She’s Always a Woman Lyrics
She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
And she can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals
What she wants you to see
She hides like a child
But she's always a woman to me
[Verse 2]
She can lead you to love
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe you
And she'll take what you give her
As long as it's free
Yeah, she steals like a thief
But she's always a woman to me
[Chorus]
Oh, she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind
And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
Cause she's always a woman to me
[Interlude]
Mmm mmm
Mmm mmm mmm mmm mm
[Chorus]
Oh, she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind
[Verse 4]
She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
But she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me
Mmm mm, mmm mm
Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm
About
“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, with whom he falls in love for her quirks as well as her flaws, regardless of how unforgiving they might seem.
The single peaked at #17 in the U.S. and in 1986 peaked at #53 in the UK when released as a double A-side single with “Just the Way You Are”. On May 2, 2010 the song re-entered the UK chart at #29. The song is played in the compound time signature of 6/8.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Joel wrote the song for his then wife Elizabeth Weber, who was also his manager at that time. She was a tough and savvy negotiator who was thus seen as ‘'unfeminine’‘ by many business adversaries, but Joel wrote this as a sardonic dismissal. They eventually divorced in 1982 and Joel wasn’t quite as enthusiastic singing it after that:
“This was a staple of Billy Joel’s concerts in the late ‘70s, but when his marriage fell apart, he dropped it from the setlist, playing it only sporadically from 1980-2005. On one of his college tour shows, Billy said that it was about his first wife, who he didn’t really want to be singing about in the first place. He explained that while he was singing it, he would start thinking about what meal he would eat after the show. No passion whatsoever, so he dropped it.”
In 2006, Joel returned the song to his live repertoire, often deadpanning at the end: “and then we got divorced.”
- 1.Piano Man
- 2.Uptown Girl
- 4.Vienna
- 5.My Life
- 10.The Longest Time
- 11.Zanzibar
- 13.She’s Always a Woman
- 17.Don’t Ask Me Why
- 18.The Entertainer
- 19.Pressure
- 22.Big Shot
- 27.Allentown
- 29.This is the Time
- 32.You May Be Right
- 33.Captain Jack
- 34.She’s Got a Way
- 35.Baby Grand
- 36.An Innocent Man
- 37.I Go to Extremes
- 39.Goodnight Saigon
- 40.Honesty
- 43.All for Leyna
- 46.And So It Goes
