I ended my work day with a messy, off-key rendition of “Piano Man” with a couple of colleagues, and one of them made a remark about how silly it was that people were putting bread in a jar. Turns out she didn’t realize it was slang for money! The absurd idea of bar patrons stuffing bread sticks or slices into a mason jar and asking Joel why he was there had us cackling, but it also made me remember that when I was in 6th grade, I thought “bread in my jar” was sexual innuendo for a while. Which made me wonder how common it an experience it was for other young listeners (specifically millennials and Gen Zers) to be confused by that lyric.

Did anyone else not know what “bread” meant when they first heard the song, and if so, what were your interpretations?