New York, I Love You
But you're bringing me down

New York, I Love You
But you're bringing me down

Like a rat in a cage
Pulling minimum wage

New York, I Love You
But you're bringing me down

New York, you're safer
And you're wasting my time

Our records all show
You are filthy but fine

But they shuttered your stores
When you opened the doors
To the cops who were bored
Once they'd run out of crime

New York, you're perfect
Don't please don't change a thing

Your mild billionaire mayor's
Now convinced he's a king

So the boring collect
I mean all disrespect

In the neighborhood bars
I'd once dreamt I would drink

New York, I Love You
But you're freaking me out

There's a ton of the twist
But we're fresh out of shout

Like a death in the hall
That you hear through your wall

New York, I Love You
But you're freaking me out

New York, I Love You
But you're bringing me down

New York, I Love You
But you're bringing me down

Like a death of the heart
Jesus, where do I start?

But you're still the one pool
Where I'd happily drown

And oh.. Take me off your mailing list
For kids that think it still exists
Yes, for those who think it still exists

Maybe I'm wrong
And maybe you're right
Maybe I'm wrong
And myabe you're right

Maybe you're right
Maybe I'm wrong
And just maybe you're right

And Oh..
Maybe mother told you true
And they're always be something there for you
And you'll never be alone

But maybe she's wrong
And maybe I'm right
And just maybe she's wrong

Maybe she's wrong
And maybe I'm right
And if so, is there?



Lyrics submitted by fongaboo

Track duration: 05:35

"New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" as written by James Murphy

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down song meanings
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26 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:Most of you guys are wrong. The song is the last song they played before they broke up because their tickets were getting expensive. They were singing about it disappointed them. They didn't want to get BIG big. That's what this song means, and that's why they broke up.
    Flag RhettBorders3on February 13, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:
    I, too, am from NYC and I totally feel the message of the song sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I love New York, and it's so amazing in so many ways. I do agree though that Manhattan is lacking the sense of danger and simultaneous coziness it once had. They can still be found in the outer boroughs (especially Brooklyn and Queens) but it's not the same.

    The reason I relate to this song is because New York overwhelms me a lot of the time, but it's "still the one pool where I'd happily drown."
    Flag capecodmorningon May 24, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Aw I love this song. He wants the real new york back.

    I spent most of my childhood in dirty gritty brooklyn with immigrant stores and small neighborhoods of blue collar people. Now that area is completely gentrified with wealthy people coming in from the midwest and pretending they have been there forever. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't insist on changing new york into the same place they are trying to get away from.
    Flag Starri3yeson May 03, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song scares the shit out of me. as a stupid teenager who who would do anything to leave the shit hole of new jersey and run 103 miles from gloucester county to the neighborhood bars I'd once dreamt I would drink.

    im the kid who think it still exists. i believe the one this out there that could possibly make me life worth wild is new york city. its my dream and if i get there and its not perfect and if it dosent work out exactly as i always dreamed it would then i would have been wrong about everything. and a lifetime of saveing up the money and wanting nothing else but to live in the city that never sleeps would be wasted.

    i know nothing else but this longing and this beautiful song is ruining it for me.
    Flagged themonsterandmeon April 10, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The final song LCD Soundsystem performed live.

    4/2/11
    Flag TheDorkKnighton April 06, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is so true. I grew up around NYC and I can remember getting really excited about visiting the city. I remember when Brooklyn was still considered marginal, if not dangerous, and half the fun of going into Manhattan was stepping around the detritus and filth, finding a hole in the wall restaurant where no one speaks English and being hassled by junkies for a nickel. Now that only the wealthy can afford to live reasonably in NYC, it's a haven for iPhones, double-wide strollers and Ikeas. Fuck that. When people consider Tompkins Square Park "sterile", it's a sad day.
    Flag melissssaon April 06, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This reminds me of America and how its so fake now. It was raw once and now its all nothing of signifigance
    Flag Candeeta4uon February 24, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:20 years ago 42nd Street was full of strip clubs, sleaze, derelicts and character. Today its become an annex of Disney's Magic Kingdom. May be we needed to clean up the streets but today NY is full of tourists who treat my city as if it was part of Epcot.

    But they shuttered your stores
    When you opened the doors
    To the cops who were bored
    Once they'd run out of crime

    I love the line, we have tons of twist but we've run out of shout. I take that as we have the sizzle still but the heart and soul have gone
    Flag bobbydacronon January 15, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:In the verse third to the last the third sentence in it should be "and there'll always be somebody there for you".
    Flag stepsteptwostepon January 03, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:New York, I Love You
    But you're bringing me down

    New York, I Love You
    But you're bringing me down

    Like a rat in a cage
    Pulling minimum wage

    New York, I Love You
    But you're bringing me down

    New York, you're safer
    And you're wasting my time

    Our records all show
    You are filthy but fine

    But they shuttered your stores
    When you opened the doors
    To the cops who were bored
    Once they'd run out of crime

    New York, you're perfect
    Oh please don't change a thing

    Your mild billionaire mayor's
    Now convinced he's a king

    So the boring collect
    I mean all disrespect

    In the neighborhood bars
    I'd once dreamt I would drink

    New York, I Love You
    But you're freaking me out

    There's a ton of the twist
    But we're fresh out of shout

    Like a death in the hall
    That you hear through your wall

    New York, I Love You
    But you're freaking me out

    New York, I Love You
    But you're bringing me down

    New York, I Love You
    But you're bringing me down

    Like a death of the heart
    Jesus, where do I start?

    But you're still the one pool
    Where I'd happily drown

    And oh.. Take me off your mailing list
    For kids who think it still exists
    Yes, for those who think it still exists

    Maybe I'm wrong
    And maybe alright
    Maybe I'm wrong
    And myabe alright

    Maybe alright
    Maybe I'm wrong
    And just maybe alright

    And Oh..
    Maybe mother told you true
    And there'll always be somebody there
    You'll never ever be alone

    But maybe she's wrong
    And maybe I'm right
    And just maybe she's wrong

    Maybe she's wrong
    And maybe I'm right
    And if so, is there a soul?

    that "alright", might in fact be "you,re right", but this "alright" just so perfectly fits in to the overall meaning of the song. I mean that very "Alright", by means of which we always try to get rid of the feeling of being told off
    Flag klewapon December 19, 2008   Link

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