The New York Music Project: Help Map The City In Song

Since its founding, New York has been an evergreen inspiration for musicians, from Gershwin to Dylan to the Beastie Boys. "Empire State of Mind," Jay-Z's love letter to the city, is just the latest, and perhaps greatest, in a long line of New York-inspired songs. But one day -- maybe soon, maybe not -- someone else will come along and pen a ditty about the city that never sleeps that will fully-encapsulate life in the five boroughs and Jay-Z's will be a worn-out standard, played while fans shuffle out of the new new Yankee Stadium.

So in honor of the long and vast history of New York in song, we're extremely pleased to introduce the Huffington Post New York Music Project. Essentially we are trying to discover, uncover, and map every single song lyric that name-checks a location, business, corner, monument, etc., in the city of New York. This can be as vague as George Cohan giving his regards "to Broadway" to as specific as Lou Reed "waiting for the man" on 125th and Lexington. We've put together 40 entries to start off with, but that just scratches the surface.

We need your help!

Help us create the definitive map of New York music. All you need are the lyrics, a picture of the location (if you don't have one, use Google Maps Street View to grab an image), and hit the PARTICIPATE button below. This submission format is ideal: "Song" - Artist.

Multiple lyrics from the same song are fine, and feel free to add as many as you can. Also please note that there will be a delay of up to 24 hours once you submit -- but don't let that deter you!

Intro

NYC Music Project

 

Find a picture, click the participate button, add a title and upload your picture

"Avenue C" - Barry Manilow

"While we, happy as we can be, glide on
Takin' life in stride up to Murphy Park,
There beside the river"

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— NYC Music Project

Comments

[omobob]

Lou Reed : I'm Waiting for My Man Lyrics
I'm waiting for my man
Got 26 dollars in my hand
Up to lexington 125
Feelin' sick and dirty
Huh, I'm waiting for my man

lex and 125th.

[omobob]

George Gershwin: Manhattan Rhapsody

[omobob]

"Take the A Train". Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus

You must take the A train
To go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem

If you miss the A train
You'll find you missed the quickest way to Harlem

Hurry, get on, now it's coming
Listen to those rails a-humming

All aboard, get on the A train
Soon you will be on Sugar Hill in Harlem

[omobob]

I can still hear the sounds of those Methodist bells,
I'd taken the cure and had just gotten through,
Stayin' up for days in the Chelsea Hotel,
Writin' "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" for you.

"Sara" Bob Dylan

[dauoo]

Across 110th St - Bobby Womack

[KenSki2008]

The Ramone "Rockaway Beach" Chewing out a rhythm on my bubble gum
The sun is out and I want some
It's not hard, not far to reach
We can hitch a ride
To Rockaway Beach

Up on the roof, out on the street
Down in the playground the hot concrete
Bus ride is too slow
They blast out the disco on the radio

Rock Rock Rockaway Beach
Rock Rock Rockaway Beach
Rock Rock Rockaway Beach
We can hitch a ride
To Rockaway Beach (X2)

It's not hard, not far to reach
We can hitch a ride
To Rockaway Beach (x2)

Chewing out a rhythm on my bubble gum
The sun is out and I want some
It's not hard, not far to reach
We can hitch a ride
To Rockaway Beach

Up on the roof, out on the street
Down in the playground the hot concrete
Bus ride is too slow
They blast out the disco on the radio

Rock Rock Rockaway Beach
Rock Rock Rockaway Beach
Rock Rock Rockaway Beach
We can hitch a ride
To Rockaway Beach (X3)

[KenSki2008]

"Sherry Darling" by Bruce Springsteen - Now there's girls melting on the beach
And they're so fine but so out of reach
Cause I'm stuck in traffic down here on 53rd street
Now Sherry my love for you is real
But I didn't count on this package deal
And baby this car just ain't big enough for her and me

[lilnyc]

Yaaay, Jay-Z!! I agree that his is the BEST New York anthem, and right in time for our Yankees championship. NEW YOOOORK!!

[bartnj]

"Olympia" by Rancid

"Standing on the corner
of 52nd and Broadway
Cars go by
but none of them going my way
New York City
I wish I was on the highway
back to
Olympia"

[Alexandre Laudet]

Non, rien de rien, non, je'n regrette rien. (i've got to figure out the 'participate' procedure...)

[bigsexyshaq]

Go ahead. Go on the Ed Show to whine about how he's covering the news, and cover complete fluff here. Good job.

[esaslaw]

Regina, Regina [Spektor] is all about New York, New York. In fact, she is New York in so man, many ways.

I tried putting up Ne Me Quitte Pas (a great, great NYC song) and put up slightly wrong lyrics:

It should be:

Down in Bowery
They lose their ball eyes and their lipped mouths in the night
And stumbling through the street they say:
"Sir, do you got a light?
And if you do, then you're my friend
And if you don't, then you're my foe
And if you are a deity of any sort
Then please don't go!"

Ne me quitte pas, mon chere

[BetterDays105]

What about Jazz instrumentals? The Jazz/Funk band Down to the Bone have a great song from 1997 called "Staten Island Groove."

[Douglas Tooley]

It would be great to have the actual song indexed at the place, as well. Lyrics alone can't give the full feel.

[cannante]

the name of the singer changes depending on who tells the story:

when [ethel merman; birgit nilsson; joan sutherland] came to make her first recording, they told her to stand in front of the microphone for a level. she did so. the producer came back: ms. (merman, nilsson, sutherland) can you please step 5 steps back from the microphone. she did so. again from the producer: ms M. N. S. can you step another 5 steps.... she did so... again from the producer, ms (mns) can you go to the end of the hall.....

at that point ms (merman, nilsson or sutherland) with a smile, walked out of the recording studio and said to the men: call me when you have this thing invented.

i TRIED to put in Bleecker street by simon and garf. but you need to take a picture? or find it in one of these 50 different maps to zoom in on? all of it makes me a neo-luddite.