"New York" video

 

In New York freedom looks like too many choices
In New York I found a friend to drown out the other voices
Voices on the cell phone
Voices from home
Voices of the hard sell
Voices down the stairwell
In New York, just got a place in New York

In New York summers get hot, well into the hundreds
You can't walk around the block without a change of clothing
Hot as a hairdryer in your face
Hot as a handbag and a can of mace
In New York, I just got a place in New York
New York, New York

In New York you can forget, forget how to sit still
Tell yourself you will stay in
But it's down to Alphaville

New York, New York, New York
New York, New York, New York

The Irish have been coming here for years
Feel like they own the place
They got the airport, city hall, concrete, asphalt, they even got the police
Irish, Italian, Jews and Hispanics
Religious nuts, political fanatics in the stew,
Living happily not like me and you
That's where I lost you... NewYork

New York, New York
New York, New York

In New York I lost it all to you and your vices
Still I'm staying on to figure out my mid life crisis
I hit an iceberg in my life
But you know I'm still afloat
You lose your balance, lose your wife
In the queue for the lifeboat

You got to put the women and children first
But you've got an unquenchable thirst for New York

New York, New York
New York, New York

In the stillness of the evening
When the sun has had its day
I heard your voice a-whispering
Come away child

New York, New York

Composed by U2 / lyrics by Bono and The Edge


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About "New York"

From the original U2 Album "All That You Can't Leave Behind" (30 October 2001)

It is notable as the subject matter is a picturesque description of New York City and of the people who live there, and was later altered following the events of September 11, 2001. The song's lyrics were written by lead singer Bono, who has a residence in New York City. Bono has stated that the song is a tribute of sorts to both Frank Sinatra and Lou Reed. "There was a verse about Lou Reed, that didn't make it, and a verse about Frank Sinatra (that also didn't make it). And Lou has an album called New York, and he mentions my name on one of the tracks, "Beginning of a Great Adventure". And I just think he is to New York what James Joyce was to Dublin."

In another interview, Bono elaborated further on the song's theme of "mid-life crisis": "There used to be a verse at the end about Frank Sinatra, because if I was going to be singing about New York, New York, I felt like I should. It went "When I'm down on my luck / I sometimes think of Frank Sinatra / I met him once / He was more than generous / At dinner one evening he found a blue paper napkin ... and he stared at it and said to no one in particular, I remember when my eyes were this blue." Which is how the song ended. ... But I took out that scene because I didn't want people to think the song was autobiographical -- you know, I did that song with him and everything (on Duets)."

While the song was popular during the Elevation Tour, it was later altered due to the events of September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City. As New York was the subject of both the song and the attacks, the lyrics were likely altered in order to be sensitive to those who lost loved ones from the attacks. The lines that were later altered included "Voices on a cell phone - voices from home / Voices of the hard sell - voices down a stairwell" as well as "Religious nuts, political fanatics in the stew / Happily not like me and you / That's where I lost you / New York - New York". Among the revised lyrics were lines such as "In New York you can forget, forget how to sit still / But in New York, you can't break the city's will."

U2 has played the song "New York" live 120 times. The song was first debuted live on October 19, 2000 at the ManRay club in Paris, as part of a promotional concert for the October 30 release of All That You Can't Leave Behind. The last performance of the song with lyrics as featured on the album was on August 27, 2001 in Glasgow, Scotland. The song then reappeared for the first time since September 11th, on October 10, 2001 in South Bend, Indiana with new lyrics such as "I lost my balance / you lost your wife". Following the Elevation Tour, the song was dropped from U2's regular set list and has not been played live since December 2, 2001. [From Wikipedia]

 

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