Album: 52nd Street (1979)

Charted: 24

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• If you search for tenderness
  It isn't hard to find
  You can have the love you need to live
  But if you look for truthfulness
  You might just as well be blind
  It always seems to be so hard to give
  
  Honesty is such a lonely word
  Everyone is so untrue
  Honesty is hardly ever heard
  And mostly what I need from you
  
  I can always find someone
  To say they sympathize
  If I wear my heart out on my sleeve
  But I don't want some pretty face
  To tell me pretty lies
  All I want is someone to believe
  
  Honesty is such a lonely word
  Everyone is so untrue
  Honesty is hardly ever heard
  And mostly what I need from you
  
  I can find a lover
  I can find a friend
  I can have security until the bitter end
  Anyone can comfort me
  With promises again
  I know, I know
  
  When I'm deep inside of me
  Don't be too concerned
  I won't ask for nothin' while I'm gone
  But when I want sincerity
  Tell me where else can I turn
  'Cause you're the one I depend upon
  
  Honesty is such a lonely word
  Everyone is so untrue
  Honesty is hardly ever heard
  And mostly what I need from you Writer/s: Billy Joel
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

• Mc Sonics from Ann Arbor, Michigan Billy Joel was once at a Yankees game in the late 70's or early 80's and got recognized and people started walking up to him asking for autographs and he kept saying "no oble Ingles" and a few minutes later a bunch of people in the section behind him started singing "Honesty, is such a lonely word, everyone is so untrue".    After that he signed the autographs. 
• Tom from Sydney, AustraliaIt is a disappointment that 'Sodomy' was the title prior to 'Honesty'. 'Home Again' is bland but it is better.
  
  I am questioning truthfulness at the moment. Was there anything happening in Billy Joel's life which inspired the second half of the chorus, "Honesty is hardly ever heard -- and mostly what I need from you"? Wikipedia says the song was recorded in July - August 1978 ('52nd Street' album). His marriage to Elizabeth Small? A reneging on a business contract? False flattery from the public? I request that any answer be the truth i.e. if nothing is forthcoming, I prefer that to something made up. Much appreciated.
• Groovus Maximus from Boston, MaStunning, staggeringly powerful song -- an all-time favorite among the many works of genius Billy Joel has created. From the lovely simplicity of the opening piano figure, it builds organically into a pop masterpiece of sheer grandeur and magnificence, a plaintive cry from the very soul of us all. The bridge ("I could find a lover... I could find a friend... I could have security until the bitter end") is one of the best encapsulations of human interaction and interpersonal relationships any philosopher could have possibly stated; Billy has an incredible facility with lyrical & musical invention which few could ever hope to duplicate or even come close!
• Dana from Woodbury, MnThe working title was an inside joke among Joel and the members of his band.
• Ken from Louisville, KyBilly almost always wrote the music first and added lyrics later. When writing the music, he'd use any words he could think of to fit the meter, before writing the actual lyrics. He said when he wrote Honesty, the working title was "Sodomy"!
• Matt from Fishers, InShows how honesty is rarely alive in people, he says it is a lonely word because not many obtain this important characteristic.

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