The Big Apple Top Ten: Leaving New York (#9)

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Five minutes back online and I want to go back to another retreat. Seriously, there’s nothing like getting away from it all and focusing on your faith for a day. I’m not Catholic, but the more I spend a day “unplugged” the more I understand the appeal of convents and monasteries. But I couldn’t have music! (Don’t think there are any Gregorian chant versions of tunes by today’s act ). I’ll stay and give you more music about the Big Apple. Oh, look, another band you knew would show up in the top ten…. #9: Leaving New York - R.E.M. I’d love to tell you a long, drawn-out story about the symbolism and deeper meaning of this song. Nah. Vocalist Michael Stipe said he wrote it on a plane while they were flying into New York City. “On a clear night,” Stipe said, “the city looks magnificent.” Yeah. I like watching “walking tour” videos of big cities like New York, especially when it’s snowing (I’m amazed how nothing fazes New Yorkers, so if it’s snowing you’ll still see people on scooters in shorts). Seeing the Earth Cam shots of the city from a distance, though, is really something else. Stipe said he wrote this about New York’s comeback after 9/11. You can probably tell that with the line “I saw the light fading out.” But, as this song and many others point out, the light came back on and it still shines. Leaving New York Written by Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe Recorded by R.E.M. From Around the Sun, 2004 NYC LYRICS: title Mercurial future, forget the past: