The Empire

New York, New York (New York, New York)
And you say New York City (Louder!)
My city, my home
Watch out! We run New York! (New York City)
My city, my home (New York, New York)
And you say New York City
New York
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ahh, ahh, ahh

I'm from the home of the hustler, born with a mean mug
Talk fast and we walk fast, keep up
Step with a different rhythm
Try to make the most of what little we been given by the city that we live in
Where the Wall Street intellect and street smarts intersect
And "dog eat dog"'s the law that's in effect
Tryin' to get even for the odds that we overcomin'
So we can hear the sirens from the coppers but no one's runnin'
No matter what we facin' we don't turn a cheak (Bo!)
The highest currency is courage in these urban streets (Bo!)
We in-a-gadda-da-vida where people poppin' they heaters
We never follow our leaders p-preachers prophets and teachers
Where Lady Liberty's livin' but we ain't gotten to see her
I swear the cabs'll run you over without stoppin' the meter
B-b-but you can never count us, even when we down and out
With nothin' to be proud about, still the people shoutin' out

New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
City!
(Louder!)

New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
City!
(Louder!)

Yo, I'm from the home of the stick-up kid, we always show the streets love
Talk fast, plus we walk fast, keep up
I step over Gutter Rainbows, wishing I could give away millions like I was Maino
You know how the gutter slang go
If you listen to Big L, Ebonics was the meanest
The bombers made it tragic, but we rose up from the ashes
Like the promise of the Phoenix, I promise you we eatin'
Won't you stop bein' greedy, we too hot for TV
Panasonic or the Zenith, I roll with Brooklyn Vegans
Just for lookin' leave ya leakin', central bookin' at the precinct
Since a youth I grew up in New York, I draw the parallels
Detention that was jail, snitches is the tattle tails
Epitaphs is racial, "fuck how niggas and the crackers feel”
Its tragic how our whips got more gadgets than the Batmobile
The inspiration for Gotham, the metropolitan's rotten
Stay on top of the problems, 'cause we comin' from the bottom, got 'em

New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
City!
(Louder!)

New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
New (my city, my home)
York (New York, New York)
City!
(Louder!)

Bridge (Iron Solomon):

New York, New York
Bo!
New York, New York
Bo!
New York, New York
Bo!
New York, New York

New York, New York (New York, New York, New York, New York)
And you say New York City
My city, my home (New York, New York, New York, New York)
(ooh-ooh-ooh-ahh) And you say New York City
My city, my home (New York, New York, New York, New York)
And you say New York City
New York
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ahh, ahh, ahh

As a teen I sold twenties, spendin' my own money
Steppin' out my parents' house the city was home to me
In Riverside Park we would kick it after dark
By the pier, with some beers, and the piff that we would spark
Then run up in house parties and turn 'em to our party
The neighbors would call cops, 'cause we would get wild rowdy
'Nother night, 'nother page written in life's journal
9 million stories in a city with 5 boroughs
Different backgrounds but we came through the same struggle
Dreamin' of fame we wrote our names on the train tunnels
Runnin' 'round the city like rats in crawl spaces
Catchin' court cases for jackin' North Faces
Chasin' the fast life, we know that its too short
And breathin' the air here's like smokin' a Newport
My home is in New York like Biggie in Bed Stuy
We live and we let die, the City of NY

(City!)
New York, New York (New York, New York, New York, New York)
And you say New York City
My city, my home (New York, New York, New York, New York)
(ooh-ooh-ooh-ahh) And you say New York City
My city, my home (New York, New York, New York, New York)
And you say New York City
With me in my heart
Weather I'm here or gone