Standing in front of my mirror, molding my hair into shape
Crisp white suite and blue shirt under my gold superhero cape
I had flight in my shoes, ready to use
And I could speed till I’d go berserk
I had laser beam incision and night as day vision
Though they didn’t always work
As I circumspected I began to reflect
It was like living in a fantasy
Metropolis had Superman, Gotham City Batman
And Jerusalem had me
I closed up the house and stepped out
Into the night
Into the light
The Midrechov was an endless parade
where no one turned in before four
So unlike the city I finished high school in
but that didn’t matter anymore
I thought I’d flipped but I knew I’d slipped
Across the interdimensional line
But I was a part of this place and everybody knew my face
It made me feel so fine
Action, reaction, satisfaction
Potential lovers prowl then take five
Pink-gowned girls dance elaborate twirls
In front of Muli’s mysterious dive
Would-be rock stars crunch guitars
Into the night
Into the light
The guys, they all tell me that I’ll never grow up
But to me that’s nothing new
They say I live in a comic book world
And what they say is probably true
But it doesn’t make a difference to me anyway
I know what’s fake and what’s real
‘Cause if superheroes don’t exist
Then I’m just another shlemiel
Some scoff at me and call me immature
As if to the world they’re wise
But when it’s my hour of triumph
They can’t look me straight in the eyes
You see, I save the city all in a day’s work
And what I do is good, never bad
And as far as being a kid is concerned
I’ll still be a kid when I’m a granddad
But at twenty-one I’m too hot and too young to sleep
I straighten my collar and take a flying leap
Into the night (Into the night)
Into the light (Into the light)
Into the night (Into the night)
Into the light (Into the light)
©2023 The Hesh Inc.
In the summer of 1986, I had a dream in which I was Jerusalem's reluctant superhero, in an alternate-timeline, sci-fi version of the city. I had superpowers, as described in the lyrics, but they didn't always work, and sometimes they conked out on me when I needed them the most. In this dream I, the hero, saved the damsel in distress, known as "Rena Queen of JAPs," from the clutches of the evil supervillain, Molech, who would abduct female American seminary students and then sacrifice them over an open portal to hell in the mountains surrounding the city. I even wrote this down as a short story but alas, the manuscript was lost in the course of my incessant relocations. I'd love to make a comic book / graphic novel out of this, but for the meantime, the song will do.
I banged this song out on the piano when I was home for a weekend from my army service. The music was inspired by the version of "Growin' Up" from Bruce Springsteen's "Live 1975-85," which was in heavy rotation on my Walkman at the time.