He also notes that the production was purposely minimal to capture the purity of the tune  as a folk song. Joel claims that the meter of the song is 6/8. This splits each measure into two full triad ascending arpeggios. The song is in the key of Eb major. It begins with singing over the chords each played without the arpeggio in the first verse, each chord lasting a full measure. In the second verse he begins arpeggiating, with each chord again lasting a full measure. The choruses are in the relative minor of Eb major, which is C minor. In the second part of each chorus Joel switches to the parallel minor of Eb minor  before returning to verse. Reception. "Billboard Magazine" described "She's Always a Woman" as a "dramatic ballad." "Billboard" particularly praised the "subtle orchestration" and "sophisticated melody," which it found comparable to ballads by Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. "Cash Box" said that "the tune is melodic and flows sweetly; the lyric is precise and has something to say" and praised Joel's singing. Of historical note, an instrumetal version of the song was heard playing on the plaza of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, just before the collapse of both towers. Captured by a cameraman filming nearby , the playing of the song was viewed as "surreal" against the backdrop of carnage and destruction. Fyfe Dangerfield cover. Fyfe Dangerfield, lead singer of the band Guillemots, recorded a version of this song in 2010 which was used in an advertisement for the British department store John Lewis. Subsequently, the Billy Joel original re-entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 29 on May 1, 2010. On May 1, 2010, a new version of the advert aired; which shows more of the song cover. In the annual ITV poll for 2010 advert of the year; "John Lewis – She's always  a Woman" ranked fourth. The advert has been viewed on YouTube over 570,000 times (collectively from the top 3 results) since it aired on TV. Chart performance. "She's Always a Woman" debuted on the UK Singles Chart on May 2, 2010, at No. 99. On its second week in the chart, the single climbed 85 places to No. 14, marking Dangerfield's most successful single to date. On May 16, 2010, the single climbed seven places to its peak of No. 7 before falling to No. 9 in its second week within the top 10. Track listing. Digital download