New York, New York (On The Town)
Encyclopedia
"New York, New York" is a song from the 1944 musical On the Town and the 1949 MGM musical film of the same name
. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein
and the lyrics by Betty Comden
and Adolph Green
. The best known line of this song is, "New York, New York, a helluva town. The Bronx is up but the Battery's down." For the film version, the word "helluva" was changed to "wonderful" to appease the Production Code
offices.
It is not to be confused with the "New York, New York"
popularized by Frank Sinatra
in 1980 and written by John Kander
and Fred Ebb
for the 1977 Martin Scorsese
film musical of the same name
, in which it was performed by Liza Minnelli
.
On the Town (film)
On the Town is a 1949 musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It is an adaptation of the Broadway stage musical of the same name produced in 1944, although many changes in script and score were made from the original stage...
. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
and the lyrics by Betty Comden
Betty Comden
Betty Comden was one-half of the musical-comedy duo Comden and Green, who provided lyrics, libretti, and screenplays to some of the most beloved and successful Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century...
and Adolph Green
Adolph Green
Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
. The best known line of this song is, "New York, New York, a helluva town. The Bronx is up but the Battery's down." For the film version, the word "helluva" was changed to "wonderful" to appease the Production Code
Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
offices.
It is not to be confused with the "New York, New York"
Theme from New York, New York
"Theme from New York, New York" is the theme song from the Martin Scorsese film New York, New York , composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb. It was written for and performed in the film by Liza Minnelli...
popularized by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
in 1980 and written by John Kander
John Kander
John Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander...
and Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera....
for the 1977 Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
film musical of the same name
New York, New York (film)
New York, New York is a 1977 American musical-drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a musical tribute, featuring new songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb as well as standards, to Scorsese's home town of New York City, and stars Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli as a pair of musicians and...
, in which it was performed by Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
.
Cultural references
- The song was parodied on The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Boy-Scoutz N the HoodBoy-Scoutz N the Hood"Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 18, 1993. In the episode, Bart, intoxicated from a squishee, mistakenly joins the Junior Campers, a Boy Scout-style organization...
", when Bart SimpsonBart SimpsonBartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Milhouse sing about "Springfield, Springfield". Another character runs in and starts to sing "New York, New York," at which Bart and Milhouse point him in the direction of New York while Bart exclaims "New York is that a-way, man!". - It was also parodied twice on The CriticThe CriticThe Critic is an American prime time animated series revolving around the life of film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by actor Jon Lovitz. It was created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, both of whom had worked as writers on The Simpsons. The Critic had 23 episodes produced, first broadcast on ABC in 1994,...
. - It was also parodied on the Australian sketch comedy program The Late ShowThe Late Show (Australian TV series)The Late Show was a popular Australian comedy show, which ran for two seasons on ABC from 18 July 1992 to 30 October 1993.-Cast:The Late Show has its roots in the 1980s comedy group, The D-Generation...
by Jason Stephens, Mick Molloy and Tony Martin, running through the streets of what was obviously the Australian city of Melbourne, aping the performances of the three original leads in full sailor uniforms, to the original soundtrack recording of the musical number. - This song is referenced in the song B-Boy BouillabaisseB-Boy BouillabaisseB-Boy Bouillabaisse was originally the 15th and final track on the album Paul's Boutique by American hip hop group the Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989...
by the Beastie BoysBeastie BoysBeastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
with the lyrics changed to "New York, New York - it's a hell of a town You know The Bronx is up and I'm Brooklyn down." - The song was mashed with "I Love New York" by Madonna, on the Season 2 Finale of the TV Series GleeGlee (TV series)Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
. - The song was also parodied in Terry Pratchett's book "I shall wear midnight", where a coach driver sings : Ankh Morpork! it's a wonderful town! The trolls are up and the dwarfs are down. Slightly better than living in a hole in the ground! Ankh Morpork it's a wonderful tooown!
- Pippi sang that song in 19
- Ali Merryweather from Pahappahooey Island sang it in 68 & 69.
- A brief use of the line "The Bronx is up and The Battery is down..." was used by Johnny Depp's Ichabod Crane character near the end of the movie Sleepy Hollow(1999)