Originally written in 1975, when New York City was on the verge of financial collapse. First released on the album ‘Turnstiles’ in 1976. Originally intended as a kind of ’science fiction memory’ (when 2017 seemed impossibly far into the future).
“ Joel stated that the song is titled "Miami 2017" because many New Yorkers retire to Miami and the narrator is telling his grandchildren in the year 2017 about what he saw in the destruction of New York.” (1)
In the decades since, the Joel has performed the song live at benefit concerts - after the 9/11 attacks, and after Hurricane Sandy.
Seen the lights go out Broadway
I saw the Empire State laid low
And life went on beyond the Palisades
They all bought Cadillacs
And left there long ago
They held a concert out in Brooklyn
To watch the island bridges blow
They turned our power down
And drove us underground
But we went right on with the show
I’ve seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the ruins at my feet
You know we almost didn’t notice it
We’d seen it all the time on Forty second street
They burned the churches down in Harlem
Like in that Spanish civil war
The flames were everywhere
But no one really cared
It always burned up there before
I’ve seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the mighty skyline fall
The boats were waiting at The Battery
The union went on strike
They never sailed at all
They sent a carrier out from Norfolk
And picked the Yankees up for free
They said that Queens could stay
And blew the Bronx away
And sank Manhattan out at sea
You know those lights were bright on Broadway
That was so many years ago
Before we all lived here in Florida
Before the Mafia took over Mexico
There are not many who remember
They say a handful still survive
To tell the world about
The way the lights went out
And keep the memory alive
(2)
As I finish writing this piece (Saturday March 28, the United States of America has become the major outbreak location for COVID-19.
New York City is clearly the epicentre, with over 26,000 cases (so 25% of that total) and 450 deaths. (3)
https://ny.curbed.com/2020/3/14/21179668/coronavirus-new-york-city-news-updates-nyc
1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_2017_(Seen_the_Lights_Go_Out_on_Broadway)
2) https://www.billyjoel.com/song/miami-2017-ive-seen-lights-go-out-broadway-3/?path=music/turnstiles/miami-2017-ive-seen-lights-go-out-broadway
3) Over 1000,000 cases confirmed (compare to 82,000 from China) https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
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