He reflects on a relationship that isn’t going as well as he had hoped, recognizing that he as well has his own faults.
On the live version from Live at Shea Stadium, Billy Joel begins the song by saying: “This is for all the manic depressives out here tonight.”
Joel has often stated in interviews...
[Verse 1]
They say that these are not the best of times
But they're the only times I've ever known
And I believe there is a time for meditation
In cathedrals of our own
Now I have seen that sad surrender in my lover's eyes
And I can only stand apart and sympathize
For we are always what our situations hand us
It's either sadness or euphoria
[Verse 2]
So we'll argue and we'll compromise
And realize that nothing's ever changed
For all our mutual experience
Our separate conclusions are the same
Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
Our reason coexists with our insanity
And though we choose between reality and madness
It's either sadness or euphoria
[Verse 3]
How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies
Perhaps we don't fulfill each others fantasies
And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives
With our respective similarities
It's either sadness or euphoria
[Outro]
Whoa, whoa
Summer, Highland Falls was written by Billy Joel.
Summer, Highland Falls was produced by Billy Joel.
Billy Joel released Summer, Highland Falls on Wed May 19 1976.