"The Streets of New York" by Derek Warfield & the Young Wolfe Tones

Timeless ballad, "The Streets of New York," performed by Derek Warfield & the Young Wolfe Tones. The show took place at The Blackthorne Resort in East Durham, NY during the 2009 Memorial Day Weekend Irish Festival. May 23rd, 2009.

LYRICS

I was 18 years old, when I went down to Dublin,
With a fistful of money, and a cart load of dreams.
Take your time, said me father,
Stop rushing like hell,
And remember all's not what it seems to be.

For there's fellas would cut ya,
For the coat off your back, or that watch that you got,
From your mother.
So take care, me young bucko,
And mind yourself well,
Will ya give this wee note to me brother.

At the time uncle Benji was a policeman in Brooklyn,
Me father the youngest, looked after the farm,
When a phone call from America said send the lad over,
The auld fella said, it wouldn't do any harm,

For I've spent me life workin' this dirty auld ground,
For a few pints of porter, and the smell of a pound,
And sure, maybe there's somethin',
You'll learn or you'll see, and you can bring it back home,
Make it easy on me.

So I landed at Kennedy, and a big yellow taxi,
Carried me and me bags, through the streets and the rain,
Sure me poor heart was thumpin' around with excitement,
And I hardly even heard what the driver was sayin',

We came in the Shore Parkway to the flatlands in Brooklyn,
To my uncle's apartment on E. 53rd,
I was feelin' so happy, I was hummin' a song,
And I sang you're as free as a bird,

Well to shorten the story, what I found out that day,
Was that Benji got shot down in an uptown foray,
And while I was flyin' my way to New York,
Poor auld Benji was lyin' in a cold city morgue,

Well I phoned up the auld fella, told him the news,
I could tell he could hardly stand up in his shoes,
And he wept as he told me, go ahead with the plan,
Not to forget- be a proud Irishman.

So I went up to Nelly's, beside Fordham Rd.,
And I started to learn about lifting the load,
But the heaviest thing that I carried that year,
Was the bittersweet thoughts of my hometown so dear,

I went home that December, cuz the auld fella died,
Had to borrow the money from Phil on the site,
And all the bright flowers and brass,
Couldn't hide, the poor wasted face of me father,

I sold up the auld farmyard for what it was worth,
And into my bag stuck a handful of earth,
Then I boarded a train, and I caught me a plane,
And I found myself back in the U.S. again,

It's been 22 years since I set foot in Dublin,
Me kids know to use the correct knife and fork,
But I'll never forget, the green grass and the rivers,
As I keep law and order on the streets of New York.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• The
• Streets
• of
• New
• York
• by
• Derek
• Warfield
• the
• Young
• Wolfe
• Tones
• NYPD
• NYC
• Irish
• Ballad

[chinlesswonderkid]

great video bhoys. hail hail it's a credit to all the people living there n that big city and yerselves..

[IrishCailin88]

Brilliant song, one of my favourites.. Saw them a few times live there really good! Great video, Maith an fear!:)

[colemanno1]

great vid mate