New York
U2 Lyrics

In New York freedom looks like
In New York, despite the appearance of freedom, there seem to be too many choices.

Too many choices
Hiding behind the façade of freedom, having too many choices is actually overwhelming.

In New York I found a friend
In the big city of New York, the artist found a friend to help drown out the other voices.

To drown out the other voices
The voice of his friend acts as a buffer to the loud voices of strangers on cell phones, from a distance and in hallways.

Voices on a cell phone
People talking loudly over cell phones.

Voices from home
Voices of family members back home.

Voices of the hard sell
Voices of people trying to sell something or promote advertisements.

Voices down a stairwell
Noisy voices sound like they are coming down from the stairwell.

In New York
All these different kinds of voices are heard in the bustling city.

Just got a place in New York
The singer has recently secured lodgings in New York City.

In New York summers get hot
Summers in New York can get hot with temperatures as high as hundreds.

Well into the hundreds
Temperature rises over hundreds.

You can't walk around the block
It's too hot to walk around the street without changing clothes.

Without a change of clothing
In order to walk around town, an outfit change becomes necessary.

Hot as a hair dryer in your face
The heat feels like someone holding a hot hairdryer in your face.

Hot as a handbag and a can of mace
It's as hot as holding a handbag and a can of mace.

New York
All the lines above make up this section detailing the singer's experience in the city.

In New York you can forget
In New York, it's possible to forget to take a break in the fast pace of the city.

Forget how to sit still
In New York, it's easy to forget to take a break from constantly being on the go.

Tell yourself you will stay in
People lie to themselves, thinking they'll stay indoors.

But it's down to Alphaville
Going out to have fun is a must in New York.

The Irish been coming here for years
Irish people have been coming to New York for a long time.

Feel like they own the place
Irish people feel comfortable in New York and really know their way around.

They got the airport, city hall
Irish people have taken on some prestigious roles in the city.

Asphalt, asphalt
Irish people of New York have even paved the streets of the city.

They even got the police
Irish people are so prominent in the city that they have positions in the police force.

Irish, Italians, Jews and Hispanics
These different cultures make up the melting pot of people in New York.

Religious nuts, political fanatics in the stew
There are all kinds of people in New York; those with different beliefs and even those with extreme opinions.

Happily not like me and you
Regular people aren't like them.

That's where I lost you
The difference between these unique New Yorkers was too much it caused separation between the artist and someone close.

New York
All the lines above make up this section detailing the unique blend of people in New York.

In New York I lost it all
The singer lost everything in New York by giving into the vices of another.

To you and your vices
A person and the bad habits they embody caused the singer to lose everything.

Still I'm staying on to figure out
Despite losing everything, the artist has decided to stay to see if he can find anything else.

Midlife crisis
The artist expects to experience a mid-life crisis with all of his trials in New York.

I hit an iceberg in my life
The artist has had a failure in their life as meaningful as hitting an iceberg.

You know I'm still afloat
He has been able to move forward from the previous failure and remain above water.

You lose your balance, lose your wife
His previous failure has caused him to lose his significant other.

In the queue for the lifeboat
Attempting to find a new partner is like waiting in line for a lifeboat.

You got to put the women and children first
The person seeking a new love interest prioritizes finding a woman first.

But you've got an unquenchable thirst for New York
Despite all his troubles, he still desires to stay in New York.

New York
New York has been a recurring backdrop for a lot of different experiences in his life.

In the stillness of the evening
During the quiet evening hours in New York

When the sun has had its day
After a long day of work and activity in the sun.

I heard your voice whispering
The artist hears the voice of a lost loved one.

Come away now
The voice calls out to the artist to leave New York behind.