I Go to Extremes

According to Joel, this song was written about suffering from manic depression. Joel identifies himself as a manic depressive, and says that it actually comes in quite handy when writing songs, as there's not a lot of material in moderation.

Joel addresses his listener in this song as "darling," which likely refers to his wife at the time, Christie Brinkley, who he was with from 1985-1994.

Joel's piano part, especially at the end of this song, is congruent with the lyrical theme, as he uses the whole keyboard range, going back and forth from the extreme high and low notes.