New York, New York

Grandmaster Flash

About New York, New York

"New York, New York" is a 1983 song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five off their compilation albums Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (1983) and Greatest Messages (1984). It made #17 on the R&B Singles chart, #49 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and #82 on the UK Singles Chart.


Year:
2000
7:19
78 
#1

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New York New York, big city of dreams 
And everything in New York ain't always what it seems 
You might get fooled if you come from out of town 
But I'm down by law and I know my way around

Too much, too many people, too much (aha-ha) 
Too much, too many people, too much, Raaah!

A castle in the sky, one mile high 
Built to shelter the rich and greedy 
Rows of eyes, disguised as windows 
Looking down on the poor and the needy 
Miles of people, marching up the avenue 
Doin? what they gotta do, just to get by 
I'm living in the land of plenty and many 
But I'm damn sure poor and I don't know why

Too much, too many people, too much 
Too much, too many people, too much!

A man's on a ledge, says he's gonna jump 
People gather round, said, "He won't he's just a chump" 
?Cause he lost his job, then he got robbed 
His mortgage is due and his marriage is through 
He says he ain't gonna pay no child support
Because the bitch left him without a second thought 
He got nothing to eat, no shoes on his feet 
She even left his clothes out in the street 
He keeps hearing noises when he's at home
He always hears voices when he's all alone 
His wife took the kids, the car and the crib 
In this man's world, so much for Women's Lib

New York New York big city of dreams 
But everything in New York ain't always what it seems 
You might get fooled if you come from out of town 
But I'm down by law, and I know my way around

Down in the Village, you might think I'm silly 
But you can't tell the women from the men sometimes 
They're sugar and spice and everything nice 
But when you get ?em home ain't no telling what you find
Right next door is a little old man
I seen him eating dog food out of a can
He says, "I got to eat, when I can't afford meat 
I barely can stand, on my own two feet
I got a bad habit and I just can't break it 
Something?s on my mind and I just can't shake it 
I need some time, and I want some space 
I gotta get away from the human race?

Too much, too many people, too much (aha-ha) 
Too much, too many people, too much! Raaah!

Staring at a skyscraper reaching into heaven 
When over in the ghetto I'm livin' in hell 
Just play ball or be an entertainer 
'Cause niggaz like me can't read too well
Nobody loves me, nobody cares 
I dreamed about a life but I'm livin' in a nightmare 
Paranoid schizo, set back, snowbound 
Bad news psycho, heart attack, breakdown!

Hee, Huh, Hee, Huh, Hee, Huh, Hee, Huh
Hee, Huh, Hee, Huh, Hee, Huh, Hee, Huh
Hee, Huh, Hee, Huh, Hee, Huh, Hee, Huh
Hee, Huh, Hee, Huh, Hee, Huh, Hee, HUH!

If only I could sleep just ten more minutes 
I might find the strength to make another day 
If I didn't have to get up and do my thing 
I would probably sleep my whole life away
I messed up a nice dream, somethin' bout ice cream 
Whipped cream, fruits and a cherry on top 
Now I gotta get up and face the world, huh 
The pressure is on, It ain't never gonna stop
I sho' gotta learn to use my mind 
I don't want to be kissing nobody's behind 
Just standin' on line lookin' like a jerk 
Gotta get off my butt and do a full day's work
I ran into a pothole, got into a car crash 
Should?a been thinking and tried to fake whiplash 
A crowd gathered round, they're callin' me fat 
Who you lookin' at with a face like that?

New York New York big city of dreams 
Everything in New York ain't always what it seems 
You might get fooled if you come from out of town 
But I'm down by law and I know my way around

On 42nd Street, lookin' for some action 
Women standing on the corner selling satisfaction 
One young punk just leaning on the fence 
Tryin' to make a dollar out of fifteen cents
Really is a prankster, tried to be a gangster 
Real big wheel when a gun is in his hands 
Just did a stick-up, just got picked up 
One dead punk, killed by the man

New York New York big city of dreams 
And everything in New York ain't always what it seem 
You might get fooled if you come from out of town 
But I'm down by law and I know my way around

Too much, too many people, too much (ha ha ha ha) 
Too much, too many people, too much! Huh!

A baby cries and a mother dies 
And the tears fall from the doctor's eyes
Because in this room, on this day 
The Good Lord has giveth, and taketh away, huh!
The gift of life really means a lot 
And in the ghetto your life is all you got 
So you take to the streets, trying to exist 
In the trash and slime of a world like this
What you watch on TV tells you what life is supposed to be 
But when you look outside the only thing you see 
Is the poverty stricken reality, Heh!
Abandoned places, angry faces 
Much hate and hunger throughout the races 
You say, "I'm grown and I'm on my own 
So why don't everybody just leave me alone!"
Now you stay at home, talking on the phone 
Doin' ninety miles an hour in the fifty mile zone 
They never took the time to tell you ?bout sex 
So you had to learn about it in the discotheques
Nine months later, the baby is there 
And the Nigga that did it said, "I don't care!" 
You don't have enough money to help feed two 
So you have to choose between the baby and you
The sky was crying, rain and hail 
When you put your baby in the garbage pail 
Then you kissed the kid and put down the lid 
And you tried to forget what you just did, Huh!
The muffled screams of a dying baby 
Was enough to drive the young mother crazy 
So she ran in the rain trying to ease the pain 
Huh huh, And she drove herself insane

New York New York big city of dreams 
But everything in New York ain't always what it seem 
You might get fooled if you come from out of town 
But I'm down by law and I know my way around

Too much, too many people, too much (haha ha ha) 
Too much, too many people, too much! HUH!

New York New York big city of dreams 
But everything in New York ain't always what it seem 
You might get fooled if you come from out of town 
But I'm down by law and I know my way around

Too much, too many people, too much (haha ha ha) 
Too much, too many people, too much

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Grandmaster Flash

Joseph Saddler (born January 1, 1958 in Bridgetown, Barbados), better known as Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ—one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing. more »

1 fan

Written by: DONALD DEGRATE, DONALD EARLE DE GRATE, EDWARD O. FERRELL II, JOEL M HAILEY, RICHARD CEDRIC HAILEY, DWIGHT MYERS

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


10 facts about this song

Release Details
"New York, New York" was released in 1983 as a single by Sugar Hill Records. It runs at a length of seven minutes and twenty-one seconds.
Band Background
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are known for their innovative and influential role in the development of hip hop during the 1980s. This New York-based group was led by DJ Grandmaster Flash.
Lyrical Content
Including the line, "It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from going under," "New York, New York" paints a vivid picture of the struggle and hardship faced by residents of inner-city New York during the 1980s.
Groundbreaking Music Artistry
Grandmaster Flash is credited with pioneering the technique of cutting and mixing, which is used extensively in the song.
Recognition
"New York, New York" is considered an iconic classic in the rap genre. The group, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, cementing their place in music history.
Album Details
The song is a part of the group’s album, “The Message” which is recognized as a groundbreaking album in the history of hip-hop music.
Critical Reception
Billboard magazine praised the song as an impressive commentary on contemporary urban life.
Social Impact
The song's lyrics are often seen as commentary on social issues, particularly poverty and crime, that were prevalent in many American inner cities at the time, forcing people to reflect on the societal conditions; which created a major discourse about the socio-political issues.
Technology Use
Grandmaster Flash was known for his use of cutting-edge technology in music production, helping register hip-hop as a significant genre in the music industry, and "New York, New York" is a good representation of that.
Legacy
The song is cited as influential in the development of other genres of music, including electro and techno music.

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