Gershwin Would Weep

Riverside Park, upper west side
Over the Hudson, a cloudy sky
Breeze picking up, rain is coming
Will be a wet city night
Ellington’s brownstone right behind me
The world he must have seen
Vernon Duke, Arlen and Porter
The American Dream
Wonder what they’d say
If they saw New York today
Wonder what they’d say
If they saw New York today

Whenever I find myself walking down Broadway
Whatever day of the week
I never come across one bit of glamour
No sense of grandeur, no sense (trace) of chic
Gershwin would weep, Gershwin would weep

Central Park drive, dinner at Sardi’s
Into the night, the latest show
Maybe the Oak Room at the Algonquin
For all those in the know
Their hearts were young and gay
How the world has changed
The great white way has dimmed with time
An old photo that fades
The City that never sleeps
Has lost its way
New York twenty twenty, today