Xmas at Billy's

We came with the crusaders
To save the Holy Land
It's Christmas in Fallujah
And no one gives a damn

I'll be damned if the Piano Man hasn't written the best mass market antiwar song of the Iraq generation. And I mean that in a good way. Per the above lyric from Billy Joel's brand new song, "Christmas in Fallujah," he not taking a very intellectual view of the proceedings, just a street smart one with just enough sense of history. And Joel had the remarkable good sense to assign the singing to a young troubadour, fellow Long Islander Cass Dillon, 21 years old, i.e. soldier age:

At 58, Joel felt he was too old to sing the song, which was inspired by letters the Piano Man received from soldiers in Iraq. So he gave it to Cass Dillon, a 21-year-old singer-songwriter from Long Island.

"I thought it should be somebody young, about a soldier's age," Joel said in a statement on his Web site. "I wanted to help somebody else's career. I've had plenty of hits. I've had plenty of airplay. I've had my time in the sun. I think it's time for somebody else, maybe, to benefit from my own experience."

The clips of seen of their December 1st world premiere performance of the new number onstage in Chicago are both great, this one with the better angle and lyrics printing across the screen for maximum comprehension and sing-a-long, this other one with Joel's terrific introduction and better sound. I've even seen a fan version which I won't inflict upon you, dear valued reader. But even with the rather ingratiating synth hook repeating too much for my taste and the corny soldier chorus line, I'm on my fifth listen.

Why so gratifying? I guess it feels like when you've lost Billy Joel, you've lost America. He's made a conscious decision to put himself up against the GOP-rightwing media attack machine. Can you wait to see the clips from Fox News commentators? What are they going to do, say he doesn't really get letters from soldier?

The audience in Chicago goes nuts because Joel isn't saying anything that isn't true. Simple truths that everybody knows by now:

They say Osama's in the mountains
Deep in a cave near Pakistan
But there's a sea of blood in Baghdad
A sea of oil in the sand

Between the Tigris and Euphrates
Another day comes to an end
It’s Christmas In Fallujah
Peace on earth goodwill to men

The last line of that verse is as sardonic as it gets. It's over for these criminals, in the eyes of the public. Just start indicting them.

With any luck, their Party won't survive into the next decade.