Billy Joel has released the single "Turn the Lights Back On," his first original song in 17 years. He co-wrote it with Arthur Bacon, Wayne Hector, and Freddy Wexler. Link to an article by Evon Ivie in Vulture here.
His last original pop album was River of Dreams, released in 1993, and he released two songs in 2007.
In 2018, Joel told Vulture his logic for the song draught. "When I stopped writing songs — it was time. I couldn't be as good as I wanted and that was driving me crazy. I was driving my loved ones crazy. I thought, this is ridiculous," he explained. "I couldn't be as good as I wanted to be. I was always trying to feel like there was a real progression in my work, and eventually I realized I was only going to be X good. Because of that I knew I was going to beat myself up for not being better."
"Turn the Lights Back On" is a romantic ballad that seems to be about his regret for neglecting his lover and allowing love to extinguish, and a desire for forgiveness and rekindling that love. Or it may also be about his relationship with his fans.
I'm late but I'm here right now / And I'm trying to find the magic …
Did I wait too long / To turn the lights back on?
