From the musical “Thumbs Up”, 1934.
Words and music by Vernon Duke.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
It’s time to end my lonely holiday
And bid the country a hasty farewell
So on this gray and melancholy day
I’ll move to a Manhattan Hotel
I’ll dispense with my rose-colored chattels
And prepare for my share of adventures and battles
Here on the twenty-seventh floor
Looking down at the city I hate and adore
Refrain
Autumn in New York
Why does it seem so inviting?
Autumn in New York
It brings the thrill of first-nighting
Glittering crowds and shimmering clouds
In canyons of steel
They’re making me feel I’m home
It’s autumn in New York
That brings the promise of new love
Autumn in New York
Is often mingled with pain
Dreamers with empty hands
May sigh for exotic lands
It’s autumn in New York
It’s good to live it again
Refrain
Autumn in New York
The gleaming rooftops at sundown
Autumn in New York
It lifts you up when you’re rundown
Jaded roues and gay divorcees
Who lunch at the Ritz
Will tell you that “it’s divine”
This autumn in New York
Transforms the slums into Mayfair
Autumn in New York
You’ll need no castles in Spain
Lovers who bless the dark
On benches in Central Park
Greet autumn in New York
It’s good to live it again
Sung here by Laurence Rubenstein: