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National songs about New York? (self.TheNational)

submitted by Strong_Leadership799

Hi all, new to the National but have lived in Brooklyn for the last six months. Love the imagery that the band creates on some New York songs, can you help with a list of songs that are about or reference New York? Thanks!

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[–]SLEEP_TLKER 35 points36 points  (1 child)

“You never were much of a New Yorker, it wasn’t in your eyes” from I Am Easy To Find

[–]jnicholle 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love that lyric so much. I remember one of the last times seeing them was at Forest Hills so we stayed in Brooklyn and one night my ex and I went into the city (I’m from NY he wasn’t) and we got into this huge dumb argument after dinner about what to do, where to go, how to get there, and we just ended up doing nothing and going back home and it was so hot. I was sitting on subway steps thinking about that lyric. And so many other fitting ones.

[–]RSquared787Mr. November 33 points34 points  (5 children)

“And there’s no leaving New York,” from So Far Around the Bend, one of my underrated favorites of theirs. Always reminds me of a particular trip to NYC in the spring with my wife a couple of years ago.

[–]RobMV03 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Came to mention this. I'm wearing my "There's No Leaving New York" tee shirt from their show at Forest Hills in 2018 or '19 right now

[–]scalenesquare 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My fav song by them!

[–]threesunrisesso disarming, darling 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Such a great song. Was fortunate to see it performed live in Philly and at TNLNY Fest.

[–]Strong_Leadership799[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Best of the bunch here.. really sums it up as the weather gets a bit warmer this week

[–]yehyehyehyeh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s got to be a REM reference as well?

[–]bitternmangerIn the city you hated 24 points25 points  (3 children)

'Mistaken for Strangers'- '...Citibank Lights...'

'Empire Line'- The title at least places some aspect of the song in NYC.

'Daughters of the Soho Riots'- Again, the song title seems to place the song in NYC.

'Anyone's Ghost'- '... Manhattan valleys of the dead...'.

'Little Faith'- Pre Chorus, Now I'm stuck in New York, and the rain's coming down/I don't feel like we'll go anywhere/ Stuck in New York, and the rain's coming down/ Still in line for the Vanity Fair

'Born to Beg'- Verse 3, New York is older and changing its skin again/ It dies every ten years, and then it begins again/ If your heart was in it, I'd stay a minute/ I'm dying to be taken apart

[–]flamingllama33give me the keys man 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Also in Born to Beg - the Warsaw is a small venue in Brooklyn, I saw Alvvays and AJJ there

Also Empire Line is the name of the Amtrak train line that runs from NYC to upstate New York/Hudson Valley etc - where some of them live or record now. I’ve heard the drums in that song are meant to echo the sound of the train

[–]lancegreene 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Geese of Beverly Road

[–]Adventurous_Pin_344 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I lived in NYC and worked for Citigroup (and was a Citibank customer) when Boxer came out, and that line in Mistaken for Strangers always resonated. Of course, now that I'm middle-aged, it probably feels even more relevant now.

[–]6-8-5-7-2-Q-7-2-J-2 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Nobody Else Will Be There - it's getting cold again but new york's gorgeous, this time of year

[–]ghostfan9 9 points10 points  (1 child)

I'm not sure if there are any songs about NYC outright, but there are definitely some mentions of NYC.

The Geese of Beverley Road for obvious reasons...Then in Lemonworld, he sings "Livin' and dyin' in New York, it means nothing to me". In Demons, he mentions "Wanna see the sun come up above New York". There's mentions in Val Jester and So Far Around the Bend, as well. Not sure if there's others.

[–]piadoingthingsLives in a lemonworld 🍋 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'll add Nobody Else Will Be There to your list as well.

[–]giantcrumpet 12 points13 points  (3 children)

Eucalyptus with ‘what if we moved back to New York’ line

[–]bitternmangerIn the city you hated 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Also off TF2POF, the first verse of 'New Order T-Shirt'.

[–]flamingllama33give me the keys man 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Also “your place on Atlantic” definitley about Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn

[–]cholulamare 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And "your magazine skyscraper" is presumably about the old New Yorker offices Carin used to work at.

[–]H0wSw33tItIs 4 points5 points  (3 children)

Driver, Surprise Me.

[–]DHiL 0 points1 point  (1 child)

This.

[–]H0wSw33tItIs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love how it thumps and chimes. Also, listening to it just now after a long time, I feel like this is a song that Interpol could do a good cover of, which isn’t really what I would normally consider of most National songs.

[–]scottiemikeI missed you for 29 years 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Put the pervert in a suit…

[–]wav_24 3 points4 points  (2 children)

geese of beverly road! beverly road is a place in brooklyn- believe matt either lived or recorded there or both

[–]lancegreene 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Apparently the geese are the car alarms honking from teenagers breaking into cars. Pretty apparent with the lyrics but sometimes I get so lost in Matt’s lyrics and assume some heightened profundity

[–]metracta 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nobody Else Will Be There always gives me a cold winter day big city vibe

[–]tropicmorningin a lemonworld 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There was a thread about this not too long ago, although we have some new additions now! https://www.reddit.com/r/TheNational/comments/10hh72p/all_their_songs_that_reference_nyc/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

[–]kunk75 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lit up unless they mean manhattan, Kansas

[–]threesunrisesso disarming, darling 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Val Jester

All the most important people in New York are 19...

[–]Theo7Yo1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s cold again but New York’s gorgeous, it’s a subway day.

[–]atp_bna 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Spotify playlist including all of the above: https://spotify.link/8TyYosDQqyb

[–]Rasmoss 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Someone actually made a thread about this a while back:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheNational/comments/10hh72p/all_their_songs_that_reference_nyc/

[–]Fluffy_Juggernaut_15spinning and quiet -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Me! :)

[–]BleeeeeeBe brave & be kind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lit Up, "I try to untie Manhattan"

[–]shartbaker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

England

[–]nomomomo88 0 points1 point  (0 children)

About 10 years ago I was in the streets of NYC and it was raining and I was listening to “Little Faith” in my headphones and it was beautiful.

[–]hobbesthecat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sin-Eaters

[–]Equivalent-Chard-661 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LIT UP

[–]Practically_Hip 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The correct answer is Too MANY. Mix it up a little bit, Matt.