You're Only Human (Second Wind)

"You're Only Human (Second Wind)" is a song written in 1985 and performed by Billy Joel. The subject of the song is teenage depression and suicide. The song originally appeared on Billy Joel's Greatest Hits in 1985 and became a top ten hit, peaking at #9 on the Billboard chart.

Joel, who had once attempted suicide himself, stated in a 1985 interview that he wrote the song as a way to help young people struggling with depression and thoughts of suicide. In his original draft, he was concerned that the song sounded too depressing so he re-wrote it with a bouncy, joyous beat and melody with lyrics that stressed personal forgiveness and optimism about life. Joel donated all the royalties from the song to the National Committee for Youth Suicide Prevention.

During the song, Joel audibly laughs after briefly hesitating during one of the verses. At the prompting of Paul Simon and Christie Brinkley (who were listening in the studio), he decided to keep it in the recorded version as it seemed to illustrate his point in the song about personal fallibility.