music.wikisort.org - Composition

"She's Always a Woman" is a song by Billy Joel from his 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 Oct. 1978,[2] 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.

"She's Always a Woman"
A-side label of U.S. vinyl single
Single by Billy Joel
from the album The Stranger
B-side	"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
Released	1978
Recorded	A & R Recording Inc., New York City, 1977
Genre	Pop rock[1]
Length	3:21
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Billy Joel
Producer(s)	Phil Ramone
Billy Joel singles chronology
"Only the Good Die Young" (1977) "She's Always a Woman" (1978) "The Stranger" (1978)

Origin and meaning

The song was released as a single in 1978, following several other hits from The Stranger including "Just the Way You Are", "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" and "Only the Good Die Young". The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 12, 1978, and peaked at #17 on October 14 of that year.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] 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."[6] Billboard particularly praised the "subtle orchestration" and "sophisticated melody," which it found comparable to ballads by Bob Dylan and Paul Simon.[6] 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.[7]

Of historical note, an instrumental 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.[8]

Track listing

7" single (1977)

1. "She's Always a Woman"
2. "Vienna"

Single (CBS)

1. "She's Always a Woman"
2. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"

Japanese 7" single (CBS 06SP 248)

1. "She's Always a Woman"
2. "Only the Good Die Young"

Charts

Chart (1978)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	17
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	2
Chart (1978)	Peak position
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[9]	28
Canadian Singles Chart[10]	12
Dutch Top 40[11]	15
Chart (1986)	Peak position
Irish Singles Chart	22
UK Singles Chart	53
Chart (2010)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	29
Chart (2011)	Peak position
Austrian Singles Chart[12]	37

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13]	Platinum	600,000
United States (RIAA)[14]	Platinum	1,000,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Fyfe Dangerfield cover

"She's Always a Woman"
Single by Fyfe Dangerfield
from the album Fly Yellow Moon
Released	May 10, 2010
Length	3:14
Label	Fantastic Plastic Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Billy Joel
Producer(s)	Adam Noble
Fyfe Dangerfield singles chronology
"Faster Than the Setting Sun" (2010) "She's Always a Woman" (2010) "Barricades" (2010)

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.[15] 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.[16]

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[17]

1. "She's Always a Woman" – 3:14

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Scotland (OCC)[18]	8
UK Singles (OCC)[19]	7

Year-end charts

Chart (2010)	Position
UK Singles (OCC)[20]	116

References

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