Billy Joel returns with “Turn the Lights Back On,” his first new song in nearly two decades. Stream the single below. Released at Columbia Records, the track was co-written with Arthur Bacon, Wayne Hector, and Freddy Wexler, the latter of whom also served as a producer.
Joel’s last pop release was 1993’s River of Dreams, followed by the classical collection Fantasies & Delusions in 2001. His last standalone single, 2007’s “All My Life,” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Singles Sales chart.
In addition, Joel is set to perform at this Sunday’s Grammy Awards for the first time in 22 years. After that, he’ll mark the end of his long-running residency at Madison Square Garden with his 150th show on July 25th.
Joel will also be performing a number of other tour dates throughout the year, including co-headlining shows with Stevie Nicks and Sting.
“Turn the Lights Back on” is about how nothing is new; everything has already been said before. However, he admits that’s not true: “Stuck in a frame, unable to change / I was wrong”. He sings about old age and how we tend to lose our senses. “I forgot somehow / Time can make you blind…Did I wait too long / To turn the lights back on?”. It’s worth noting that this song is a continuation of another song; “Famous Last Words”, which was the final track off his 1993 album “River of Dreams”. He sings about darkness several times in the song; alluding to blindness. He sings about begging for forgiveness before asking “Did I wait too long / To turn the lights back on?”
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