Back in 1976, Billy Joel released the apocalyptic sci-fi song “Miami 2017” which talked about the downfall of New York City as told by someone who survived the catastrophic event. While it was a particularly morbid song about the singer’s vision of 2017, it was also quite popular – and he often sings it in concerts and shows throughout the years.
Forty years after the song was released, Billy finally got to sing the single to welcome 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – just some 30 minutes away from Miami.
It would have been more exciting to have him sing the song in Miami but there are still over 360 days left in 2017 and we’re quite sure he’d get the chance to do it in Miami before the year ends!
Of course, it was a rather morbid song to choose in welcoming the new year but “Miami 2017” was such a hit that it was but expected that Billy Joel will sing this year – though we definitely didn’t think he would do it to welcome 2017!
Thankfully, the lights are still on in Broadway, the Empire State building hasn’t fallen, and Manhattan hasn’t been sunk to sea! Whew!
Watch one of the best videos of his performance of Miami 2017, taken in 2011:
LYRICS: Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)
Seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the Empire State laid low
And life went on beyond the Palisades
They all bought Cadillacs
And left there long ago
They held a concert out in Brooklyn
To watch the island bridges blow
They turned our power down
And drove us underground
But we went right on with the show
I’ve seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the ruins at my feet
You know we almost didn’t notice it
We’d seen it all the time on Forty-second Street
They burned the chuches up in Harlem
Like in the Spanish civil war
The flames were ev’rywhere
But no one really cared
It always burned up there before
I’ve seen the lights go out on Broadway
I’ve watched the mighty skyline fall
The boats were waiting at the battery
The union went on strike
They never sailed at all
They sent a carrier out from Norfolk
And picked the Yankees up for free
They said that Queens could stay
They blew the Bronx away
And sank Manhattan out at sea
You know those lights were bright on Broadway
That was so many years ago
Before we all lived here in Florida
Before the Mafia took over Mexico
There are not many who remember
They say a handful still survive
To tell the world about
The way the lights went out
And keep the memory alive