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She's Right On Time
The Nylon Curtain (1982) |
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Left to my own device
I can always make believe That there's nothing wrong Still I will choose to live In the complicated world That we shared for so long Good or bad, right or wrong The most underrated song on The Nylon Curtain from 1982, and even in Billy's entire catalog, is the expansive "She's Right On Time." This is a dense, layered, paean about love, but it's not your typical love song. Rather, it's a song about resignation and reconciliation as the singer realizes that his former lover has always been there for him, right on time. The lyrics are heartfelt and the motif of his lover being "on time" and never losing the meter is a clever one.
But at the same time, there is a subtle note of sadness in the song, that the protagonist is still trying to find love in a relationship that may have lost it. He sings: "I don't mind if she's there," "I will chose to live in this complicated world," and "better late than never." These are not enthusiastic proclamations of love, but instead hint of a melancholy resignation, that "sad surrender in his lover's eyes" is now more pronounced albeit he is still trying imbue the relationship with love and hope. Musically, "She's Right On Time" could have been something off of The Beatles' Revolver, Rubber Soul, or The White Album. The song is sort of "Dear Prudence" meets "In My Life," particularly the meandering electric guitar refrain and the harpsichord bridge. Billy's lead vocals are reminiscent of Steve Winwood in Blind Faith's classic "Can't Find My Way Home" but the vocal harmonizing is, of course, very Beatles-like. And the percussion is truly inventive (Liberty Devitto does a nice job). It also reminds me of Marshall Crenshaw's underrated song "Whenever You're On My Mind" with its meandering guitar and lines like "set my watch and still lose track of time." "She's Right on Time" is the kind of song you can listen to over and over again, and find something new and never grow tired of it. This is Billy at his finest, musically, lyrically and technically. 
The song, with its overlapping and deep textures and layers, evokes Cubist paintings such as Marcel Duchamp's Portrait of Dulcinea (above).
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Turn on all the Christmas lights
Cause baby's coming home tonight I can hear her footsteps in the street Turn the choral music higher Pile more wood upon the fire That should make the atmosphere complete I've had to wait forever But better late than never She's just in time for me She's right on time She's right where she should be She's right on time I'm a man with so much tension Far too many sins to mention She don't have to take it anymore But since she said she's coming home I've torn out all my telephones Soon she will be walking through that door I may be going nowhere But I don't mind if she's there She's just in time for me She's right on time She's right where she should be She's right on time Left to my own device I can always make believe That there's nothing wrong Still I will choose to live In the complicated world That we shared for so long Good or bad, right or wrong And it occurred to me While I set up my Christmas tree She never missed a cue or lost a beat Every time I lost the meter There she was when I would need her Greeting me with footsteps in the street I guess I should have known it She'd find the perfect moment She's just in time for me She's right on time She's right where she should be She's right on time Turn the choral music higher Pile more wood upon the fire That will make the atmosphere complete I've had to wait forever But better late than never She's just in time for me She's right on time She's right where she should be She's right on time She's right on time She's right on time Billy explained on SiriusXM recently that Columbia Records had asked him to do a Christmas album, but he declined. "Christmas albums are the last refuge of the creatively bankrupt." Instead, he wrote a Christmas-inspired song, "She's Right On Time," a reunion between people. Listen to audio player (above).
In 2017, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Billy put the song in his own top 5: 1) Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, 2) She's Right On Time, 3) You May Be Right, 4) And So It Goes, and 5) Vienna. See video below. European single cover, back cover of The Nylon Curtain, Rolling Stone photo
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