For a city that never sleeps
You're pretty quiet now
You know this city will break you down
Then build you back up in its image
Or at least that's what a homeless man in a tutu told me once on St. Mark's Avenue
He then started skipping away while operatically singing just the word, "Fart!"
He was like, "Fart! Fart! Fart!"
And he was actually pretty good

Never thought I'd say it
But I miss the dance crews and mariachi bands on the subway
Never thought I'd say it
But I miss the conductor announcements that no one ever understands on the subway
Yeah, I miss those subway moments
Like I once saw two beat poets enter into the same subway car but from like opposite sides
And it was very clear that they were rivals and that they shouldn't be in the same subway car
And then they had a rap battle on the subway
Unplanned beat poet rap battle on the subway
True story!

And I still think about that rat that ran directly into my foot
And then looked at me like, "Fuck you, I'm walking here!"
Where did that rat have to go?
Well, I guess we'll never know
But I hope it was Paris and that he's a very successful chef at this point

What I'm trying to say in my roundabout way is
I miss you, New York
(I miss you, New York)
Oh, I miss you, New York
(I miss you, New York)
I miss you, New York
But I'm still here
And I'd rather be here than anywhere
Except Times Square
I'll never go there