What More Do I Need

Once I hated this city,

Now it can't get me down.

Slushy, humid and gritty,

What a pretty town.

What, thought I, could be duller,

More depressing, less gay.

Now my favourite colour

Is grey.

A wall of rain as it turns to sleet,

The lack of sun on a one-way street,

I love the grime all the time.

And what more do I need?

My window pane has a lovely view:

An inch of sky and a fly or two.

Why, I can see half a tree.

And what more do I need?

The dusk is thick and it's galling;

It simply can't be excused.

In winter even the falling snow looks

Used.

My window pane may not give much light,

But I see you, so the view is bright.

If I can love you, I'll pay the dirt no heed!

With your love, what more do I need?

Someone shouting for quiet,

Someone starting a brawl,

Down the block there's a riot,

And I'll buy it all!

Listen, now I'm ecstatic,

Hold me close and be still.

Hear the lovely pneumatic

Drill!

A subway train thunders through the Bronx,

A taxi horn on the corner honks.

But I adore ev'ry roar.

And what more do I need?

I hear a crane making street repairs,

A two-ton child running wild upstairs.

Steam pipes bang, sirens clang,

And what more do I need?

The neighbours yell in the summer,

The landlord yells in the fall,

So loud I can't hear the plumber

Pound the wall.

An aeroplane roars across the bay,

But I can hear you as clear as day:

You said you love me

Above the sound and speed.

With your love,

What more do I need?