Joel awoke from a dream where he was walking in his sleep. He later said “The River of Dreams” was a play on words for “stream of consciousness.” The song was stuck in his head when he woke up. He ...

Billy Joel didn't want to write "The River of Dreams." He fought in vain to resist the pull of the future hit as it flooded his subconscious and held his thoughts captive. It came to him, fittingly, ...