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Words and Music by Billy Joel
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 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 seen it all the time on 42nd 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've seen the lights go down 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 at 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 
"They turned our power down, and drove us underground." From the Turnstiles songbook which has a good transcription of "Miami 2017."
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Videos - Studio and Live versions
Original studio version of "Miami 2017" with lyrics.
1976: A live version of "Miami 2017" from 1976, with a brief bit of "The Mexican Connection" at the start of the video.
1978: Live on The Old Grey Whistle Test, with "Movin' Out"
1981: Live version that first appeared on SNL in 1981, and was the official music video for the song for Songs In The Attic. Update: This was removed from YouTube in 2018.
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1981: Nicely done fan video for the Songs In The Attic version.
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1990: From Live at Yankee Stadium
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2008: Live at Shea Stadium
2013: Live at the JazzFest
2014: From the concert honoring Billy's receipt of the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Go to 4:41 in the vide.
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2012: Live at The Roxy (solo)
2013: 12 12 12 The Concert for Sandy Relief.
This is a collection of videos that I put together of Billy performing Miami 2017 over the years: 1976, 1978, 1981, 1990, 2001, 2008, 2012, and 2015 in Miami.
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Videos - The Making of "Miami 2017"
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This is the demo version of "Miami 2017" which was finally released on the My Lives collection in 2005.
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Billy on "Miami 2017" from a 1981 radio interview.
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Billy explains the meaning and inspiration behind "Miami 2017" at a MasterClass televised on A&E in 2001 . . .
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. . . Billy further explains that he wanted to write a song that transcended time, and was inspired by The Beatles "A Day In The Life."
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Billy discusses the origin of Miami 2017 on the Howard Stern show in 2010 (audio only).
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Billy discusses the inspiration behind "Miami 2017" at The New Yorker Festival in 2015.
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Billy discusses "Miami 2017" on SiriusXM radio at 9:12 (2016)
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Billy discusses "Miami 2017" on WCRB's The Answered Question, Jan. 2, 2017
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