Released 1977 Genre Soft rock | Format 7" single, 12" single Length 3:21 | |
B-side Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) Recorded A & R Recording Inc., New York City, 1977 | ||
"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. The single peaked at #17 in the U.S. in 1977, and at #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 #29. A Muzak version of the track is known to be one of the last songs played over the former World Trade Center complex before its collapse. The song is played in the compound time signature of 6/8.
Contents
Origin and meaning
The song was released in 1977, following several other hits from The Stranger including "Just the Way You Are", "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" and "Only the Good Die Young". 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. The two eventually divorced in 1982.
7" single (1977)
- "She's Always a Woman"
- "Vienna"
Single (CBS)
- "She's Always a Woman"
- "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
Japanese 7" single (CBS 06SP 248)
- "She's Always a Woman"
- "Only The Good Die Young"
Fyfe Dangerfield cover
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. Subsequently, the Billy Joel original re-entered the UK singles chart at number 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.
Track listing
- "She's Always a Woman" - 3:14
Chart performance
"She's Always a Woman" debuted on the UK Singles Chart on May 2, 2010 at #99. On its second week in the chart, the single climbed 85 places to #14, marking Dangerfield's most successful single to date. On May 16, 2010, the single climbed 7 places to a current peak of #7 before falling to #9 in its second week within the Top 10.