Prelude / Angry Young Man lyrics

There's a place in the world for the angry young man

With his working class ties and his radical plans

He refuses to bend, he refuses to crawl,

And he's always at home with his back to the wall.

And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost,

And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross

And he likes to be known as the angry young man.

Give a moment or two to the angry young man,

With his foot in his mouth and his heart in his hand.

He's been stabbed in the back, he's been misunderstood,

It's a comfort to know his intentions are good.

And he sits in a room with a lock on the door,

With his maps and his medals laid out on the floor

And he likes to be known as the angry young man.

I believe I've passed the age

Of consciousness and righteous rage

I found that just surviving was a noble fight.

I once believed in causes too,

I had my pointless point of view,

And life went on no matter who was wrong or right.

And there's always a place for the angry young man,

With his fist in the air and his head in the sand.

And he's never been able to learn from mistakes,

So he can't understand why his heart always breaks.

But his honor is pure and his courage as well,

And he's fair and he's true and he's boring as hell

And he'll go to the grave as an angry old man.

Yes, there's a place in the world for the angry young man

With his working class ties and his radical plans

He refuses to bend, he refuses to crawl,

And he's always at home with his back to the wall.

And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost,

And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross

And he likes to be known as the angry young man.

• Artist:Billy Joel
• Album:Turnstiles (1976)