A Matter of Touch?

So, I was driving back from a long weekend visit with my family, and I stopped at a McDonald's at the bottom of a huge mountain range.  While I was in the restaurant, I heard a really catchy tune by Billy Joel.  I recognized it clearly, but I could not remember the title...and I certainly couldn't hear the title in the chorus.  I thought, "A matter of touch?  A matter of love?"  Wow.  I simply could not hear what he was singing.  A matter of touch surely didn't make sense.  A matter of love was a bit closer, but I just knew it wasn't correct.  Then, finally, I realized what he was singing AND what the title was --- A Matter of Trust.  Hmmm.  Sounds kind of boring as a title, actually.  A matter of trust?  Is that really very interesting?  Usually songs about cheating, loneliness, or unrequited love are always more interesting, intense, and sometimes even fun.  But, alas, this IS Billy Joel, and he is a master songwriter and lyricist.  I cannot think of a Billy Joel song that I do not like---they are all amazing.  So, with this one, there is no difference.  It is a solid, lyrical, melodic, and "meaty" tune from 1986.  It has more guitar than you would ordinarily hear in a Billy Joel song, but that is what makes it so perfect for the time (well, that and his pure, focused vocal performance).  Most of Billy's songs feature the piano, which is his main instrument.  So, this is a bit different.  I can't really imagine someone else covering the tune, but you know, perhaps there could be different lyrics.  In fact, this song is so solid that you could probably sing just about anything over the instrumental foundation.

Christie Brinkley Cover Girl Ad -- Classic!

As for the actual tune and video, both are very upbeat.  The song is obviously about a couple building a relationship to last--one that is based on trust and set to withstand the tests of time.  In the video, we see Billy's wife at the time, Christie Brinkley.  Yup, she was a famous model, and they were newlyweds.  She is holding their infant daughter, Alexa Rae Joel, who is now a grown woman and singer/songwriter just like her dad.  Unfortunately, Joel and Brinkley divorced later.  She married someone else and had a few more children.  Then, there was a scandal with her husband cheating on her with some teenaged babysitter.  Oh well!  Very, very 80s.  Well, the scandal part was 80s, but the actual facts were kind of more current (90s? 21st century?).  Luckily, the video is a fun jam in New York City, which will always be cool and inspiring, no matter what decade we are in.  I hope you enjoy this song and video.  If you can't understand the lyrics, just make something up...