Billy Joel - The Great Wall of China lyrics

Advice is cheap you can take it from me
It's yours to keep cause opinions are free
Nobody knows about the trouble I've seen
Nobody's perfect, mister, nobody's clean
It costs too much and takes too
Long to find out too late
Some words are not heard
'til after they're spoken
Your role was protective
Your soul was too defective
Some people just don't have a
Heart to be broken

We could have gone all the way
To the Great Wall of China
If you'd only had a little more faith in me
In lieu of diamonds
Gold and platinum reminders will
Still shine bright
All the king's men and all the king's horses
Can't put you together the way you used to be
We could have been standing on
The Great Wall of China

You take a piece of whatever you touch
Too many pieces means you're
Touching too much
You never win if you can't play it straight
You only beat me if you get me to hate
It must be so lonely to
Think that you have only
Somebody else's life to live if they let you
I ain't too selective
But it don't take no detective
To find out how fast your
Friends will forget you

We could have gone all the way
To the Great Wall of China
Now all you're going to be is history
Help yourself, it's all you can eat at
The Empire Diner tonight
You coulda had class
You coulda been a contender
Charlie, you shoulda looked out for me
You could have been standing
Standing on the Great Wall of China

This was not your calling
Just look how far you've fallen
I heard your story, man
You've got to be joking
Keep things in perspective
This is my true objective
Why tear this heart out if
It's only been broken?

We could have gone all the way
To the Great Wall of China
If you'd only had a little more faith in me
In lieu of diamonds
Gold and platinum reminders will
Still shine bright
All the king's men and all the king's horses
Can't put you together the way you used to be
We could have been standing on
The Great Wall of China