Well, he finally did it. After nearly 20 years Billy Joel has released a new song. “Turn the Lights Back On” dropped this Thursday. The contemplative ballad is a co-write with Broadway composer Art LaFrentz Bacon, New York-born songwriter Freddy Wexler and British songwriter/producer Wayne Hector. Wexler produced and the song is a classic Joel tune in every sense of the word. His vocals are robust, his piano playing is deft and the chorus is memorable. The tune opens with just Joel’s voice and a piano (shocking, no?) before opening up to something a bit more grander and arena-ready. Lyrically the song takes a yarn about a romance going south and marries it with Joel’s near two-decade absence from releasing new music.

Whether the song gains any traction remains to be seen. The music landscape has changed drastically since Joel’s last releases (2007’s “All My Life” and “Christmas in Fallujah”) and even longer since his last album (1993’s The River of Dreams). But as a native Long Islander, nothing makes me happier and prouder than listening to Billy croon. Not much better ways to start this February weekend.