New York City isn't for the faint of heart. The downtown grit, the uptown glamour, and the make it there attitude that Frank Sinatra so eloquently immortalized in his iconic song, "New York, New York," has been muse to more artists, poets, writers, and of course musicians, than one can count.
Taylor Swift recently dropped the second track off her forthcoming album, entitled "Welcome to New York." Her wide-eyed optimism beams through with lines like, "Like any great love, it keeps you guessing. Like any real love, it's ever changing." After listening to it I couldn't help but imagine a list miles long of her predecessors, singers and songwriters that also moved to New York with dreams of the "city that never sleeps."
My research, however, found that the most moving lyrics about New York were those that really understood New York. A place filled with opportunity, yes; fun, of course, but also a unique melancholy that allows for cheap thrills and late-night inspiration. Here, I detailed 15 favorites that really hit the nail on the proverbial head, all featuring the reeling ride that is living in Gotham.
"Talkin' New York" by Bob Dylan
I swung on to my old guitar
Grabbed hold of a subway car
And after a rocking, reeling, rolling ride
I landed up on the downtown side
"53rd & 3rd" by The Ramones
No more of your fairy stories
'Cause I got my other worries
53rd and 3rd
Standing on the street
"New York City Cops" by The Strokes
Here in the streets of American nights
Rise to the bottom of the meaning of life
Studied all the rules, and I want no part
But I let you in just to break this heart
New York City" by John Lennon
Well nobody came to bug us,
Hustle us or shove us
So we decided to make it
Our home
If the man wants to shove
Us out
We gonna jump and shout
The Statue of Liberty said,
"Come!"
"The Only Living Boy In New York" Simon & Garfunkel
Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile.
Da-n-do-da-n-do-da-n-do here I am,
The only living boy in New York.
Half of the time we're gone but we don't know where,
And we don't know where.
"Walk On The Wild Side" by Lou Reed
Little Joe never once gave it away
Everybody had to pay and pay
A hustle here and a hustle there
New York City's the place
Where they said, "Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side."
"Venus" by Television
You know it's all like some new kind of drug.
My senses are sharp and my hands are like gloves.
Broadway looked so medieval
It seemed to flap, like little pages:
I fell sideways laughing with a friend from many stages.
"All The Critics Love U In New York" by Prince
Purple love-amour is all you're in it 4
But don't show it
The reason that you're cool
Is 'cause you're from the old school and they know it
All the critics love you in New York
"Downtown Train" by Tom Waits
Will I see you tonight
On a downtown train
Where every night its just the same
You leave me lonely
Will I see you tonight
On a downtown train
All of my dreams just fall like rain
All upon a downtown train
"Summer in the City" by Loving Spoonful
Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city
"Hot Child in the City" by Nick Gilder
So young to be loose and on her own
Young boys, they all want to take her home
When she goes downtown, the boys all stop and stare
When she goes downtown, she walks like she just don't care
"Welcome to New York" by Taylor Swift
Walking through a crowd
The village is aglow
Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats
Under coats
Everybody here wanted something more
Searching for a sound we hadn't heard before
And it said
Welcome to New York
"Empire State of Mind" by Jay Z feat. Alicia Keys
New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothin' you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
The lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York
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