Went down to the ocean just the other day
Listened for what the sea and sky had to say
The breeze was a caress and the sun was in my eyes
The summer temperature was beginning to rise
The storm from the day before was just a memory
The lashing rain and thunder were by then history
And then out of nowhere came the word
With a force so undeniable—this is what I heard:
This is the time
The time of the season
This is the time
The season for completion
This is the time
The completion of the overdue
This is the time
It’s overdue but you’ll see it through.
Cruising through the atmosphere up above the clouds
Far from the rat race and the madding summer crowds
The earth spread out below me, above me just space
Held aloft by physics and a dose of divine grace
A spiritual magnet, drawing me near
Not by might, not by power, not by terror, not by fear
But rather by a force much greater than us all
And all around me on that flight I heard its voice call
This is the time
The time for new horizons
This is the time
Bear is bull and bull is bison
This is the time
The present, not the future
This is the time
The time to silence the accuser.
Walked through my beloved city just the other night
Heard that voice calling, Do you see the light?!
The rising of the truth comes like the morning star
All the doom merchants will be shown for what they are
Don’t let the lies and propaganda wear you down
Your blinded brothers and sisters will eventually come around
Your mind has been poisoned living in exile for so long
Your resolve has been weakened, now it’s time to be strong
This is the time
For salvation and redemption
This is the time
No exception or exemption
This is the time
For doing what you’ve planned now
This is the time
The world is in your hands now.
This is the time
The time for fulfillment
This is the time
The potential is so brilliant
This is the time
For so long you have wished it
This is the time
Now it’s yours, don’t you miss it.
©2007 The Hesh Inc.
This song has its genesis in the dorms of Yeshivat Ohr Yerushalayim, the high school I attended in Jerusalem for my junior and senior years. The whole religious-Zionist curriculum and atmosphere inspired (some might say "brainwashed") many of us there to believe that the Messiah's arrival was imminent. My roommate, musical partner, and fellow Blues Brother, Izzy Kieffer, first came up with the initial kernel of the idea to have a rhythm-and-blues tune about thinking we saw Moshiach incognito in the streets of the city; he titled it "This Is the Time" (this was about four years before Billy Joel released a very different type of song with the same title). Right around the same time I had scribbled a few lines of my own about a similar idea, but with a slightly different tempo. We kicked the idea around in late-night conversations and off-campus jam sessions, but we never quite got around to finishing the writing of the song, let alone performing it.
Fast forward some 18 years to the Jersey Shore. In the aftermath of 9/11, I, like a lot of songwriters, became very introspective and seeking some sort of spiritual explanation or answer to a very changed world. I turned to various teachings from my tradition and memories of my experiences in Jerusalem, and the three years 2001-2004 became a very prolific period for me as a result. I resurrected the 'Moshiach song' ideas from my high-school days, gave it a different rhythm (more of a rock-based feel built around a 12-bar blues) and lo and behold, here was the 21st-century version of "This Is the Time."
Not too long later I was recording the second album in my Soul In Exile song cycle. I needed something to end the album/story with a bang, and possibly serve as a single. A few small changes to the lyrics and I had it. It was actually the first song I recorded for the album, with my old friend Yonah Lloyd on guitar and Steve Lopresto on bass. The percussion was totally electronic, performed by me; later on, vocalists Christine Ghilino, Wendy Horn, and Chimene Petitt, with whom I had played in Polyester, added their voices. The song was released on Soul In Exile 2: Jersey Shore Baby in July 2007.