New York

## Song by Sex Pistols

"**New York**" is a song by the Sex Pistols, released as the eleventh track fromt the band's only album, *Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols* (1977).

## Background

In a track-by-track review, they discussed to *Rolling Stone*:

Rotten: That's a reference to the New York Dolls. I don't think of it as vicious; it's absolutely bang on from Babylon. "I'm looking for a kiss." They're mates of mine, and nobody has ever raised a complaint and why would they? It's not a personal attack. You have to understand at the time in England, glam rock was old hat by this point. We were overrun with Sweet, T. Rex – David Bowie got out of it rather well – but there were many, many bands like that in tight pants and lipstick. It was enough all right, already.

The bands in New York all seemed to be a little bit older and to have a little bit more of mommy's money in it, to me, rather than having to squeak by [with] all manner of ferrety streetwise methods. They were a little spoiled, and maybe I was little jealous of the luxury zone that they could all propagate amongst each other and prop each other up. And using ties like Rimbaud poetry to connect, I thought it was all very fake.

I mean, I read that [Rimbaud] stuff when I first went to New York and thought, "This isn't good enough." It just isn't. It doesn't have that tough edge of life's experiences in it. And there it is and that was the difference really between the English scene and the American punk scene. The American scene was a bit hoity-toity, a bit privileged and a bit snooty about its art. "Fuck art, let's dance" would be more my methodology.

Matlock: Musically, "New York" was originally my idea. I know you had a program in America called Secret Agent [with the opening theme "Secret Agent Man"] but in England [where it was called Danger Man] it had a different theme tune. And I was trying to write a rock version of something like that. So my original set of chord changes was like that on the bass but then John came out with the taking-the-mickey-out-of-the–New York Dolls lyric and it just came together. It's not one of my favorite songs, to be honest.

Rotten: The word "faggots" in the song is not about the New York Dolls because they most certainly were not. It's out to an audience that just wants to misinterpret everything. And you have to bear in mind that faggots in England, at the time, I remember this – I had seen an advert for it in London – it was a Northern dish: faggots and gravy. And they were trying to introduce it to Southern England with this hideous advert. I can't remember the company, but it was a product that would never wash well with a Londoner. It might not come off that way in the song, but that is exactly where I took the references from and I do that a lot. Whatever the scenario around me is, I will absorb. When in Rome.

## Lyrics

**Lyrics**
[Verse 1]

An imitation from New York

You're made in Japan

From cheese and chalk

You're hippy tarts hero

'cos you put on bad show

Oh don't it show

[Chorus]

Still oh out on those pills

Oh do you remember

[Verse 2]

Think it is well playing Max's Kansas

You're looking bored

And you're acting flash

With nothing in your gut

You better keep yer mouth shut

You better keep yer mouth shut

In a rut

[Chorus]

Still oh out on those pills

Do the sambo

[Verse 3]

You four years on

You still look the same

I think about time

You changed your brain

You're just a pile of shit

You're coming to this

Ya poor little faggot

You're sealed with a kiss

Kiss me

Think it's well playing in Japan

When everybody knows Japan is a dishpan

You're just a pile of shit

You're coming to this

Ya poor little faggot

You're sealed with a kiss

[Chorus]

Still oh out on those pills

Cheap thrills Anadins

Aspros anything you're condemned

To eternal bullshit

You're sealed with a kiss

Kiss me

[Outro]

A kiss a kiss you're sealed with a kiss

A looking for a kiss you're coming to this

I wanna kiss anything

Oh kiss this, tatty bye

## References

1. ↑ Grow, Kory (27 October 2017). "Sex Pistols Break Down 'Never Mind the Bollocks' Track by Track". *Rolling Stone*.