Love For The City

Welcome to New York
Sounds like welcome home to me
You can see it when my eyes light up
At the mention of its name
Like a beacon, calling out to me
A decade's worth of cries
And when I could finally answer
I knew straight away I'd found my home at last

You loved me when she left me
Those three days I'll not forget
Entrusted to your care
I had no place to lay my head
And you responded with a blessing
And your strangers took me in
My world was crumbling around me
But you made me smile as I walked the Brooklyn Bridge

Chorus:
My heart's still racing from the skyline
When my plane first flew overhead
A Queens bus to a Manhattan train
Or take a cab instead
I can't wait to see my Broadway restaurants
Or feel your pulsing life
Stop to reconnect in Morningside
And feel my love for the city

I've never shopped Fifth Avenue
I don't want a Fifth Avenue girl
I smile at the geeky girl in sneakers on the train
Never noticing the one in heels
I've seen the sun set over Jersey
From a bench in Battery Park
Watching the boys with lines and lure
As a purple sky and cold breeze herald the dark

I belong to this city
Maybe I knew before first glance
Another long-lost city mouse at heart
Raised in Indiana by chance
Feels like so long since I left you
Gratitude on my tongue
I swear one day I'll return to your grace
And you'll welcome back your wandering son once again

Chorus:
My heart's still racing from the skyline
When my plane first flew overhead
A Queens bus to the 7 train
Why take a cab instead
I can't wait to see my Broadway restaurants
Or feel your pulsing life
Stop to reconnect in Sunnyside
And feel my love for the city

--Peter Johnson
May 7, 2006