Right next to DeNiro, but I'll be hood forever

I'm the new Sinatra, and, since I made it here

I can make it anywhere, yea, they love me everywhere I used to cop in Harlem,

All of my Dominicano's right there up on Broadway,

Pull me back to that McDonald's, took it to my stashbox, 560 State St.

Catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons wippin' pastry's

Cruisin' down 8th St., off white Lexus

Drivin' so slow, but BK is from Texas

Me, I'm out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie

Now I live on Billboard and I brought my boys with me

Say whattup to Ty-Ty, still sippin' Mai Tai's

Sittin' courtside, Knicks and Nets give me high five

Nigga I be Spike'd out, I could trip a referee

Tell by my attitude that I'm most definitely from

In New York,

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There's nothin' you can't do

Now you're in New York

These streets will make you feel brand new

Big lights will inspire you

Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York

Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game

Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous then a Yankee can

You should know I bleed blue, but I ain't a Crip though

But I got a gang of niggas walkin' with my clique though

Welcome to the melting pot, corners where we sellin' rock

Afrika Bambataa shit, home of the hip-hop

Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back

For foreigners it ain't for, they act like they forgot how to act

Eight million stories, out there in it naked

City is a pity, half of y'all won't make it

If Jesus payin' Lebron, I'm payin' Dwayne Wade

Three dice cee-lo, three card monte

Labor Day Parade, rest in peace Bob Marley

Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade

Long live the King yo, I'm from the Empire St. that's

In New York,

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There's nothin' you can't do

Now you're in New York

These streets will make you feel brand new

Big lights will inspire you

Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York

Lights is blinding, girls need blinders

So they can step out of bounds quick, the sidelines is

Lined with casualties, who sip to life casually

Then gradually become worse, don't bite the apple, Eve

Caught up in the in-crowd, now you're in style

End of the winter gets cold, en vogue, with your skin out

City of sin, it's a pity on the whim

Good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them

Mommy took a bus trip, now she got her bust out

Everybody ride her, just like a bus route

Hail Mary to the city, you're a virgin

And Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church end

Came here for school, graduated to the high life

Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight

MDMA got you feelin' like a champion

The city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien

In New York,

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There's nothin' you can't do

Now you're in New York

These streets will make you feel brand new

Big lights will inspire you

Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York

One hand in the air for the big city

Street lights, big dreams, all lookin' pretty

No place in the world that could compare

Put your lighters in the air everybody say yeah, yeah,

Yea, yea

In New York,

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There's nothin' you can't do

Now you're in New York

These streets will make you feel brand new

Big lights will inspire you

Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York

我成长于布鲁克林区，现在信步于翠贝卡街

虽然和罗伯特德尼罗做了邻居，但我永远是那个嘻哈仔

我是新一代的弗兰克辛纳屈，因为我成名于纽约，我成功于世界

没错，我成功于世界，到处都有人欢迎我

我曾在哈林区贩毒，和多米尼加兄弟们厮混

比邻着百老汇的灯红酒绿，我想起那家麦记快餐店

我在那里藏我的粉，当然还有560号大街

我调我的粉就像西蒙斯姐妹做她们的蛋糕一样纯熟

现在我驾驶着我的白色雷克萨斯，悠游第八大道

行车悠闲，带着来自德州的碧昂斯

当年我起步于The Notorious B.I.G的地盘Bed-Stuy

现在我是公告牌常客，我的小伙伴们也和我一起走上人生巅峰

Tyran Smith怎么了，再续一杯Mai-Tai如何

坐在陆航和麦迪逊广场花园的场边，尼克斯球员和篮网球员都和我击掌

嚯，我现在也和斯派克李那家伙一样可以耍一耍裁判

没错这就是我的态度，因为我来自

纽约，摩天大楼堆砌筑成的梦想

现在你身处纽约，你已经无所不能

纽约街区让你浴火重生

纽约霓虹灯让你热血沸腾，来吧，聆听纽约的声音

聆听纽约的声音

聆听纽约的声音

在Bronx，我和Juan Perez一起看洋基队的比赛

我让洋基队棒球帽比洋基队球员更出名

想必你知道我是蓝血贵族而不是Crip帮派成员

虽然如此，我也有很多在道上混的朋友

欢迎来到纽约大熔炉，来到我们贩毒的街角

这里是嘻哈文化的圣殿，也是Afrika Bambaataa的地盘

出租车和地下黑车的喇叭声此起彼伏

司机们装作忘记打表坑死外国人

纽约，有八百万个故事

它们大多籍籍无名

而我，却是Special Ed那首“我成功了”的真实写照

杰伊·詹金斯能为勒布朗买单，我当然也出得起韦德的身价

掷骰玩牌

劳动节嘉年华， 安息于鲍勃马利

自由女神像和世贸大厦永存于世

流行之王The Notorious B.I.G虽死不朽，我来自帝国之州，也就是

纽约，摩天大楼堆砌筑成的梦想

现在你身处纽约，你已经无所不能

纽约街区让你浴火重生

纽约霓虹灯让你热血沸腾，来吧，聆听纽约的声音

聆听纽约的声音

繁灯诱惑掩人心智，女孩们应该遮蔽双眼

这样才能走出纸醉金迷

盲目的牺牲者遍布于道

稍有放松便会划入万丈深渊

夏娃，别轻易品尝罪恶苹果，步入那个虚伪天堂

现在你为了追赶潮流

在寒冬之季穿着大胆好似Vogue女郎，罪恶之城只能满足让人惋惜的一时幻想

曾经是好女孩的她们，遍布大街小巷

她们曾经来到纽约，耗尽生计

沦落风尘，千人枕遍

赞美圣母玛利亚，你尚纯真

但你若自甘堕落，耶稣也无能为力

带着梦想来到这里求学

却沉迷于聚光灯带来的满足，像球星们和说唱大佬

摇头丸让你感觉自己像一时帝王

不眠之都，让你借助药物才能沉沉睡去

纽约，摩天大楼堆砌筑成的梦想

现在你身处纽约，你已经无所不能

纽约街区让你浴火重生

纽约霓虹灯让你热血沸腾，来吧，聆听纽约的声音

聆听纽约的声音

为这座巨城挥舞兴奋的手

迷蒙中初上的华灯看上去有着梦幻般的绮丽

这座举世无处可比的帝国之都

在空中放飞焰火，所有人都陷入了疯狂

来吧，来吧，来这座梦想之都

纽约，摩天大楼堆砌筑成的梦想

现在你身处纽约，你已经无所不能

纽约街区让你浴火重生

纽约霓虹灯让你热血沸腾，来吧，聆听纽约的声音

聆听纽约的声音

《Empire State of Mind》是缺乏生机的纽约市的呐喊之声。整首歌曲有着振奋人心的力量，在制作上将古典与现代元素无缝隙地结合在了一起，而歌曲中铿锵有力的钢琴和弦声则被艾丽西亚·凯斯强劲有力的吼叫声所润色。在歌曲中Jay-Z致敬了从劳动节游行到《Vogue》杂志美国版的主编安娜·温图尔，并提及了纽约的地标性景观，在不经意间担当了导游。

歌曲的音乐录影带于2009年10月30日释出，由海普·威廉姆斯执导拍摄，选取了美国纽约繁忙地段作为外景的拍摄对象。视频首先以黑白色调的形式展现，而在最后一分钟左右的时候变为全彩，拍摄下了艾丽西亚·凯斯在纽约时代广场中心地域弹奏钢琴以及在曼哈顿天际线演唱的镜头。而在音乐录影带中Jay Z则出现在纽约各处完成其说唱部分的拍摄。