New York State of Mind (Live at Palmer Auditorium, New London, CT - 1976)

This next thing is uh
Is heavy breathing
Uh, this song isn't like a regular kind of rock and roll song
I wanted to write something that was like a standard
You know, like somebody like Ray Charles would sing
Something you would hear on a jukebox in an Italian restaurant
You know, that kind of music
Through the years
We all will be together
Let your hearts be light
From now on, hey, oh, you know
Get some uh, little Vegas guy to sing this or something, I don't know
Okay now the scene goes like this
You're in this jazz club, right?
Somewhere in Manhattan, right?
On the West Side, uptown, right?
Now, you're sitting there and
There's a lot of good jazz clubs on the West Side
There's a lot of good crime too
But, it makes
It makes the jazz club better because you made it through the crime
Hey I made it, you know?
So you're in there, right?
And you're feeling pretty good, you had a good couple of drinks
It's getting to be about three o'clock in the morning
You had a good couple of drinks
You're like one drink away from being a total asshole
You know what I mean?
Hey, but you're not there yet
So you got one drink of grace, right?
So you're still cool
Now, you're sitting there and the band comes on
Well, they come on like this

Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
They hop a flight to Miami Beach or to Hollywood
But I'm taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River line
I'm in a New York state of mind

I've seen all the movie stars
In their fancy cars and their limousines
I've been high in the Rockies
Under the evergreens
But I know what I'm needing
And I don't want to waste more time
I'm in a New York state of mind

It was so easy living, living day by day, yeah yeah
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues, now wait a minute
But now I need a little give and take, woah oh
The New York Times, the Daily News, yeah

It comes down to reality
And that's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide
I don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside, no
I don't have any reasons, I left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind

Said it comes down to reality
Yeah, and that's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide
Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside, no
I don't have any reasons, I left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind

I'm just taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River line

Cause I'm in a

I'm in a New York

State of
Mind, yeah yeah