Listen to Billy Joel Play a Never-Before-Heard Snippet of a “Really Nice” Unfinished Song

During a recent episode of John Mayer’s SiriusXM radio show, How’s Life, Billy Joel debuted a snippet of an unfinished song. When Mayer asked if he had a song he’d held onto but never done anything with, Joel turned to the keyboard and delighted listeners and the host with a never-before-heard work in progress.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Do you have a favorite spare part?” Mayer asked, referring to pieces of music that haven’t found a home in a song yet. He continued, “Would you ever consider playing that piece that’s yet to go into a song, might not ever go into a song, but that goes with you through life as … something you’ve always considered?”

Moving to a keyboard in the studio, Billy Joel replied, “I’ve had this for years and years and years and years, and I always told myself, ‘Gonna do something with this; something’s gonna happen with this – this is a really nice piece of music.”

[RELATED: Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel’s Incredible “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” Duet Has Me Missing Tom Petty]

Billy Joel Plays Never-Before-Heard Snippet On John Mayer’s Radio Show

“And no one’s ever heard this?” asked John Mayer, and Billy Joel replied, “I don’t think so.” He then played the rare snippet for the studio and listeners. According to a report from NME, the spare part was called “Every Time,” but had not yet gone into a song. According to Joel, there’s a joke behind that title.

“The thought behind that was, ‘I’ll screw it up every time,’” he said. Things like that have led to Billy Joel’s apprehension toward writing songs. Most likely, this snippet will remain unfinished, as Joel has previously stated that he feels like songwriting is a “curse.”

“There’s this big black beast with 88 teeth that wants to bite my fingers off,” he said of writing at the piano back in June. “I drive myself nuts. It’s just not as good as I want it to be. It’s a great deal of torment, and I decided I don’t want to put myself through that anymore.”

Beside the onus of writing music, Billy Joel also shared at the time that he doesn’t “know what the marketing of [albums] is like now.” When asked if he would be making another album, he had a quick answer: “Nope!” followed by, “Who makes albums anymore anyway?”

Featured Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images