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