"I’m In New York"

The first time I visited New York it was with one of my Berklee roommates, Tom. When I lived in Boston, I used to visit New York frequently, and always loved it. This song was written during a visit there during the 1990s, when I was living in Chicago. Later, Hitomi and I lived in Woodside, in Queens, briefly, but it didn’t work out. The truth is we wimped out. We let the city kick our butts. Now that we’ve become thoroughly Iowanized, I’m not sure we could move back there. Life in New York is very hard, while life in Des Moines is very easy—probably too easy.

I’m In New York

© 1996 Brian Hutzell

I’m in New York

Chicago seems so far away

I’m in New York

Seems like a foreign place

I’m in New York

The night is another day

I’m in New York

I put on another face

I wanna stay in New York

I’m on the street

People surround me

I’m on the street

I can do anything

I’m on the street

The sights: they astound me

I’m on the street

I’m not afraid to sing

On the street in New York

There’s something that attracts me

To the grime and the poetry

There’s something that attracts me

To the things I’m not supposed to see

There’s something that attracts me

To the riches and the poverty

There's something that attracts me to New York

And I can’t explain it

You’ve got to be there in New York

I’m not afraid

Though I know I’m supposed to be

I’m not afraid

Of the danger around every bend

I’m not afraid

Of the eyes that are watching me

I’m not afraid

Every lonely face is a friend

I’m not afraid of New York

"Collage 5"

Brian Hutzell