Response to Amanda Palmer 7 day song-writing contest following the recent blackout on the west side of Manhattan. 
https://www.patreon.com/posts/28370965

Directly inspired by 2 articles in the NY Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/13/nyregion/nyc-power-outage.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/14/nyregion/nyc-blackout-scenes.html

Performed by Kenzie Webley
Music by Kenzie Webley, Lyrics by Steve Webley

This is the 2nd take demo hastily completed (and named) in order to hit the deadline.

We travelled from the UK to NYC and were in Manhattan on the 4th of July 2019 but left before the blackout.

Verse 
A long line waiting for singing and waiting might be waiting a long long time [Waitress was one show that did not go on] 
For someone to put a nickel in the nickelodeon [Baum/Weiss] 
When no-one can spare a dime [depression era Harburg/Gorney, in the UK we might still occasionally joke about putting a shilling in the meter (both obsolete) to get the power back on. This lyric assumes there would be a US equivalent] 
On 5th and 42nd and that anniversary, drinking cellphone illuminated wine [From NY Times, the outage started at the corner of 42nd St and 5th Ave and, incredibly, 42 years TO THE DAY after the '77 blackout. The  article reported people drinking by the light of their smartphones] 
If you would like to take to take a selfie Ladies now is not the time [NY Times] 

Chorus
If you ain't got no AC Take the stairs down to street
Time to get out in the Kitchen if you can't stand the heat [NY Times article reported people leaving their buildings due to the lack of air conditioning and congregating on the streets of Hell's Kitchen]
From an Englishman in New York [Sting] 
In an empire state of mind [Alicia Keys - we were in New York on the 4th of July and there feels something strangely contrary about being a Brit in the US on Independence Day] 
Let's raise a glass to toast the apple 
But only on one side [Lights out on one side of Manhattan but the allusion is to equal rights... and how Sting likes his toast in that song]
 
Verse 
East of Broadway the bees are buzzing [NY Times - only shows east of Broadway went ahead, incl. Be More Chill, Beautiful, Beetlejuice and Burn This and the alliteration was appealing] 
Prince of Darkness has them dancing in the streets [NY Times refers to the leading man of Hadestown... And Martha & the Vandellas obvs] 
But just across the crosswalk from light entertainment 
Is the dark end where we'll always meet [James Carr] 

Bridge 
But that's not the whole West Side Story [Sondheim] 
Tonight they're powerless 
A lot of tourists and native New Yorkers [Odyssey] 
Are left sweating on the F [NY Times] 
People stuck in elevators [NY Times]
Are going crazy Punching higher floors [Prince]
And the New York City Police Department wants you to stay indoors [NY Times]

Chorus
If you ain't got no AC Take the stairs down to street 
Time to get down in the Kitchen If you can't stand the heat
From a Brit in New York City With Independence on his mind 
Let's raise a glass to toast the circle 
That only has one side [I saw Travis play on tour in North America many years ago where Fran Healey reminisced about a former teacher talking about peace and the fact the planet is a globe and we're ultimately all on the same side - Side]

Verse 
Residents blaming their landlady's electric [Jimi Hendrix] but they don't know what's going on [Marvin Gaye] 
Presidents telling women in Congress to Get Back to where they once belonged [The Beatles] 
You say you want a Revolution [The Beatles] 
Ladies NOW IS THE TIME 
Talking bout my generation [The Who], 
Talking about a revolution that will not be televised [Repetition calling back to John & Yoko's famous protest song but also referencing Tracey Chapman, and Gil Scott-Heron] 

Repeat Chorus

The Corner of 5th and 42nd (2019 07 21 20 55 26)

If I start by saying this demo was originally recorded on cassette tape and was partly inspired by an episode of Moonlighting that pretty much tells you how old it is. It dates back to somewhere between 1989 and 1993. 

This was the only song I ever wrote on piano but due to my limited abilities as a musician the demo is played exclusively on the sixth string of an acoustic guitar (in lieu of a double bass). In my head this gets the full big band treatment and a bit of Shirley Bassey sass but it's written from the perspective of a film noir detective when the femme fatale returns. In short, it's nothing like any of the other teen angsty stuff I was writing around that time. 

I gave up song-writing shortly afterwards, when it became clear I'd reached the limit of my abilities and, in any case, my songs had a limited audience that never extended beyond my immediate family.

Thanks to Amanda Palmer, I briefly came out of retirement in July 2019 to write a song with my daughter. It sounded pretty good to me and some other people heard it. So I decided to dust off this old relic as, after all, songs are written to be heard... And, you never know, maybe somebody else might like it.

Lyrics

I let you kiss me once x 2
You came into my life x 2
You played tunes on my heartstrings
I tried hard not to notice
My friends all tried to warn me
They really didn't need to bother
I knew already
I let you kiss me once
But it didn't come between us
I thought anything after that would count as minor misdemeanours
I was wrong
We got along after a fashion
With undertones of hate and overtones of passion
I let you kiss me once x3

And suddenly there's a knocking at my door
And I get a funny feeling that I've been here before
I turn to see her flick her cigarette
That flaming hair
That burning heart
In frosted silhouette
I'm drowning
My head swims and my heart sinks
I don't know what I'm feeling but I know what I think
I'm thinking:
You came in 
And when I let you kiss me once a double-blow was dealt:
One in the heart ... And one below the belt

Then all at once she throws open the door
Tosses back her head
And waits for the applause that never comes
She wonders if I will...
...realise that she's, as always, dressed to kill
I know we'll act out her fantasies tonight
With us as the stars and the moon as her spotlight

I watch her press one finger to her lips
One deft maneouvre of her hips
And before I know I'm on my back
The stiletto in my face is black
And blue lights shining in her eyes
Should have given me a clue but I am mesmerised
Under her spell
Alarm bells are ringing
I can't even tell
The voice in my head keeps singing
I just suffer in silence
Agonies and ecstacies and impending violence
Tasting the blood in anticipation
A scream might be good but I whisper instead
I'm not seeing black
I'm not seeing red
I'm not seeing blue lights in her eyes

wwwebs