That shares our fate and deserves our pity I don't want to remember it all Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on There's a room in a hotel in New York City And there's a jet black crow droning on and on and on Up above our heads droning on and on and on The

*Nas talking* "The light is there." See I come from Mississippi I was young and runnin' wild Ended up in New York City, where I had my first child I named the boy Nasir, all the boys call him Nas I told him as a youngster, he'll be the greatest man

New York state of mind I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death Rappers I monkey flip em with the funky rhythm I be kicking Musician, inflicting composition Of pain I'm like Scarface sniffing cocaine Holding a M-16, see with the pen I'm extreme,

The boys of the NYPD choir For Christmas day And the bells were ringing out Still singing "Galway Bay" It was Christmas Eve babe In the drunk tank An old man said to me, won't see another one And then he sang a song The Rare Old Mountain Dew

That's what you get for waking up in Vegas Remember what you told me Don't be a baby Shut up and put your money where your mouth is Get up and shake the glitter off your clothes, now Give me some cash out, baby You gotta help me out It's all a blur last

Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now Crimson flames tied through my ears, rollin' high and mighty traps Pounced with fire on flaming roads using ideas as my maps "We'll meet on edges, soon," said I, proud 'neath heated brow

New York at night Empire high Its got me coming alive Baby you're like That Uptown something Girl you're like a model on a Soho street Walking on air like you own it That electric energy Something tells me you're gonna keep me going til the morning light

I've played every beer joint tavern From New York City out to Pasadena Every corn dog fair and rodeo And sold out every basketball arena In Afghanistan and Baghdad City too Graduate of Honky Tonk you My grandmother owned a night club On the

I've played every beer joint tavern From New York City out to Pasadena Every corn dog fair and rodeo And sold out every basketball arena In Afghanistan and Baghdad City too Graduate of Honky Tonk you My grandmother owned a night club On the

Now lightning strikes in old New York It may be dark but I want to talk It might rain, it might snow Too many things I got to know If this is spring than it's time to sing Never mind the l'il birdies wing Look out, look out, old New York New York's