New York City (John Lennon and Yoko Ono song)

"New York City"
Song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
from the album Some Time in New York City
Released	12 June 1972 (US) 15 September 1972 (UK)
Recorded	1972
Genre	Blues rock hard rock rock and roll
Length	4:32
Label	Apple/EMI
Songwriter(s)	John Lennon
Producer(s)	John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Phil Spector
Some Time in New York City track listing
16 tracks  Side one "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" "Sisters O Sisters" "Attica State" "Born in a Prison" "New York City Side two "Sunday Bloody Sunday" "The Luck of the Irish" "John Sinclair" "Angela" "We're All Water" Side three "Cold Turkey" "Don't Worry Kyoko" Side four "Well (Baby Please Don't Go)" "Jamrag" "Scumbag" "Au"

"New York City" is a song written by John Lennon that was first released on Lennon's and Yoko Ono's 1972 album Some Time in New York City.

"New York City" was inspired by Lennon's move to New York City and by the people he met in the city. He began writing the song soon after moving there in 1971, and a few weeks after his move he had completed the first verse, although the rest of the song was only a sketch. An early version was used in Lennon's and Ono's film Clock, which was filmed in September 1971. That version relied more prominently on the "que pasa" lyrics than the final version. Lennon continued to expand the lyrics and make demo recordings of the song, including an acoustic version from late 1971 which was included on John Lennon Anthology. The final version released on the album was recorded in 1972 with Elephant's Memory on the backing instruments.

"New York City" is in some ways a sequel to "The Ballad of John and Yoko," a song Lennon wrote and performed with The Beatles. Like the earlier Beatles' song, "New York City" gives a straightforward report of the recent events in Lennon's life. Among the events included are Lennon's meeting with street musician David Peel, his concert with Frank Zappa at the Fillmore East, meeting Elephant's Memory, his Attica State Prison benefit concert at the Apollo Theater, and his visit to Max's Kansas City.

The song also refers to Lennon's immigration issues. In response to the US government trying to deport him from the country, Lennon retorts that he'll live in New York whether they like it or not, and that "the Statue of Liberty said come." The song concludes with Lennon incorporating a bit of New York City vernacular with the statement "what a bad ass city."

...
Wikipedia