Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" is a song written and recorded by Billy Joel, featured on his 1977 album The Stranger as the opening track.

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". 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. He implies these efforts are ultimately futile. According to Joel, Anthony is not a real person, but rather "every Irish, Polish, and Italian kid trying to make a living in the US".

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

Live performances of the song can be heard on 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert and 12 Gardens Live.