Leningrad (song)

Leningrad (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Leningrad


Artist = Billy Joel
from Album = Storm Front
A-side =
B-side = "Goodnight Saigon", "Scandinavian Skies"
Released = 1989
Format = 7" CD single
Recorded = 1988-1989
Genre = Rock
Length = 4:06
Label = Columbia Records
Writer = Billy Joel
Producer = Billy Joel Mick Jones
Certification =
Last single = "We Didn't Start the Fire" (1989)
This single = "Leningrad" (1989)
Next single = "I Go to Extremes" (1990)
Misc =

"Leningrad" is a 1989 song written and performed by American singer and songwriter Billy Joel. The song was originally released on his album "Storm Front" on the Columbia Records label, and went on to be released as a single, and was also released on his "Greatest Hits, Vol. 3" compilation. The song title is derived from the former name of St. Petersburg, Russia (see Leningrad).

ynopsis

The song was written by Joel about a Russian clown named Viktor, whom he met while touring the Soviet Union in 1987. Throughout the song, major items of Viktor's and Joel's lives are compared to show the cultural difference of the United States of America and the Soviet Union.

In the song, Joel expresses Viktor's life as one of many children who lost fathers during World War II from the Soviet Union. He was enlisted into the Red Army, drank Vodka to fight the pain, and then became a circus clown, bringing joy to the Russian children.

Joel described his childhood life as being "born in '49, a cold war kid in McCarthy time." He describes his life briefly of living in Levittown, and the fear of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Joel also makes a reference to the Korean War, widely considered a proxy war to the Cold War.

In the end, the two become friends and hug.

Chart positions


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