# Billy Joel's Prediction for NYC? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2001, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216 "2001-09-13T00:56:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/1 "2001-09-13T00:56:40Z")
Ok, this post might not belong here, but it fits in with recent events: Any Billy Joel fan will instantly think of his sci-fi song, “Miami 2017” talking about the destruction of NYC by some unclear threating force. Assuming he tours in the future, will Billy sing this song in concert? What must Billy Joel be thinking? And, what might have inspired him to write this song? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/2 "2001-09-13T01:08:14Z")
Is this the song? [Miami 2017](http://www.edgars-liederbuch.de/Lieder%20m/Miami_2017_(Seen_The_Lights_Go_Out_On_Broadway).htm) I dunno. I’ll have to study the lyrics a little more in depth. I doubt it would bother anyone, though. See ya. 😉 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/3 "2001-09-13T02:28:47Z")
Billy Joel’s “Miami 2017” does talk about the destruction of New York CIty, but the destroyers aren’t foreign terrorists. Rather, it’s the rest of the USA that decides New York has to go! The song was written around 1974 or 1975, when NEw York City was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. When then-mayor Abe Beame asked then-President Gerald Ford for a massive bailout, Ford refused, saying (correctly, I believe) that New York City had been overspending for decades, and had to get its own financial house in order. This refusal was summed up in the famous New York Daily News headline- “Ford to City: Drop Dead!” Since New York City was then bankrupt, filthy, crime-ridden, and apparently hated by the rest of the country, Billy Joel wrote a song in which the federal government wipes out New York City once and for all. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/4 "2001-09-13T02:44:00Z")
Well, I read the lyrics and did a little research. But I have nothing to say, since **astorian** so astutely “stole my thunder”. 😃 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/5 "2001-09-13T02:55:39Z")
As a Billy Joel fan, I must admit that this thought did cross my mind yesterday. I’m surprised it hasn’t come up on the BJ mailing list I subscribe to. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/6 "2001-09-13T04:28:37Z")
Wow, I never thought too much about it and so always thought he was talking about the power outage back, when was it, in the 60s? This makes much more sense and my ignorance on this matter has been successfully fought. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/7 "2001-09-13T12:21:24Z")
Apparently the destruction of New York has been a horror fantasy of screenplay writers, authors, even songwriters for decades. Just recently rap group The Coup pulled it’s album cover which portrays the lead singer about to blow up the WTC. The pilot episode the Lone Gunmen climaxes with a plance heading right for the WTC; I’m sure there’s more. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/8 "2001-09-13T13:54:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Vinnie Virginslayer \* > \*\*Just recently rap group The Coup pulled it’s album cover which portrays the lead singer about to blow up the WTC. \*\* The NY band “I Am The World Trade Center” released their debut CD on Tuesday. Timing couldn’t have been any worse. [http://www.kindercore.com/worldtrade.html](http://www.kindercore.com/worldtrade.html) ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/9 "2001-09-13T14:06:26Z")
**astorian** : > [@](#): > > This refusal was summed up in the famous New York Daily News headline- “Ford to City: Drop Dead!” The Daily News? That looks more like a New York Post headline. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/10 "2001-09-13T14:14:51Z")
The list of “NY destroyed” scenes in movies is pretty long. These are the films I can think of just off the top of my head: When Worlds Collide War of the Worlds Escape from New York Independence Day Armageddeon Fritz Leiber’s great “Coming Attractions” has a chilling image of the stump of the ESB sticking out of bombed-out NYC. ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/11 "2001-09-13T15:15:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guy Propski \* > **The list of “NY destroyed” scenes in movies is pretty long. These are the films I can think of just off the top of my head:** The towers toppled over due to the tidal wave in _Deep Impact_. And they were frozen in place like toothpicks in ice cubes in _A.I._. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/12 "2001-09-13T18:22:53Z")
> [@](#): > > The list of “NY destroyed” scenes in movies is pretty long. These are the films I can think of just off the top of my head: > > When Worlds Collide > War of the Worlds > Escape from New York > Independence Day > Armageddeon Don’t forget the original _Planet of the Apes_. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/13 "2001-09-13T19:47:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fiver \* > \*\ ***astorian** : > > > [@](#): > > > > This refusal was summed up in the famous New York Daily News headline- “Ford to City: Drop Dead!” > > The Daily News? That looks more like a New York Post headline. Cite? \*\* I don’t see any pictures on the web, but I’ve seen pictures, and it is the _News_. Exact date is Oct. 30, 1975. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/14 "2001-09-13T19:59:52Z")
“Ford to City: Drop Dead” was definitely a New York Daily News headline. Bear in mind, in the mid-70s, Rupert Murdoch didn’t own the Post! TODAY, the Post is associated with lurid headlines, gossip, and right-wing editorials. But when I was a kid, the Post was a VERY serious, and VERY liberal paper. In THOSE days, the Post’s editors would have regarded such a headline as vulgar. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/15 "2001-09-13T22:55:18Z")
Now that things have calmed down enough for me to put things where they belong, I’m moving this to Cafe Society. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![TheeGrumpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheeGrumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheeGrumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/16 "2001-09-13T22:57:05Z")
Billy Joel kept singing that song about JFK blown away, totally insensitive to America’s grief from that tragedy. 😉 So I figure he can sing his New York song again safely in about 25 years. (And how many times has he performed “We Didn’t Start the Fire” since the Branch Davidian standoff?) ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/17 "2001-09-13T23:09:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheeGrumpy \* > \*\*Billy Joel kept singing that song about JFK blown away, totally insensitive to America’s grief from that tragedy. 😉 So I figure he can sing his New York song again safely in about 25 years. > > (And how many times has he performed “We Didn’t Start the Fire” since the Branch Davidian standoff?) \*\* **TheeGrumpy** , “We Didn’t Start the Fire” was intended to be about the history of the US from the fifties to the late eighties. The assassination of JFK fell within that time frame. And FTR, he played it at a concert I attended at the Target Center in Minneapolis in April of 1999. As good as it is on the CD, it’s better live. Robin ---
**Author:** ![TheeGrumpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheeGrumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheeGrumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/18 "2001-09-14T00:13:06Z")
Robyn, Hence my 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/19 "2001-09-14T02:37:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guy Propski \* > \*\*The list of “NY destroyed” scenes in movies is pretty long. These are the films I can think of just off the top of my head: > > When Worlds Collide > War of the Worlds > Escape from New York > Independence Day > Armageddeon > > \*\* Fail Safe ---
**Author:** ![psychogumby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@psychogumby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychogumby)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216/20 "2001-09-14T23:09:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Vinnie Virginslayer \* > > \*\*Just recently rap group The Coup pulled it’s album cover which portrays the lead singer about to blow up the WTC. \*\* > > The NY band “I Am The World Trade Center” released their debut CD on Tuesday. Timing couldn’t have been any worse. > > \*\* Maybe they should change their name to “I _Was_ The World Trade Center”? (i’m sorry, that was tacky … but someone else was bound to say it) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billy-joels-prediction-for-nyc/81216.md?page=2)