BILLY JOEL - ALLENTOWN

Released: November 1982

Charts:  US: #17 

“Allentown” is the opening track on Billy Joel’s 1982 album, “The Nylon Curtain” and was released as the album’s second single. Though deeply regional in setting, the song struck a universal chord, becoming a symbolic song for the disillusionment of the American Dream in the face of deindustrialization and economic shift.

“Allentown” focuses on the economic and emotional struggles of residents in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and nearby Bethlehem, especially after the decline of Bethlehem Steel, once the second-largest steel manufacturer in the world. The Rust Belt transition left many in the region unemployed or stuck in shrinking job markets, and Joel uses the song to highlight their frustrations, lost dreams, and determination to persevere.

Joel didn’t grow up in Allentown—he was from Levittown, Long Island. He originally began writing the song as “Levittown,” but found the lyrics uninspired. During a trip to Pennsylvania, he felt more strongly connected to the struggles of the area and reworked the song, eventually settling on “Allentown” as the title to avoid the religious connotations of nearby Bethlehem.

The opening sound evokes a steel mill, with steam whistles and rhythmic pounding reminiscent of the industrial machinery that once dominated the region. The intro chord was originally a mistake Joel played on piano, but he liked its oddity and kept it. The song’s distinctive percussive rhythm echoes the mechanical grind of factory life, symbolizing the repetitive, often soul-crushing reality of blue-collar work.

Joel and his producer Phil Ramone approached “The Nylon Curtain” with a very different mindset than his previous album, “Glass Houses”. Rather than crafting live-friendly rock, Joel wanted to make a “headphones album”, rich with studio experimentation, layered vocals, and Beatles-style sonic texture. Ramone referred to it as their form of “musical expressionism”, pushing the boundaries of their sound.

The music video, directed by Russell Mulcahy, was among Joel’s early forays into the MTV era. Known for his work with Fleetwood Mac and Duran Duran, Mulcahy created a video that showed young men returning from war and struggling to reintegrate into a faltering economy. The video drew attention for its homoerotic imagery, featuring shirtless, oiled-up steel workers in steamy factory showers and locker rooms. 

“Allentown” is one of Joel’s most politically tinged songs, and he has performed it live as both a message and a tribute to working Americans facing hard times.