A Map of New York

Think of each plaza, pier, and public park How many sit there empty, lonely, dark Think of it, for tomorrow's sake Think of how you and I can make our mark You and I, we can draw a brand-new grid Everything that you dreamed of as a kid Give it a year, and go with me Soon enough, you'll say "Look what we two did" You've always had the right dream We've always made a tight team Now at last you're back, exactly where you ought to be So let's make a map of New York you and me 22 Reade, a building, sidewalk, shade Now a memory that for Beth will never fade And I could be planning city sites Where memories just like this one might be made 33 Bond, where I wrote my first book Greenwich and Moore where I learned how to cook The Center Street courts, I intern there The joy of this job is everywhere I look That market was my first job That diner was my worst job And everywhere around me are these lives I left behind The tunnel where I laid rail The co-op where I made my first sale They make a map of New York in my mind Put a sticker on the map where you landed that first day Put a pin on the bridge On the train On JFK On the street where I swore I'd afford a place someday Every avenue and place Every building, every face Of the lovers and the friends The beginnings and the ends Make a map of NYC Where I've been and who I'll be And you'll find me And you're feeling adrift, alone, apart Then suddenly life will somehow start And a map of New York is written on your heart On your heart On your heart I'm too old for all that shit To be told I'm selling out Then again, all these years Did I lose what I'm about? On the street, in the cold It's so hard to fight the doubt Then you hear the tunnel hum With a train about to come And you surface to the street And you fall into the beat You can trace a line to me On that map of NYC Right where I should be Think of how human life will ebb and flow People, and how they'll come and how they'll go Remember the things we hoped and planned Remember them, and believe them, and you'll know We'll know We never walk a straight line We never check a street sign But it's in the detour that we truly find our way We always know the way home As long as we can stay here we're home And we make a map of work And we make a map of play And we make a map of New York every day Ending the night at 23rd and 3rd Liz and her date, who's hanging on each word