Saturday, June 05, 2010

lest we forget

as many of you now know, the kanuckleheads of new york racing, aslo know as the only bookie to go belly up, have changed the theme song for today's parade of horses from NEW YORK NEW YORK ala Francis Albert , to Jay-Z and empire state of mind......disgraceful, embarassing, yes, but not unprecedented........as you may or may not recall , the original theme song for the stakes was not NY NY but rather the SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK , not sure when it was changed, maybe late 80's or early 90's... so today when your sipping on a can of icey cold beer ( still the official drink) sing along with me to your own version of whichever song you pledge your unweilding allegiance...

Sidewalks of New York
Words and Music by Charles B. Lawlor and James W. Burke

East Side, West Side all around the town,
The tots sang "ring a rosie," London Bridge is falling down.
Boys and girls together, me and Mamie O'Rorke,
Tripped the light fantastic on The Sidewalks of New York.

That's where Johny Case and little Jimmy Crowe,
With Jakey Krause, the baker, who always had the dough;
Pretty Nellie Shannon, with a dude as light as cork,
First picked up the waltz step on The Sidewalks of New York.

East Side, West Side all around the town,
The tots sang "ring a rosie," London Bridge is falling down.
Boys and girls together, me and Mamie O'Rorke,
Tripped the light fantastic on The Sidewalks of New York

1 comment:

Traitor Vic said...

I plan to watch the parade with the sound muted while listening to Mel Tormé sing "Sidewalks of New York". Something tells me that the faces of the crowd at Belmont might make for some pretty interesting viewing.

The first change (from "Sidewalks of New York" to "New York, New York") was made in 1997 as part of an overall Update/Rework. Until then, the actual "Official Cocktail" (although both Beer and Long Island Iced Tea are popular) was the White Carnation. It was replaced by the Belmont Breeze, by Dale DeGroff. The Belmont Breeze, while a darn fine cocktail, is noticeably more Modern and Trendy than the good ol' White Carnation.