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, oh

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, oh

I've seen the lights go out on Broadway
I watch 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


Lyrics submitted by fletch699

Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) Lyrics as written by Billy Joel

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway) song meanings
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  • +3
    General Comment

    No, but really.

    The song is about: In 1974, NYC was in big fiscal trouble: it coudln't pay back its loans..etc. Officials from NYC asked the federal government for relief money,and Gerald Ford denied it...the next day, the Daily News headline read "Ford to City: Drop Dead" Upon learning of this Billy Joel wrote a song in which the city did in fact "drop dead."

    Well, NY recovered and Ford lost the next election, because well, NY wanted him to drop dead.

    Alot of non-Billy fans think this song was written soley for Sept. 11th, and it wasn't. Billy has said that he considered this to be a science fiction song and never even considered the possibility of Sept. 11th happening.

    The live version is awesome... Instead of: "Since the Mafia took over Mexico" it's: "Since the mafia took over Jericho." But why not Hicksville?

    Surfpicoon September 19, 2005   Link

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