new york songs.

Cafe Society
1

what the title says.

people like to write songs about new york. especially recently. so what are your favourites?

let us produce a comprehensive list of songs about the big apple.

i will start with:

The Strokes - New York City Cops
The Cruel Sea - Cocaine (Knife, fork, bottle and a cork, that’s the way you spell New York)
Craig Armstrong and Evan Dando - Wake Up In New York
Ryan Adams - New York
They Might Be Giants - New York City
The Get Up Kids - Washington Square Park
U2 - Angel Of Harlem
U2 - New York
Rhubarb - New York
The Beastie Boys - No Sleep To Brooklyn
Leonard Cohen - First We Take Manhattan
Death Cab For Cutie - Coney Island
Black Eyed Peas - Cali to NY
Lo-tel - Hudson, NY

and, i’m sure, a whole lot more…

2

Billy Joel - New York State Of Mind
Don Henley - In A New York Minute
Frank Sinatra - New York, NY
Petulia Clark - Downtown

3

Lou Reed wrote a whole album about New York. A damn good one it is too.

4

Billy Joel: Miami 2017 (Seen the lights go out on Broadway…)
Kiss: Back in a New York Grove
Ramones: Rockaway Beach

5

New York, What’s the Matter with You?
If a Table at Rector’s Could Talk
Broadway Melody
Broadway Rose
Sidewalks of New York
Give My Regards to Broadway

And check this book out for many, many more New York songs.

6

Jump, Little Children - Cathedrals (well, it’s about the cathedrals there, obviously, but it’s a gorgeous song.)

I love that Ryan Adams song. In fact, I’m listening to it now.

7

As always, The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York.

8

42nd Street
Lullabye of Broadway
New York, New York (“it’s a wonderful town/The Bronx is up and the Battery’s Down”)
New York, New York ("Start spreading the news . . . ")
The Boy from New York City
Take Me Back to Manhattan

9

New York, New York - Nina Hagen

10

That was a cover, actually. It was originally by a Vancouver trio called Cub. Great song, though; both versions.

To me, the ultimate New York City music is Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, especially when combined with the Hirshfeldian animation in Fantasia 2000.

11

The Statue of Liberty – XTC

12

Mason Jennings–New York City (an original by him)

13

New York, New York, New York - Steve Martin

14

Since none of these are actualy on the album mentioned above:

“Walk on the Wild Side”
“Coney Island Baby”
“New York Telephone Conversation”
And can I include “Ditachable Penis”, because he found his dick on a blanket on 2nd Ave? That song always says “New York” to me…

15

Black 47
“Brooklyn Girls”
“Rockin’ The Bronx”

Too many others I can’t remember at 2:00 a.m. with a belly of Guinness on!

MeanJoe

16

Okay, some Lou Reed songs (Some were on New York, some weren’t), and I’m sure this isn’t even the exhaustive list of his NY songs, they’re just the ones I can think of at the moment… Oh, and be warned that some of these are songs recorded by and sometimes credited to The Velvet Underground:

“I’m Waiting for the Man”
“Sister Ray”
“After Hours”
The original version of “New Age”
“Rock & Roll”
“Train 'Round the Bend” is almost about NYC, but I don’t think it’s specifically mentioned.
“Perfect Day”
“Walk on the Wild Side”
“New York Telephone Conversation”
“N.Y. Stars”
“Coney Island Baby”
“Romeo had Juliette”
“Halloween Parade (AIDS)”
“Dirty Blvd.”
“Endless Cycle”
“Sick of You”
“NYC Man”

And, uh, that’s all I can think of for now…

17

Bruce Springsteen - New York City Serenade from The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle. Once, in a thread devoted to listing personal top ten songs, I included NY City Serenade, when in fact, I meant Incident on 57th Street. That song is set in New York (as far as I can tell) so maybe it’s right for this thread too.

18

Billy Joel Miami 2017
Art Garfunkel (with Paul Simon at the Live in Central Park Concert) Heart in New York
Queen New York, New York

19

Oh, and of course, Lou Reed Dirty Boulevard

20

Sting - Englishman in New York