No Man's Land (Billy Joel song)

"No Man's Land"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album River of Dreams
B-side	"No Man's Land" (live)
Released	February 1994 (UK) [1]
Length	4:48
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Billy Joel
Producer(s)	Billy Joel Danny Kortchmar
Billy Joel singles chronology
"The River of Dreams" (1993) "No Man's Land" (1994) "All About Soul" (1993)
Music video
"No Man's Land (Audio)" on YouTube

"No Man's Land" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released in February 1994 by Columbia Records as the second single and opening track from his twelfth studio album, River of Dreams (1993). The song, both written and co-produced by Joel, is about the growth of suburbia and its negative environmental and social aspects. It was performed by Joel on the premiere episode of Late Show with David Letterman on August 30, 1993. The song peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.

In 2017, Joel performed the song in concert as part of the story line in the Thanksgiving episode of the sixth season of the TV series Arrow . ^[2] In 2018, he recalled the song as containing his best lyrics, with "biblical imagery skewed by consumerism". ^[3] On the 1994 River of Dreams Tour, Joel often opened concerts with "No Man's Land".

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Woken up after his own 'Lullaby', Joel immediately puts on his rocking shoes. ACE programmers, for whom he is a core artist, don't panic! Lead guitar is only used for fill ins." ^[4]

Track listings

All songs were written by Billy Joel.

• UK CD single

1. "No Man's Land" (LP version) – 4:45
2. "No Man's Land" (live) – 5:03

Charts

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [5]	71
Netherlands (Single Top 100 Tipparade) [6]	11
UK Singles (OCC) [7]	50
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [8]	18

References

1. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 437. ISBN   978-0-86241-541-9.
2. Abrams, Natalie. "'Arrow' to feature Billy Joel". EW . Retrieved December 30, 2021.
3. Marchese, David (July 2018). "In Conversation: Billy Joel". Vulture.com. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
4. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 18. April 30, 1994. p. 11. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
5. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2235." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
6. "Billy Joel – No Man's Land" (in Dutch). MegaCharts . Retrieved July 17, 2021.
7. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
8. "Billy Joel Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.