The song critiques the ambitions of working- and lower-middle-class New Yorkers who strive for material success as evidence of social mobility, working long hours to afford the outward signs of having "made it".

[4] Joel describes characters with blue-collar occupations attempting to distance themselves from their working class roots by acquiring status symbols, such as upgrading from a Chevy to a Cadillac or purchasing a home in Hackensack, New Jersey.

The recording concludes with the sound effect of a car, bass player Doug Stegmeyer's 1960s Corvette, starting and driving away, symbolizing departure.

"[6] Record World said it is "a typically expressive Joel song, with New York City references and an unusual, piano-dominated structure.

[8] The Twyla Tharp Broadway dance musical Movin' Out, featuring the songs of Billy Joel, opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City on October 24, 2002, and played 1,307 performances before closing in December 2005.