In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Billy, he's down by the railroad tracks
Sittin' low in the back seat of his Cadillac
Diamond Jackie, she's so intact
And she falls so softly beneath him
Jackie's heels are stacked, Billy's got cleats on his boots
Together they're gonna boogaloo down Broadway and come back home with the loot
It's midnight in Manhattan, this is no time to get cute
It's a mad dog's promenade
So walk tall, or baby, don't walk at all
Fish lady, fish lady, fish lady, she baits them tenement walls
She won't take corner boys, ain't got no money and they're so easy
I said, "Hey baby, won't you take my hand, walk with me down Broadway
Oh mama take my hand, and walk with me down Broadway, yeah
I'm a young man and I talk real loud, yeah baby, walk real proud for you
So shake it away, so shake away your street life
And hook up to the train
Oh, hook up to the night train
Hook it up, hook up to the, hook up to the train"
But I know that she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
She's afraid them tracks are gonna slow her down
And when she turns, this boy'll be gone
So long, sometimes you just gotta walk on, walk on
Hey vibes man, hey jazz man, oh play me your serenade
Any deeper blue and you're playin' in your grave
Save your notes, don't spend 'em on the blues boy
Save your notes, don't spend 'em on the darlin' yearlin' sharp boy
Straight for the church note ringin', vibes man sting a trash can
Listen to your junk man
Ah, listen to your junk man
Listen to your junk man
Oh, listen to your junk man
He's singin', singin', he's singin', singin'
He's singin', singin'
All dressed up in satin, walkin' past the alley
Singin', singin', singin', singin'
Singin', singin', singin' yeah, singin' yeah
(Singin', singin', singin', singin') (Oh yeah)
Uh uh uh uh uh, uh, oh yeah
Watch out for your junk man
Watch out for your junk man
Watch out for your junk man
Oh oh ah
Oh oh ah
Oh oh ah
Oh ah, oh ah
Watch out for your junk man
Sittin' low in the back seat of his Cadillac
Diamond Jackie, she's so intact
And she falls so softly beneath him
Jackie's heels are stacked, Billy's got cleats on his boots
Together they're gonna boogaloo down Broadway and come back home with the loot
It's midnight in Manhattan, this is no time to get cute
It's a mad dog's promenade
So walk tall, or baby, don't walk at all
Fish lady, fish lady, fish lady, she baits them tenement walls
She won't take corner boys, ain't got no money and they're so easy
I said, "Hey baby, won't you take my hand, walk with me down Broadway
Oh mama take my hand, and walk with me down Broadway, yeah
I'm a young man and I talk real loud, yeah baby, walk real proud for you
So shake it away, so shake away your street life
And hook up to the train
Oh, hook up to the night train
Hook it up, hook up to the, hook up to the train"
But I know that she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
No, she won't take the train
She's afraid them tracks are gonna slow her down
And when she turns, this boy'll be gone
So long, sometimes you just gotta walk on, walk on
Hey vibes man, hey jazz man, oh play me your serenade
Any deeper blue and you're playin' in your grave
Save your notes, don't spend 'em on the blues boy
Save your notes, don't spend 'em on the darlin' yearlin' sharp boy
Straight for the church note ringin', vibes man sting a trash can
Listen to your junk man
Ah, listen to your junk man
Listen to your junk man
Oh, listen to your junk man
He's singin', singin', he's singin', singin'
He's singin', singin'
All dressed up in satin, walkin' past the alley
Singin', singin', singin', singin'
Singin', singin', singin' yeah, singin' yeah
(Singin', singin', singin', singin') (Oh yeah)
Uh uh uh uh uh, uh, oh yeah
Watch out for your junk man
Watch out for your junk man
Watch out for your junk man
Oh oh ah
Oh oh ah
Oh oh ah
Oh ah, oh ah
Watch out for your junk man
Lyrics submitted by sugaredreams
New York City Serenade Lyrics as written by Bruce Springsteen
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Love this song - maybe my favorite of all his songs. But I think it's about a love affair with heroin that comes between the protagonist and a girlfriend.
"Junk man" is the singer, and "junk" is common slang for heroin. And the "fish lady" (girlfriend) won't take/hook up to the train (drugs) because "She's afraid them tracks are gonna slow her down And when she turns this boy'll be gone".
Tracks are what you get on your arm when you shoot heroin, and she doesn't want them in her life. And "this boy'll be gone" because he'll be lost in a drug haze (or possibly dead). The "Seranade" is getting high. The "jazz man" is another reference to the dealer. Notice:
"Hey vibes man, hey jazz man, play me your serenade Any deeper blue and you're playin' in your grave".
He means his high (seranade) is as deep as it can get without overdose/death.
So "sometimes you just have to walk on" means the "fish lady" who won't shoot up has to leave the "junk man", at least for the moment, and he's too "gone"/high to notice.
So this is a very different perspective to Jungleland. It's the perspective of a junky who longs for the embrace of heroin, rather than an outside perspective of its evils.
@BobD your interpretation makes a lot of sense to me. And the song is dark and dreamy as (I imagine) a heroin high is.
@stormville - good point, I hadn't considered the composition. It even has a part where it really speeds up ("She won't take that train...") and then slows down again. My understanding is that when somebody takes opiates like heroin they get "rushes" like that. The end is kind of a rush also, where it starts very dreamy and builds to a climax, then tails off again ("He's singin'...").