Billy Joel says recent comments he made regarding retirement were taken out of context. In March, he told ABC News Radio that the festival dates he has in April would be “a big test”. “I want to see if it’s time for me to get off the stage,” he said.

But in the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine, Joel says, “I did an interview, I think with an Australian newspaper. I said I’d consider retiring if I didn’t think I could do it well anymore. I never said I intended to retire. I never said, ‘I’m gonna hang it up’. I was just kind of wondering, ‘Gee, I wonder what happens when a musician gets to a point where he realizes he’s not as good as he used to be?’ That turned into ‘Billy Joel May Retire After His Next Gigs.’ I just want to put those rumors to rest because people keep asking me if I’m going to retire… I just love the game too much to not play it well.”

Billy Joel also says it’s possible he could tour with Elton John again. The two famously fell out in 2011 when John publicly commented on Joel’s lack of commitment to rehab, but Joel says “Sometimes he runs off at the mouth… But I would always work with him again.  I still love the guy. He’s a great guy.”

Billy Joel will play the STONE Music Festival on April 21st in Sydney, Australia and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on April 27th.