Following in the judgmental blame-game tactics of “Captain Jack,” “Big Shot” features Billy Joel berating someone for having to always out-do everyone else.
There are a lot of theories as to who this song was written for, from a girl Joel was dating, to himself, to Mick Jagger’s first wife Bianca....
[Verse 1]
Well, you went uptown
Ridin' in your limousine
With your fine Park Avenue clothes
You had the Dom Perignon
In your hand
And the spoon up your nose
Ooh, and when you
Wake up in the mornin'
With your head on fire
And your eyes too bloody to see
Go on and cry in your coffee
But don't come bitchin' to me
[Chorus]
Because you had to be
A big shot, didn't cha
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn't cha
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
You know what everything's about
You had to have a white hot spotlight
You had to be a big shot last night, whoa
Yeah
[Verse 2]
And they were all impressed
With your Halston dress
And the people that you knew at Elaine's
And the story of your latest success
You kept 'em so entertained
But now you just don't
Remember all the things you said
And you're not sure that you want to know
I'll give you one hint, honey
You sure did put on a show
[Chorus]
Yes, yes, you had to be
A big shot, didn't cha
You had to prove it to the crowd
You had to be a big shot, didn't cha
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
You're so much fun to be around
You had to have the front page, bold type
You had to be a big shot last night
[Verse 3]
Well, it's no big sin
To stick your two cents in
If you know when to leave it alone
But you went over the line
You couldn't see it was time to go home
No, no, no, no, no, no
[Chorus]
You had to be a big shot, didn't cha
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn't cha
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
You're so much fun to be around
You had to have a white hot spotlight
You had to be a big shot last night
[Outro]
Big shot
Big shot
Oh, big shot
Big shot
Big Shot was written by Billy Joel.
Big Shot was produced by Phil Ramone.
Billy Joel released Big Shot on Fri Oct 13 1978.
Joel told the Today Show in 2005:
Oh, did a lot of research for that song. [Laughter] A lot of people think it’s about somebody else. It’s actually a combination of other people and myself. Looking in the mirror in the morning, going, “Oh, you had to be a big shot.”