And So It Goes

This article is about the 1990 Billy Joel song. For other uses, see And So It Goes (disambiguation).

"And So It Goes"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album Storm Front
Released	1990
Format	CD single
Recorded	The Hit Factory, Times Square Studio, New York, United States
Length	3:38
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Billy Joel
Producer(s)	Billy Joel Mick Jones
Billy Joel singles chronology
"That's Not Her Style" (1990) "And So It Goes" (1990) "Shameless" (1991)

"And So It Goes" is a lyric poem written by Billy Joel in 1983, though it was not released until six years later. It appeared as the tenth and final track of his album Storm Front. The original 1983 demo was released on the 2005 box set My Lives. Joel wrote the song about a doomed relationship with model Elle Macpherson. Their relationship was dramatic, as Macpherson was only a teenager while Joel was reaching his mid-30s. Joel dated Macpherson for a brief time shortly before becoming involved with model Christie Brinkley, who would ultimately become his second wife. The song is unique for Joel as it is written in iambic tetrameter. In the original demo version of "And So It Goes", Joel sings the melody simply, accompanied by a simple piano backdrop, in a style very reminiscent of a hymn. On the 1990 album version, Billy Joel sings and plays all the instrumentation (piano and synthesizers). The official video is a live take in front of a concert audience.

The single peaked at No. 37 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart in 1990. It has been covered by many subsequent artists (see "Cover Versions" below). The King’s Singers and others have developed several vocal harmony arrangements of the song, which are often performed by high school and college choirs.

The song was featured at the end of the Boston Legal episode "Son of the Defender".

On November 16, 2010, during an interview on the Howard Stern show on Sirius Radio, Billy Joel was asked what song is his best work that is least appreciated. To answer this question, he played "And So It Goes".

Cover versions

• Former New York Yankee Bernie Williams covered the song on his jazz album, The Journey Within.
• The band Marianas Trench has covered the song live and they recorded the song for the "Director's Cut" edition of their album Masterpiece Theatre.
• American bagpiper Jori Chisholm covered the song on his debut solo album, Bagpipe Revolution.
• Singer and former American Idol competitor Carmen Rasmusen has covered the song previously.
• Singer Sara Gazarek covered it on her Return to You album.
• The King’s Singers covered it on their album, Good Vibrations in an arrangement by Bob Chilcott.
• David Archuleta performed the song for the American Idol season 7 final three show.
• Independent singer/songwriter Kevin Wong covered it on his album, The Pink in the Grey.
• Jennifer Warnes covered the song on her 2001 album The Well.
• Australian independent guitarist Tommy Emmanuel performed an acoustic instrumental version of the song for his 2008 live album Center Stage
• Karrin Allyson covered the song with cello accompaniment on her 2009 album By Request: The Best of Karrin Allyson (compilation). The cello part was written by Bill Mclaughlin.
• Mitchel Forman covered the song with vocalist Steven Santoro on his 2011 album Sing Along with Mitch.
• Vokalensemblen Urkraft covered the ballad at their concerts at The Stockholm Concert Hall in 2012.
• Les Sirènes Female Chamber Choir covered the song in the Finals of the Choir of the Year 2012.
• Emilia Martensson and Barry Green covered this song on the album 'And So it Goes' 2012.
• The a cappella group Six Appeal covered this song for their 2013 album Plan A.
• Canadian singer/songwriter Laila Biali covered this song on her album Tracing Light.

Chart positions

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart	30
Japanese Singles Chart	12
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	37
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	57

The expression

• In the 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut used the phrase "So it goes" as a transitional phrase to another subject, as a reminder, and as comic relief. Generally the phrase was used after every time someone's (or something's) death is described or mentioned in the novel.
• From 1982 to 1983, NBC News produced NBC News Overnight with anchors Linda Ellerbee, Lloyd Dobyns. They used the phrase 'And so it goes' to transit from one news story to the next.