1. Australian singer-songwriter
2. Washington DC (later Baltimore)-based roots-rock/country singer-songwriter, released several albums with Kevin Johnson and the Linemen and one album Sunday Driver (2000) under his own name.
In addition, Kevin Johnson is also a eurobeat vocalist for Delta Records, and his real name is Davide Budriesi.
New York City
Kevin Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And Winter is almost on us,
Trash can, song man, letters from the tax man, Hoping to hear things from us,
And we got nothin' We got nothin',
We can try to persevere for another year,
but we're never gonna make it here in New York City
Hey day, pay days, whiskey for the DJ's,
One hop, don't stop, make it to the real top,
Might as well stop romancing, That we're gonna go there,
We're goin' nowhere,
The rock and roll finds of North Caroline,
are never gonna make the big time in New York City.
Southbound Greyhound, headed for my home town,
Leavin' round ten this evening,
Down in the old town, walking on my home ground, Is reason enough for leavin'
'Cause we got nothin'
We got nothin', The rock and roll finds of North Caroline,
are never gonna make the big time in New York City
The lyrics to Kevin Johnson's song New York City describe the struggles and disillusionment of a band trying to make it in the big city. The first two verses discuss the various difficulties they are facing, such as financial hardship (letters from the tax man) and lack of success in the music industry (we got nothin'). The chorus acknowledges the harsh reality of their situation, that no matter how hard they try they will never succeed in New York City.
The third verse speaks about the decision to leave and return home. Despite the initial excitement of being in the city (hey day, pay days, whiskey for the DJ's), ultimately they realize that their dreams are not going to be realized (we're goin' nowhere). The final lines of the song assert that leaving is the only logical choice, as their home town provides a sense of belonging and familiarity that they cannot find in New York City.
Overall, the lyrics present a bleak but realistic portrayal of struggling artists in a highly competitive industry. It emphasizes the challenges that come with trying to make it in a place like New York City, but also the importance of knowing when it's time to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
Big plane, bass man, you're thinner in the face, man,
You're traveling a lot, playing music, and maybe not taking care of yourself as well as you should be
And Winter is almost on us,
It's getting cold and things are starting to feel bleak
Trash can, song man, letters from the tax man, Hoping to hear things from us,
We're struggling financially and trying to balance making music with paying our bills
And we got nothin' We got nothin',
We don't have anything to show for all our hard work
We can try to persevere for another year,
We can keep pushing ourselves to keep going
but we're never gonna make it here in New York City
But we know deep down that we're unlikely to succeed and make it big in this tough city
Hey day, pay days, whiskey for the DJ's,
We're celebrating the good times and paying the people who help us make our music
Doesn't leave much for dancing,
But we don't have much left to indulge in the fun stuff
One hop, don't stop, make it to the real top,
We need to keep working hard and focus on reaching the ultimate goal
Might as well stop romancing, That we're gonna go there,
We need to stop dreaming that we'll magically make it big and focus on the reality of the situation
We're goin' nowhere,
We're not making progress towards our goal
The rock and roll finds of North Caroline,
We're just a group of musicians from North Carolina
are never gonna make the big time in New York City.
And we know we're unlikely to achieve success and fame in this cutthroat city
Southbound Greyhound, headed for my home town,
We're leaving New York and going back to where we came from
Leavin' round ten this evening,
We're leaving tonight
Down in the old town, walking on my home ground, Is reason enough for leavin',
We feel more at home and comfortable in our hometown and it's a good reason to leave New York
'Cause we got nothin' We got nothin', The rock and roll finds of North Caroline, are never gonna make the big time in New York City
We're still struggling and know that we're unlikely to achieve success in New York City
Contributed by Jeremiah F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.