New York is a Harbor - Dar Williams

They’ll say they knew they would find this

They’ll tell their children of the day

But as they walked

Their tailor’s chalk

Would trace the air

There were peeling walls

And darkened halls

Hot and smoky nights

And, yes, they strived

But when their boat arrived

A statue raised her light

And New York is a harbor

The dreamers work with calloused hands

And who you are

Will survive you

The pattern fades, the city stands

It’s New York, it’s New York, it’s New York

Today you felt the sorrow

You thought today you’d pack it in

And overhead

The billboard said:

«We told you so»

The poor were gone

Or jailed at dawn

The robber barons free

They stole the yard

They broke your heart

So much for that liberty

But New York is a harbor

They’re working hard on West 74th

To find some beds

A free lawyer

The midnight oil burns like a torch

It’s New York, it’s New York, it’s New York

We cheer for the hard luck Joe on payday

The dancing girl when she gets to Broadway

The workers lunch on a crossbeam in the sky

So don’t you let yourself forget

A spirit lives on the island

She’s floating past the Roeblings bridge

And in the dark

Through Olmsted’s park

To Harlem’s gate

Our souls were born

On golden horns

She can hear them still

Some last calls she’s been

At Stonewall Inn

To beat the morning’s chill

But New York is a harbor

It was so then, and ever more

It holds a dream

Tells a story

A distant boat, a golden door

It’s New York, it’s New York, it’s New York