"Welcome to New York" Song Meaning

Today's Taylor Swift song is meaning of the song "Welcome to New York" from her 1989 album.

New York City is my absolute favorite city. My dream since I was young was to live there for a year. Well what do you know? I was finally able to live there for a year. I absolutely loved it. I loved picking out a neighborhood to go to and enjoy everything it had to offer when I went in for the day. I have so many fond memories. My favorite street would have to be Bleeker St., Grom's, Joes pizza, Magnolia Bakery. Heaven. Hmm...it's all food.  I was kind of sad when Taylor moved there, because I had just left.  I would have loved to "bump" into her in the city.  The odds of that happening are next to none, but one can dream?

Who is this song about?

Photo courtesy of Taylor Swift

It's about Taylor and her move to New York. The cool thing about this song and her move is that I actually saw her house, not just the outside.  I got to inside.  She is also such a kind hostess. When we walked in she greeted us in her entry way.  She had black and white photos of her friends and family on the wall.  Especially touching was a picture of her grandmother Marjorie Finlay, an opera singer.  She had bird cages that were stuffed with antiques and her awards.  She had a sitting room filled couches and pillows that had Polaroids all over the wall.  Her kitchen was amazing, she had a stove that had a flat grill on it.  My favorite room was probably the piano room where she had a Steinway and Sons piano, that I got to play and a guitar.  I can imagine a lot of good music coming from there.  Her decorations were simple, it wasn't cluttered, but very tasteful.  When we left she said goodbye to each one of us at the door.

On her Youtube channel Taylor explains the inspiration for the song "Welcome to New York", "I wanted to start the album with this song because New York has been an important landscape and location for the story of my life in the last couple of years, I dreamt about moving to New York. I obsessed over moving to New York and then I did it. The inspiration that I found in that city is kind of hard to describe and hard to compare to any other force of inspiration I've ever experienced in my life. It's like an electric city. I approached moving there with such wide-eyed optimism and sort of saw it as a place of endless potential and possibilities. You can kind of hear that reflected in this music and this first song especially."

New York City used to intimidate me too. So big and so many people. I love the lines, "Walking through a crowd/The village is aglow/Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats/Under coats".  You walk around and there are so many people, so many different stories, and everyone has life, everyone. Driving there is also as intimidating. The first time I drove there it was crazy, but after a few scary moments I got used to it. I'm glad she knew, "It's been waiting" for her.  I felt like it was waiting for me too. I loved it. I was able to do so many fun things there, the Macy's thanksgiving day parade, Broadway shows, eat lots of good food, stroll Central Park, and meet Taylor. I love New York city.

She wrote this song about her love for New York and within two weeks they asked her to be the ambassador for New York City. Only Taylor Swift. Even better she announced on the view that she is donating all proceeds of the sale of "Welcome to New York"  will go to New York public schools. When I heard that I got all ready eyed inside. It truly touched my heart. 

I'm glad Taylor is enjoying New York City so much. She's been able to take her "broken hearts/Put them in a drawer," and that the "lights never" blind her.  It is truly a magical city. I hope she has many happy memories there for years to come.

Click here for lyrics to the song, "Welcome to New York".