Billy Joel - New York state of mind

First performance: 16/10/2008

Coverinfo

Bruce performed the song 2 times: 

2009-10-29 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
Bruce and the E Street Band, joined by a cavalcade of guest stars, headline the first night of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concerts. 
 
 

2008-10-16 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, NY 
"Change Rocks" benefit show for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Bruce first backs John Legend for a song, and then does a pair of solo acoustic songs. Then, after Billy Joel plays "Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)" and "Baby Grand" with his daughter Alexa Ray Joel, Bruce, Patti Scialfa and Roy Bittan join Joel and his band for the rest of the set - a mixture of Joel and Springsteen songs. John Legend and India Arie also guest on "Spirit In The Night", "The Rising", and "People Get Ready", plus Stevie Wonder's classic "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" with Barack and Michelle Obama. "River Of Dreams" includes snippets of "A Hard Day's Night" and "Gloria".
 
With John Legend: IF YOU'RE OUT THERE /  With Billy Joel and his band, Patti Scialfa, and Roy Bittan : MOVIN' OUT (ANTHONY'S SONG) / A MATTER OF TRUST / ALLENTOWN / NEW YORK STATE OF MIND / RIVER OF DREAMS / PEOPLE GET READY (with John Legend and India Arie) / SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED I'M YOURS (with John Legend, India Arie, and Barack Obama)
 
 
 
 
  

Songinfo

"New York State of Mind" is a song written by Billy Joel which initially appeared on the album Turnstiles in 1976. Although it was never a hit song and was never released as a single, it has become a fan favorite and a song that Joel plays regularly in concert. Joel wrote the song after returning to the East Coast from Los Angeles, where he had spent the previous three years. The inspiration for the song came from his pride in returning home to New York. Joel was literally "takin' a Greyhound [bus] on the Hudson River Line [route]" when the idea for the song came to him, and the song was written as soon as Joel arrived home.
 
 
 

Other cover versions

Bruce on the artist

2020-04-24 SiriusXM Studio, New York City
Bruce plays this song during his second 'From His Home to Yours': For the next hour or so, I will be your DJ for your dancing and listening pleasure. I hope you've all been … staying home, because outside the world is roiling.
"I got a couple of songs here I'm gonna play next, for New York. New York has struggled so tremendously with this disease. My son lives up there, Downtown, and of course we've been worried him, and about everybody else, too. I'm gonna send these next two songs out to all the health care workers, all the doctors and the nurses who've put their lives on the line, for the critically ill, and the citizens of New York. This is my good friend, Billy Joel, and 'New York State of Mind.' " 
 
Billy Joel on Bruce Springsteen :
 
Bruce and Billy Joel are long time friends : Joel’s favorite song 
 
Billy Joel performed 12 times together with Bruce:
 
 
 
2018-07-18 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
2012-11-02 Rockefeller Center, GE Building, Studio 6A, New York City, NY
2011-10-01 Beacon Theatre, New York City, NY
2009-10-29 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
2008-10-16 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, NY
1999-03-15 Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, NY
1995-04-12 Carnegie Hall, New York City, NY
1992-11-10 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
1988-01-20 Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, NY
1987-12-13 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
1974-12-14 Auditorium, New Brunswick, NJ 
 

Lyrics

Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach
Or to Hollywood
But I'm taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line
I'm in a New York state of mind

I've seen all the movie stars
In their fancy cars and their limousines
Been high in the Rockies under the evergreens
But I know what I'm needing
And I don't want to waste more time
I'm in a New York state of mind

It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, The Daily News

It comes down to reality
And it's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide
Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside
I don't have any reasons
I've left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind

It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, The Daily News

It comes down to reality
And it's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide
Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside
I don't have any reasons
I've left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind

I'm just taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line
'Cause I'm in a New York state of mind