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WEBMISTRESS speculates:
This song isn't my favorite. OK, it really annoys me! But its meaning isn't all that obscure. Lindsey likes New York. He's jaded about L.A., as he expresses in That's How We Do It in L.A. New York is a whole different ball of wax, and he's loving it! Perhaps part of the reason he likes New York so much is that musically it was probably more his speed back then - wasn't New York where all those punky New Wave types were based? And he got to play on that famous show that's "Live from New York" - "Saturday Night Live" - when he released Trouble, and I bet that was a load of fun. This song would probably play really well in NYC. However, I remain unimpressed.\
MICHELLE speculates:
First of all, I would like to say that I think this song, "Empire State", is NOT about Lindsey's adulation for the city, rather I think it mocks NYC. I'm going to try to be rather objective about this, but since I've moved to NY (well, the Bronx) for school it's going to be rather hard not to throw in my own opinions.
New York, open your eyes to me
Let me be what I want to be
Tell me, tell me it's not too lateHere, Lindsey, I think, is saying let me see what everyone else sees, awaken for me, in me ("open your eyes to me"). The "tell me, tell me it's not to late" I imagine in a rather sardonic tone... "tell me, I'm in time to be a part of this...this what? Chaos, crime, etc"
Big Apple, takin' a bite of me
Whole world movin' below my feet
Not like, not like we do in L.A."Takin' a bite of me" doesn't sound pleasant. The phrase (or whatever) is "take a bite out of the big apple", but he reverses it so it is biting him...annoying him? And the "whole world movin' below my feet" is a jab at the city being the center, financially and in other ways, of the world...I'm assuming he's putting himself at the top of the Empire State Building for this (there are pictures of the five of them there, Christine hanging on the bars there so people don't jump). He is comparing it to L.A. - very different.
New York, make me a part of you
Straight, straight through the heart of you
Tell me, tell me it's not too lateAgain, he seems to have a negative tone... "make me a part of you", make me a part of this that I'm criticizing, though not blatantly...but don't. "Straight, straight through the heart of you" makes me think of an arrow...you know, like cupid and his arrows through the heart that makes people fall in love. The arrow does not fall in love.
Flying high on the empire state
Flying high on the empire stateHe's up on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building? You can certainly see the planes leaving from JFK if you look to the South towards the financial district which could relate to this. That's really the part of New York that people think of: Wall Street, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island. Which is also significant if he is criticizing the city: criticizing its sordid past, the foundations on which it was built, the politics, the money and greed, etc.
New York, watch me burn ya down
Straight, straight through the heart of town
Tell me, tell me I'm not too late"Watch me burn ya down" is also a very violent (for lack of a better word) image. It makes me think, "watch me take you down with my words" (though he doesn't really succeed in that...that would be a rather bold move on his part). Again, he wants to go "straight, straight through the heart" with his fire. He wants to burn it down from the inside out. Fire makes me think of passion - a passionate response to his abhorrence? Obviously, he wouldn't actually BURN the city, but this song is something I would call a "passionate response" being as music is his outlet, his life.
Big Apple, takin' a bite of me
Whole world movin' below my feet
Not like, not like we do in L.A.Flying high on the empire state
Flying high on the empire stateRepeated sentiments.
I do NOT like this song. His voice is weird...he sounds angry...though Chris's piano in the back is kind of light. But his voice reminds me of a tone someone would use when mocking or patronizing. I'm not a fan of the general music, the lyrics. Blah.
It could also be that I don't like this song because I, personally, love the city so much. Oh well.
JESSICA speculates:
Response to Michelle:
From a fellow New Yorker (Queens all my life, school in Manhattan), I have to disagree that it's mocking the city. (If you want a good example of that, you should try "The City" from Mystery To Me. THAT is a song about not liking NY! Despite the lyrics, I love that song. Anyway, back to LB...) I think the "watch me burn ya down" part is more like, "Watch me impress you. I'm not just the CA hippie you all thought I was." Hence the weird music, which I'm not sure I really like either, but it does prove his point of being a different style of music. I'm almost positive I read an interview that said that "Empire State" was supposed to be an apology of sorts for "The City." I don't know if that's true, but LB has often said that he didn't like the way things were done in L.A. and that he would have rather been in other, more progressive bands, so I don't think he'd be putting down NY when he could spend much more time bashing L.A. He still hasn't gotten out all his frustration there (case in point: What's The World Coming To?). Also, I think the "whole world moving below my feet" is a reference to the subway, a non-entity in L.A. Overall, the song is weird sounding, but I wouldn't call it angry.