Grammercy Park Hotel
Ben Lee Lyrics

It's 3 am in new york
The early morning hours in New York City.

Sometime in 1995
The year is unknown but the song took place in the mid-90s.

The other half of the world
Referring to another part of the world that is experiencing daytime while it is nighttime in New York.

The other side
The opposite side of the world.

It might have been warm outside, maybe cold
Unclear weather conditions.

Who could tell?
The weather is unknown.

Three of us stumbled into room 421
Three people went into Room 421 at the Grammercy Park Hotel.

At the grammercy park hotel
The setting is the hotel.

We sat for a while
The group spent some time together in the hotel room.

We started to talk
Conversation began between the group.

We started to smile
The group seemed to enjoy each other's company.

Then he played a song I knew very well
One of the members of the group played a familiar tune.

He passed the guitar around
The guitar was shared among the group.

Over and over and over again
The group played multiple songs in succession.

Till one of us broke a string
One of the people playing the guitar seemed to have broken a string while playing.

It was probably him
The likely culprit of breaking the string was one of the guitar players in the group.

But the songs came out strong
Despite the broken string, the music still continued.

They were loud, they were long
The songs played were high in volume and endured for a significant period.

There were songs about girls, about boys
The songs played encompassed love stories about various genders.

Sung a lot, screamed a lot
The music created lots of noise and probably a sense of excitement among the group.

We made lots of noise
There was a lot of volume during the song performances.

Minstrels and maidens and heartbroken songs
The songs played were dramatic and touching.

Made me cry
The music evoked emotions that brought tears to the eyes of one or more of the group members.

And we were anonymous, androgynous
The identities of the people in the group are unknown, but also, perhaps, gender-ambiguous.

Bearers of truth
The group felt like they were carrying and espousing important truths within their music.

And the indie rock columnists would have freaked out
The music played would likely not have been popularized by music journalism revolving around alternative rock.

If they knew
The group's musical performance would be mischaracterized by music journalism.

And I knew we were right
One of the people in the group had a strong sense of conviction about the music they played and the group itself.

We were young, not so young
The age range of the group members is unspecified, but varied.

And in love with our lives
The group members were content with their lives, including the time spent in the hotel room playing music.

I went back to bed
The singer retired to bed following the musical interlude.

Three lone true prophets
The group consisted of three people, who prophetically made beautiful music within their circle.

With songs in our heads
The music played seeped into the memories of the group members as they retired to bed.

And I just felt god
The artist mentions feelings of euphoria related to the experience of playing music together.

Lying awake in the dark
The singer is lying in bed, awake and reliving the events of the evening.

I was in awe
The artist is feeling a sense of reverence towards the experience.

And I know in reality
The singer acknowledges that the experience may not have been so profound in reality.

It might not be true
The singer is acknowledging there may be alternate perspectives regarding the significance of their musical experience.

But for three of us here in new york
The experience was extremely valuable to the singer and their two companions.

It's all we could do
Playing music together was a really powerful, shared experience for the three of them.

I know it's just songs, played on guitars
The artist is acknowledging that the making of music can be simple, ordinary, but powerful when done together.

It's not rocket science, flying to mars
Creating music does not require high levels of innovation or complexity.

And I know it's not much, but it's all that I have
The music played together is a valuable and meaningful experience despite its simplicity.

To be sure that I'm real
The shared experience of making music creates feelings of validation for the artist's existence and self-worth.

Again and again
The shared experience of making music is something that the artist will want to relive.

And if there comes a day
The artist is contemplating what would happen if things change or if they are no longer able to have the shared experience of making music.

When my fingers don't work
The singer is imagining a time in the future where they may be unable to play guitar anymore.

Or my voice loses sound
The artist is imagining a future where they lack the ability to create or perform music.

Gives me grief, gives me hurt
Not being able to make music would cause emotional pain for the singer.

Well, I swear on that day
The singer would make a promise on the day that they are unable to make music.

When I lose what's worthwhile
The singer recognizes that music-making is valuable and worthwhile to them.

From that day forth I never shall smile
The artist would lose their sense of joy and wonder if they were unable to make music anymore.

I feel fine, I feel well
The artist is feeling good or content about the shared experience of making music.

Sound asleep
The singer has gone to sleep, happy with the memories of the night.

At the grammercy park hotel
The location of this shared musical experience.