When my nerve wore down
I was assailed by simple little sounds
Hammer clangs, sirens in the park
Like I never heard New York

Blaring brakes, trapped trucks
Honking horns, hissing buses stuck
Shrieking trains barreling berserk
Like I never heard New York
Like I never heard New York

When the room grew loud
I learned to stand in back
Behind the crowd
Dam canals with cork
Like I never heard New York

But when the walls gave way
I had to flee, I had to back away
As the whole town barked
Like I never heard New York
Like I never heard New York