I've seen the lights go out on Broadway-

I saw the Empire State laid low.

And life went on beyond the Palisades,

They all bought bright Cadillacs-

And left there long ago.

We 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 see it all the time on Forty-Second Street.

They burned the churches up in Harlem-

Like in that Spanish Civil War-

The flames were everywhere,

But no one really cared-

It always burned up there before....

I saw the lights go out on Broadway-

I 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 to sea....

You know those lights were bright on Broadway-

But 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....