"Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" is a song written and originally recorded by Billy Joel which appeared as the final song on his album ''

Turnstiles A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a ...

'' in 1976. Several live performances of the song have been released. He has performed this song at a number of benefit concerts, including

The Concert for New York City The Concert for New York City was a benefit concert, featuring many famous musicians, that took place on October 20, 2001 at Madison Square Garden in New York City in response to the September 11 attacks. Aside from performing for charity, the co ...

for victims of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

in 2001, as well as on the television program '' Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together'' for

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

victims in 2012 and during his set at '' 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief''. Joel has often tweaked the lyrics to the song at his live concerts, particularly at the ''Live at Shea'' and ''Coming Together'' concerts. On New Year's Eve 2016, Joel performed at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, a city just north of

Miami Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

. At midnight, he crooned the traditional Auld Lang Syne and then immediately went into "Miami 2017".

Background and story

The release of ''Turnstiles'' followed Billy Joel's return to his hometown of New York from a brief foray in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

which resulted in the albums '' Piano Man'' and '' Streetlife Serenade''. Several of the songs are linked to this transition, including " Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and "

New York State of Mind "New York State of Mind" is a song written by Billy Joel that initially appeared on the album '' Turnstiles'' in 1976. Although it was never released as a single, it has become a fan favorite and a song that Joel plays regularly in concert. Joe ...

." Joel has described it as a "science fiction song" about an apocalypse occurring in New York as a result of discussions that the city was failing in the 1970s. Speaking at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 2001, Joel explained that he wrote the song while living in

in 1975, when

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

was on the verge of default: New York was bordering on bankruptcy, and after asking the Federal Government for help, they were denied assistance; this resulted in the famous headline on the '' New York Daily News'', " Ford to City: Drop Dead". Joel stated that people in Los Angeles, including former New Yorkers, were deriding New York for its troubles. Joel says he thought, "If New York's going to go down the tubes, I'm going to go back to New York." He explains that the song depicts the apocalypse occurring in New York, "the skyline tumbling down, this horrendous conflagration happening in New York City." Joel stated that the song is titled "Miami 2017" because many New Yorkers retire to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

and the narrator is telling his grandchildren in the year 2017 about what he saw in the destruction of New York.

Response

In a review of ''Songs in the Attic'' for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine, Timothy White wrote, "'Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway),' from 1976's ''Turnstiles'', is one chauvinistic New Yorker's reaction to the famous ''Daily News'' default-era headline ... and the composer's elaborate fantasy-farce about the apocalyptic destruction of the city is as take-it-or-leave-it defiant as the front page that inspired it." When the New York radio station

WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Ma ...

dropped its rock music format (in favor of "

hot talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

") in 1998, disc jockey Carol Miller chose "Miami 2017" as one of her farewell songs (along with Jimi Hendrix's version of "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

"). Reviewing Joel's 2010 compilation, ''

The Hits The Hits was a music video channel broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland, owned by Box Television. On 15 August 2008 it was rebranded as 4Music. Overview and availability The channel showcased a range of pop centred on chart hits and cur ...

'', on which "Miami 2017" was not included, reviewer Mike Doyle wrote, " fortunately, he album isnot necessarily representative of his best work. ... ssing are some of the songs that helped define Billy Joel as one of the most talented American songwriters, such as ... 'Miami 2017' ...."

Significance after September 11, 2001

Among the catastrophes that befall the city in the song is the destruction of its iconic skyscrapers. "I saw the

Empire State The Empire State is a nickname for the U.S. state of New York, adopted in the 1800s. It has been incorporated into the names of several state buildings and events. The source of the nickname is unknown and has puzzled many historians; as Americ ...

laid low," the singer recalls, "I watched the mighty skyline fall". On

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

, planes hijacked by terrorists were crashed into the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

towers, the city's tallest buildings, causing them to collapse with a loss of almost 3,000 lives. Shortly afterwards, Joel performed the song at a benefit concert on October 20, 2001. Joel announced at the end of the song, "I wrote that song 25 years ago. I thought it was going to be a science fiction song; I never thought it would really happen. But unlike the end of that song, we ain't going anywhere!" His statement was met with raucous applause. Joel played the song at multiple benefit concerts again in 2012 after the destruction wrought on the Northeastern United States by

. On New Year's Eve 2016 at the BB&T Center, Joel performed the tune as the clock struck midnight, thus finally singing the song in Miami in 2017. In 2020, Joel performed the song for the ''Rise Up New York'' benefit telethon while the lights of the Empire State Building synced with the song.

Cover versions

"Miami 2017" was recorded by Richard Marx in 1993, and released as a bonus track on international versions of his album ''

Paid Vacation Annual leave is a period of paid time off work granted by employers to employees to be used for whatever the employee wishes. Depending on the employer's policies, differing number of days may be offered, and the employee may be required to g ...

''. The song appeared in the original

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

production of the

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known popular music songs, rather than original music. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while others confine themselves to songs perf ...

'' Movin' Out'' but was not included in the final version of the musical as performed on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

Live performances

Nine live performances of the song are available:

References

External links

Lyrics
at BillyJoel.com {{Authority control 1976 songs Billy Joel songs Songs about New York City Science fiction music Richard Marx songs Songs written by Billy Joel Fiction set in 2017