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By: Will VonHandorf
Music has always been a huge part of my life. If you want evidence, feel free to read my previous post about Jimmy Buffett and the oft forgotten beauty of his music. Yesterday, I woke up at 7 AM just to sit and listen to a new single released by an artist who has not given us new music in 17 years. Billy Joel’s new single “Turn the Lights Back On” certainly feels different than his prior discography, but it allows for an interesting retrospective on not only his career, but on how I have come to think about the songwriting and importance of Billy Joel.
“Turn the Lights Back On” is the story of someone recognizing their issues in a relationship and understanding how jaded they have become. However, there is a sense of hope, as the chorus begins “I’m late, but I’m here right now”. It is a partner recognizing their past failures and trying to fix their broken relationship before it is too late. I also view this song as a letter to his fans. I read it as the story of an artist asking his audience if he waited too long to re-engage, and if he still has a place in the music of today. He sings, “And Maybe you love me, maybe you don’t/ Maybe you’ll learn to, maybe you won’t”. This seems to be Joel telling his past, current, and future audience that whether they enjoy his new music or feel abandoned by the lack of musical engagement over the last 17 years, he is glad he has made a connection to the people who have and will continue to support him. Billy Joel, to me, is the greatest American Musician of all time. His understanding of human nature, love, loss, pain, happiness, and every other emotion is unrivaled. When you sit down and listen to a Billy Joel album, it feels like an old friend is telling you a story, and you hope he can go on for hours.
So, if it was not yet obvious, his new song release was important for me. The last time he released music, I was 5 years old. So, as I sat down to listen to his new music, I was nervous. I was worried that the beautiful discography he has created could be ruined by this new song. But I would place “Turn the Lights Back On” among the Billy Joel pantheon in a heartbeat. It is certainly not the best, but it stands along with every other song he has composed.
The title of this blog post is a reference to Billy Joel’s album The Stranger. The title track is an interesting comparison for his new song. The premise of “The Stranger” is that we all have sides and aspects of ourselves that we refuse to show others. Whether it be shame, disappointment, or anger that causes us to do so, we are unable to allow others to view and accept the parts of us we can’t bear to look at. The rhetoric and tone of this song are strange. Some parts seem hopeful and encouraging and some seem to tell us that wearing a mask is the only way that people will accept us. In his final verse, Joel sings “Though you drown in good intentions/ you will never quench the fire/You’ll give in to your desire/When the stranger comes along.” This is very different from “Turn the Lights Back On”. Joel seems to not only recognize his accountability in losing the magic of his relationship, but he also offers no excuses. In his first verse he sings “Unable to change/ I was wrong”. He recognizes how his pride got in the way of his relationship, but he refuses to give up if his partner will have him. These two songs show how much Billy Joel has matured as a songwriter and how comfortable he is expressing his true self.
I would argue that his newest release shows us a vulnerability Joel has not shown since a song off his 1976 album Turnstiles. “Summer/Highland Falls” focuses on Joel opening up about his battle with depression, recognizing that he struggles with controlling his thoughts and emotions. He beautifully describes this in the line, “It's either sadness or euphoria.” Both “Turn the Lights Back On” and “Summer/Highland Falls” are two masterpieces that allow Joel to connect with his audience in a very special way, and it allows us to understand that “Whenever you may go/No matter where you are” the beauty and message of his music “never will be far away”. (“Lullabye [Goodnight, My Angel]”)