"Vienna" is a deep track from Joel's breakout album The Stranger released in 1977. Notable appearances of this song include an episode of Taxi called "Vienna Waits," the Film 13 Going On 30 and a recent rendition performed on American Idol. As a B-side track, this song might not catch your attention while skipping through The Stranger, (mind you, I think skipping through this album would be a crime. It's such a gem,) which is interesting because Joel cites it as one of two of his favorite songs in his catalog. It opens with subtle piano and doesn't really get going for the first 20 seconds, leaving the average listener waiting and waiting. The melody doesn't get all that much more interesting, save for the instrumental break after the second chorus (roughly 2 minutes in.) The story of the song is one of stopping to smell the roses, telling you to slow down, you crazy child. Don't kill yourself trying to live. I would also argue that this song includes some of Joel's more moving vocals.
It's told that on a box set somewhere in Joel's past he tells the story of how "Vienna" came to be. When he was a child, Joel's parents split up and his father moved to Vienna. Joel and his father didn't speak for some time until Joel traveled to Vienna to visit him. On this visit, Joel says, he and his father were eating outside and noticed an elderly woman sweeping garbage in the street. Joel commented that is was disrespectful and wrong for a woman her age to be doing manual labor. His father took the opposing opinion, saying that in America, we often put the elderly out to pasture and treat them as if they are incapable of living a "normal" life. His father says that the woman is happy, because she's working and feels valued and useful. The idea behind "Vienna" is supposed to be that in America we want all of life so quickly, in our youngest of years because we fear old age won't have the same opportunities to live the way we want or to accomplish everything. But what he urges the subject of the song to do is wait, slow down, and realize that all of life doesn't have to be lived in a blur, that Vienna is waiting for them.
I can pull two significant things from this song.
The first is the relate-ability of the lyric. I think everyone has been at some point in their life where they felt rushed and needed a gentle reminder to stop and take life in. Being a member of the "millennial" generation (as much as that term makes me want to hurl,) I feel particularly connected to a message of slow the hell down. There are definite pressures placed on 20 somethings (either internal or external) to accomplish. Go to college and while at college get involved in every possible extracurricular activity and get straight A's, get a master's/law degree/medical degree, get a high paying job with good benefits, pay off student loans quicker than 10 years, advance in that job/company/field quicker than is typically expected, get married, have children, get a PhD, send those children to the best and most expensive schools, and so on and so forth. I feel my heartstrings pulled particularly tight at lines like "slow down, you're doing fine," "though you can say when you're wrong/you can't always see when you're right" or "slow down you crazy child/and take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while/it's alright you can afford to lose a day or two." I'm not arguing that there's no value in ambition or that a slack life is the key to happiness. I just feel like Joel is right in saying that you can't be everything you want to be before your time. Life is short, but that doesn't mean we need to pack 80 years of living in by 25 years old. Vienna is waiting.
The second thing that I notice is the message Joel is sending. He seems so adamant, urging the subject to just see what he sees and take the advice to pump the brakes. I think he isn't singing to a friend, lover, child or mentee. I really think "Vienna" is a message to himself. The way he's quick to give a compliment but then say slow down, you're not going to accomplish everything now, "where's the fire, what's the hurry about." I think he's trying to convince himself that Vienna is out there waiting, no matter how much his brain is saying "go go go!" He's reassuring himself that he's doing fine and needs to realize he's got a long way to go. That's a message I think is relate-able as well.
I think it's worth a listen (or a re-listen if you haven't heard it in a while.) I know a lot of people that will just sigh when they hear this song because they constantly need the reminder to take life as it comes and enjoy their youth. Burnout is a very real thing in many parts of life and even more so now in such a fast-paced society. There are a lot of songs out there imploring the listener to wait, slow down, hit pause, smell the roses, breathe in the moment, cliche, cliche. I think the difference here is the message isn't "life is short and will end any minute." The message is the golden years of your life, should you make it there, aren't worthless. There is plenty to enjoy after being in your 20s, no matter what is portrayed to you on television. The idea that high school or college are the best years of your life doesn't have to be true. You can have the best years of your life whenever you choose. Life is good, life is sweet, life is enjoyable and has as much purpose as you give it, no matter your age. Work hard, but enjoy your youth, and realize that Vienna waits for you.
