Only the Good Die Young

This article is about the Billy Joel song. For the song by Iron Maiden, see Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. For the song by Queen, see No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young). For the song by Def Leppard, see Songs from the Sparkle Lounge.

"Only the Good Die Young"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album The Stranger
B-side	"Get It Right the First Time"
Released	1977
Format	7"
Recorded	1977
Genre	Rock
Length	3:55
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Billy Joel
Producer	Phil Ramone
Billy Joel singles chronology
"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" (1977) "Only the Good Die Young" (1977) "She's Always A Woman" (1977)

"Only the Good Die Young" is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 pop rock album, The Stranger. The song was controversial for its time, with the lyrics describing a boy who tries to convince a Catholic girl who is a virgin to have sex with him.^[1]

Song information

The girl's name, "Virginia," is a play on "virgin." The boy/narrator believes that the girl is refusing him because she comes from a religious Catholic family and that she believes sex before marriage is sinful.^[2] He sings, "You Catholic girls start much too late,/ but sooner or later it comes down to fate./ I might as well be the one." Perceived as "anti-Catholic", the song was banned by many radio stations.^[2] "When I wrote 'Only the Good Die Young', the point of the song wasn't so much anti-Catholic as pro-lust", Joel told Performing Songwriter magazine. "The minute they banned it, the album started shooting up the charts." In a 2008 interview Joel also pointed out one part of the lyrics that virtually all the critics missed – the man in the song failed to get anywhere with the girl, and she kept her chastity.^[3]

Demo version

A demo, included in the box set My Lives, features a slower, reggae version of the song. Joel uses a church organ in the song, aiding the general theme of the song. Joel has stated publicly that he changed the reggae beat to a shuffle beat at the request of his longtime drummer, Liberty DeVitto, who hated reggae music.^[4]

Track listing

7" single (1977)

1. "Only the Good Die Young" – (3:54)
2. "Get It Right the First Time" – (3:32)

Chart positions

Chart (1977)	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart[5]	18
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2]	24

Pop culture references

• Def Leppard referenced this song in their song "Only the Good Die Young"
• On the October 5, 2010 episode of Glee, the song is covered by the character Puck (Mark Salling).^[6]

References

1. ^ Sagert, Kelly Boyer (2007). The 1970s. New York: Greenwood Press. p. 177. ISBN 0-313-33919-8. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 242. ISBN 0-87586-207-1. 
3. ^ Interview with Oprah Winfrey, The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2008
4. ^ YouTube: Billy Joel tells how "Only The Good Die Young" came to sound the way it does crediting Liberty Devitto
5. ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4602a&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=o44utr2skf3ci9l36vl9mglvm5
6. ^ Malkin, Mark (September 29, 2010). "Hallelujah? Glee Has a Spiritual Awakening". E! Online. E!. http://eonline.com/uberblog/marc_malkin/b203006_hallelujah_glee_has_spiritual_awakening.html. Retrieved September 29, 2010.