New York State Of Mind
Song: New York State Of Mind
Album: Turnstiles (1976)
First things first, let’s clear up some old business. In the recap of the previous song “All You Wanna Do Is Dance” I missed some of the subtext of the lyrics and as a result attributed a sentiment to it that was not entirely accurate. To everyone who helpfully pointed this out, thank you. Your comments make this project a joy. To the one person who emailed me to call me an idiot: You try writing about 250+ songs and getting every fact right. I’ve already emailed you to tell you as much but just in case you’re still reading, feel free to stop if my imperfection is too much for you to bear.
Now on to new business. It’s been a few days since I wrote about Billy Joel but I’ve been listening to New York State of Mind a lot over the past week in preparation of this update. I listened on vinyl at home, I listened in the car, and I listened while training for marathon.The reason for listening to it so much was to clear out any preconceived ideas about the song because going into this record all I could think of was what the song represented. To me this song was primarily remembered as the one used in a NY State Tourism ad from my childhood and then as a post 9/11 anthem of NY pride. While it was effective in both uses this was not what the song was written about. After enough listens I was able to wipe my own memory fairly clean and just hear it for what it was: a song written by one person about a place and a feeling they get in that place.
When you strip away everything that has been attached to this song you essentially have Billy Joel coming back to New York after living in Hollywood and saying that he was glad to be back. It is not rallying cry or a commercial jingle. It’s one man saying he’s happy to be home and doing it through a memorable melody and some simple, but perfectly evocative, lyrics.
Now that I have been able to separate the song from the afterlife it has taken on I can tell you that I think it’s pretty much perfect. When I say perfect I mean that I wouldn’t want to change a thing about it. “New York State of Mind” is an all time classic pop song that we’ll be hearing for the rest of our lives, and well beyond…at least until the Dutch come back to reclaim the territory.*
*Don’t sleep on the Dutch, for all we know they’re and printing “I Heart New Amsterdam” tee shirts as they plot to take back New York Has anyone been keeping an eye on Rik Smits lately?
I suppose the only question I have about this song is this: What responsibility does the creator of a work have to influence it’s perception once it’s taken of a separate life? Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the way “New York State of Mind” has been perceived. It is a testament to the songs quality that it can be interpreted as both a personal statement and an anthem for an entire region but still remain equally enjoyable. But do you think Billy Joel ever wants to say: “I’m glad you like the song but I wrote it for me, not everyone who ever lived in the State of New York.” Based on my research I don’t think he’s said this but I hope he does, there’s still time.He could be waiting to see how our future Dutch overlords treat us. To that I can only say: Smart move Mr. Joel and thanks for really killing it with this song.
Side note: There is a Billy Joel episode of Inside The Actors Studio which I recommend you watch. Here is a clip of him discussing and playing “New York State Of Mind”. Watch also for the Billy Joel and James Lipton battle for who can look the most uncomfortable on camera.
