I’ve been living in New York City on and off for the past 4 years now and over the past couple of weeks I realised that this is a place that I truly want to live. After all the moving I’ve done I’m happy to say I am settled here. period. full stop.

This was cemented this past Saturday night when I was out with a friend. We had just left a bar and Jen says “Look down at your feet, they are in Manhattan! This is where we call home, how great is that?” The excitement she exuded with that statement definitely resonated over to me, because it’s true, I live in this city, why am I still thinking about “where next?” when this is where I need to be for stability and should be for all it has to offer.

So with that in mind I was thinking about what the best track to sum up what’s so great about this city would be. Sure there are the Sinatra standbys, many a punk track from the late 70s or let’s admit it, the countless tributes post 9/11, but one track hits the nail on the head for me every time.

John Lennon - New York City

What gets me about this song is it’s a personal ode to New York City, unlike many others that are just about what makes the city as a whole, sounding like an introduction to a tour book. With this you have Lennon sprinkling little bits that other people couldn’t really relate to on a personal level, but that’s the thing about this town, everyone has their story, and chances are they will talk about places or areas that you are familiar with but they have their own experiences with them. This touches on his marriage, his troubles staying in the country, bike rides in the village, a rambling preacher, etc. and it’s all sang with such fervor, talk to anyone who loves this city and they’ll tell you their own stories with the same intensity. The fact that this also features some of Lennon’s best fret work and a mean piano/horn section demands that you take notice of both the song and this city.

Now, this could all be said about any other town, everyone has some sense of pride for where they call home, but you’ll be hard spent to find a tune that captures the excitement that Lennon has for living in New York, so go on folks, take that as a challenge, write a tune that exemplifies not why your city is so great, but why it’s a great place to live.