One cannot fathom the literal HELL these poor young boys went through... My great grandfathers fought in ww2. One a b17 tail gunner over Europe, the other landing a few days after D-Day as a replacement and then fighting and being wounded at Saint Lo, then moved to Belgium to prepare for crossing the Rhine in the coming spring offensive in 1945... He was there when the Germans pushed into the Ardennes and launched the Battle of the Bulge... He and his men were shelled mercilessly... These guys were just teenagers... kids...
I didn't care for his Allentown to be honest, but he definitely scored some points back with what you observed. Very humble and respectful to everyone, where some artists would have stood back but hung around.
"Goodnight Saigon" Best Sum up of Vietnam. Billy knew the people he wrote about."Allentown" the same thing with all working class men Past and Present and Future. What a "Genious" !! ........ I Love Billy Joel
Watching this on 4th of July and I always cry every time I hear and see this video. As soon as they walk on stage tears immediately come out. It is so amazing. I am so forever grateful for the veterans who made it possible for us living free today.
Never been a huge country fan but always thought Garth Brooks was very talented. I'm totally impressed with his cover of two of my favorite Billy Joel songs...especially Goodnight Saigon. Awesome performance. Well done!!
It's just you. Trust me. Just me. My loathing of Garth as a person and a product of the Nashville machine aside, he is not remotely comparable to Billy Joel. Not.Even.Close.
As an aside, the Garth may be an entertainer. Billy is an artist. The only hit that Garth had that showed any bit of heart in the writing, is a Billy Joel song. Aside from that, Garth had every single hit directed his way by the labels. That's the way it works in Nashville. It isn't the most talented that make it in Nashville. It's the most marketable.
Respectfully, I've never been a country music fan. But I'll never forget the moment, as I drove home from work one evening MANY years ago, when a song on the radio caught my attention. (Important Note: This was before Google, Duck-Duck-Go, any Social Media platform, or even the Internet itself were part of MY world). At the time... I'd never even heard of Garth Brooks. This was literally my introduction to him, the VERY FIRST song I EVER heard him sing. The song? "Shameless." As I listened to each note, completely captivated, I recall wondering: Who is this? I had INSTANTLY recognized the STYLE, the emotion, the structure, the overall "sound" of the song. It was SO familiar. I KNEW the Composer HAD to be Billy Joel, but it clearly wasn't Billy Joel singing... & I just HAD to know if my musical instincts were correct. So I changed my plans & drove directly to my local brick & mortar "Camelot Music," where I inquired about the song "Shameless." I was told, "Oh yeh. That's Garth Brooks!" To which I replied, "Who?" I was then directed to the section where I could find the Garth cassette w/the song "Shameless." (Yeh, cassette. I know. I know. What can I say? I'm old!). I then purchased not only my first Garth Brooks, but my first ever "Country" Music. For two reasons, I've never regretted it. First, b/c I've loved Garth ever since. Second, b/c it confirmed my "ear"... my musical instincts were correct & that Billy Joel did in fact write "Shameless." Tho I, of course, have many... many Garth favorites, "Shameless" will always hold a very special place in my heart. OK... so Garth didn't write it. That takes nothing away from my fond memory of how I came to know & to love Garth Brooks... from my love for the song, or my love for Garth's performance. Oh... on the contrary. Knowing it was the great Billy Joel who wrote the song makes me love "Shameless" all the more.🙏♥️🇺🇲✌
I’ve seen Billy Joel 5 times in concert. He’s always had a stage full of vets singing along with “Goodnight Saigon” since it came out. It’s beyond moving!
When the veterans come out gets me everytime...I tear up.....both grandfathers fought in World War II....one stormed Omaha Beach.....the other Iwo Jima....if you know your history.....its .miraculous both made it home.
If this doesn't bring tears to your eyes you've got a very serious problem. Vietnam wasn't my war (that came some years later) but those vets are my generation and the respect shown for them is truly impressive. We need attitude like that in UK.
I am from Germany, East Germany. Me and my people had nothing to do with the US Vietnam War if not being on the Viet Kong side, today I still consider this war a grave mistake by the US and the role, the USSR played in it extremely questionable. But this rendition of this song I heared mit my youth first still bings tears in my eyes: because of the humanity, the deep feelings of holding on to each other under inhumane conditions. And the tragic of perfectly normal people being obliterated by the war machine.
We have tremendous respect for our veterans. From the memorials to armistice day. I and many others wear my poppy with pride and proudly support our troops.
@@andyj2597 As do I. One of my Uncles is buried in a Dutch war cemetary and we go there to pay respects but it's nothing like the levels of respect you see for both veterans and serving military in the USA.
Beautiful performance. Thank you to all who serve. From a military family God bless. Billy is a true American and patriot. It's felt in his songs. Especially, Saigon.
The medico right at the very end - tapping her heart and smiling - awesome catch. Garth Brooks takes Billy Joel's music to another level, another audience and perhaps to future generations. Quite the performer is he!
I am french. Can understand what you went through. Always been a huge fan of billy joel. Didnt know a lot about garth . But what happended that night brought tears to my eyes. Im sorry for the the errors in what i write but even if I am fluent in english my french i phone does what he wants .. thank you to the veterans...thank you garth and above all thank you billy
u can hear the tears in garth's voice singing goodbye saigon its beautiful rendition. My 2 oldest bros served in Operation desert storm so this hit home.
Yes we will all go down together... Pretty soon. That's where we're heading. No matter where you are from... Such a great song and well done Brooks... Billy just about to share a tear.
I worked at a Rock station and every Veterans Day we had Veterans come into the studio and played songs about Soldiers wars etc ❤❤ My Dad died on Veterans Day 😢😢😢 he fought In WW2 I honored him and All Veterans and we played Goodnight Saigon 😢 what a touching song I knew a few that were in Vietnam and I have no idea how they beared It God bless them ❤❤❤❤
Well done sir, Garth you are truly a child of God, honoring the music and our Nations hero’s... our Veterans. Great story from the two songs you chose to sing.
Garth did a fantastic job with these BJ songs! Makes me like him even more for showing he has a wide range in ability to sing and express himself in music. A great tribute to Billy Joel too, whom he clearly respects. Go Garth! 🤠
Yeah me too. It reminds me when he threw his medals away, and put in for Purple Heart commendations for non existent, or possibly self inflicted scratches or at best minor scratches that required band aids and that no honorable man would take a Purple Heart for
@@winy68 plenty of veterans threw their medals away. That’s the tragedy of this war. They didn’t return as heroes. As for the alt-right propaganda - shameful - John Kerry served. Bush, Cheney, Trump - they stayed at home.
Wow great job the ending was so powerful Garth Brooks Is a great Performer In his own right And singing one of the legends of music Song I love Allentown the 1st time I heard it But he did a phenomenal job with that song What else singing all the verses
No matter how long you were in the service, at the end of this video, there are still those commands you hear and instantly obey. Semper Fi, my fellow jarheads.
What gets me how many negative comments (not on here) that I have seen regarding Garth. Too liberal. Too fake. Mega cheater. When all I see is a human who loves. Who makes mistakes. And is beautiful. Love him always.
I wonder how many Americans singing along realises what an indictment of America both of those songs were. Billy Joel is far from anti-American Sometimes hard things have to be told to the one that you love. Goodnight Saigon isn't a song glorifying war. It showing how futile it is.
