Turn the Lights Back On (2024) – Billy Joel

‘Anybody who has really lived, must have regrets. I owe a thousand apologies to a thousand people‘
– Billy Joel on the Howard Stern show

Turn the Lights Back On is a recent release by the Piano Man, Billy Joel. It’s a bit of a shout out to the world – ‘Hey I’m Still Around‘. Talk about a long hiatus too – it was his first entry on the charts since his 1997 cover of Hey Girl and is his first new single since Christmas in Fallujah in 2007. So, he decides to give it another crack as 74 year-old. Good on him.

It’s an emotive outpouring on redemption and forgiveness, where he goes back to the fundamentals as an ageing star – delivering a lovely, melodic piano ballad and letting his heart do the talking in an attempt to save a relationship. He also performed it at the 2024 Grammys, so it’s nice to see older artists still getting exposure among younger audiences.

It doesn’t quite reach the dizzy heights of some of his top-tier and more original work, but I don’t think that matters. He’s not trying to be flashy or reinvent the wheel. It’s more of a direct and honest statement – owning past mistakes and recognising he may have fallen short. There’s a sense of quiet pleading running through it, especially in lines like:

You’ve had enough, but I won’t give up
On you

Joel explained in a Howard Stern interview that the song is partly about a relationship (he wouldn’t reveal who) and partly about his life as a music artist:

‘I’m putting out a new record..wait a minute do I get a second chance’?

The music video is heavily AI-rendered and shows Joel singing the song at different stages of his career. Some might see it as a nice sentiment, but personally I’d prefer to see him as he is now. That said, the final third does show Billy the 74 year-old and shifts to more personal footage, including moments with his children, which I found quite touching.

Recently, Billy Joel has been recovering from normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), a condition where fluid builds up in the brain and creates pressure. He must be doing well since he has returned to touring, with upcoming shows in Las Vegas.

[Verse 1]
Please open the door
Nothing is different, we’ve been here before
Pacing these halls, trying to talk
Over the silence
And pride sticks out its tongue
Laughs at the portrait that we’ve become
Stuck in a frame, unable to change
I was wrong

[Chorus]
I’m late, but I’m here right now
Though I used to be romantic
I forgot somehow
Time can make you blind
But I see you now
As we’re layin’ in the darkness
Did I wait too long
To turn the lights back on?

[Verse 2]
Herе, stuck on a hill
Outsiders inside the homе that we built
The cold settles in
It’s been a long winter of indifference
And maybe you love me, maybe you don’t
Maybe you’ll learn to and maybe you won’t
You’ve had enough, but I won’t give up
On you

[Chorus]
I’m late, but I’m here right now
And I’m tryin’ to find the magic
That we lost somehow
Maybe I was blind
But I see you now
As we’re layin’ in the darkness
Did I wait too long
To turn the lights back on?

[Chorus]
I’m late, but I’m here right now
Is there still time for forgiveness?
Won’t you tell me how?
I can’t read your mind
But I see you now
As we’re layin’ in the darkness
Did I wait too long
To turn the lights back on?

[Outro]
I’m here right now
Yes, I’m here right now
Looking for forgiveness
I can see as we’re layin’ in the darkness
Yeah, as we’re layin’ in the darkness
Did I wait too long
To turn the lights back on?

References:
1. Turn the Lights Back On – Wikipedia