New York New York

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

Too much, too many people, too much

Too much, too many people, too much

A castle in the sky, one mile high

Built to shelter the rich and greedy

Rows of eyes, disguised as windows

Lookin' down on the poor and the needy

Miles of people marchin' up the avenue

Doin' what they gotta do, just to get by

I'm livin' 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 hearin' 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've seen him eatin' 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

Too much, too many people, too much

Stand at a skyscraper, reachin' into Heaven

When over in the ghetto, I'm livin' in Hell

Just play ball or be an entertainer

'Cause **** like me can't read too well

Nobody loves me, nobody cared

I dreamed about a life but I'm livin' in a nightmare

Paranoid schizo, set back, snowbound

Bad news psycho, heart attack, breakdown

Hee-ha, hee-ha, hee-ha, hee-ha

Hee-ha, hee-ha, hee-ha, hee-ha

Hee-ha, hee-ha, hee-ha, hee-ha

Hee-ha, hee-ha, hee-ha, 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 messes up a nice dream, something '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 sure got to learn to use my mind

I don't wanna be kissin' 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've been thinkin' 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 standin' on the corner, sellin' 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 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

Too much, too many people, too much

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, huh

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, talkin' on the phone

Doin' ninety miles an hour in the fifty mile zone

They never took the times to tell you about sex

So you had to learn about it in the discotheque

Nine months later, the baby is there

And the **** 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, tryin' 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 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

Too much, too many people, too much

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

Too much, too many people, too much

Too much, too many people, too much