Fordham Road

[Sitar]

Thirty blocks to Fordham Road

Past a bad neighborhood

Crack house on the corner

I know I shouldn't do what it is I could

 

A stone Mary in the garden

She let me know she watchin'

And she said I better get walkin'

I better walk away

 

I don't know why it is that I wanna stay

I don't know what it is that makes me feel this way

But I'm not gonna do what I hear me say

I'm just gonna walk, I'm gonna walk away

 

I catch a dollar in the wind and I

Buy a cup of coffee

There's a place on Valentine

That still charge ninety cent

 

I keep on walking in the daytime

And in my eyes, it's always nighttime

And I like it when it's midnight

'Cause that's when all the stars come out

 

I don't know why it is that I wanna stay

I don't know what it is that makes me feel this way

But I'm not gonna do what I hear me say

I'm just gonna walk, I'm gonna walk away

 

It is the grea-, this is the greatest day (x2)

 

I'm not gonna do what I hear me say

I'm just gonna walk, I'm gonna walk away

[Lana Del Rey]

I don't know why, I just love these lyrics...

[TrailerParkDarling]

Past a bad neighborhood (I thought she said black neighborhood when I first listened and was about 2 blow)

Crack house on the corner

 

I saw Mary in the garden

[Sitar]

Past a bad neighborhood (I thought she said black neighborhood when I first listened and was about 2 blow)

Crack house on the corner

 

I saw Mary in the garden

 

Lemme reevaluate, I sincerely hope she sings "crack house" in such a beautiful song

[Sitar]

TPD, I'm SURE there's "st" sound in the Mary line. I'd believe crack house, but phonetically it sounds like an "ay" sound--which, yeah, she does in her country accent.

 

I also think I hear the "th" for "that's", but I'd bet on "past".

[TrailerParkDarling]

TPD, I'm SURE there's "st" sound in the Mary line. I'd believe crack house, but phonetically it sounds like an "ay" sound--which, yeah, she does in her country accent.

 

I also think I hear the "th" for "that's", but I'd bet on "past".

 

i listened again and i do too.. almost sounds like 'stoned mary in the garden' lmao wtf

[♡GagaOopsy♡]

Gonna listen to it ;'))!!

[Matt]

Stone Mary makes the most sense IMO.

[PrettyBaby]

On first listen I thought it was "they stoned Mary in the garden" too! But I'm sure it's "stone Mary in the garden" -- like a visitation.

 

And, "Past a bad neighborhood, Crack house on the corner"

[Sitar]

Imagining, like, a statue of the Virgin Mary...I guess that could make sense. I'm going to definitively change it to "past" and "crack house"--without crack house, the song actually doesn't seem to have much of a meaning beyond serious ambiguity and buying coffee. But those two words suddenly make it dark.

[Just Cherry]

I keep on walking in the daytime

And in my eyes, it's away, it's nighttime

And I like it when it's midnight

'Cause that's when all the stars come out

I keep on walking in the daytime, and in my eyes it’s always night time,

And I like it when it’s midnight,

‘Cause that’s when all the stars come out.

 

One of my favorites. <3

[10milestereo]

I love, love, love this song so much because I feel really personally connected to it. I grew up near Fordham Road, so I can offer my take on the geography, at least. I'm almost certain the "bad neighborhood" she's talking about is on one side of Fordham, which you would have to pass through if you were walking up to Fordham Road from downtown (Harlem/South Bronx). The other side, going uptown, is a decent neighborhood. In the vicinity is a Catholic girls' high school, which has a stone statue of the Virgin Mary on a rocky hill in their garden, which is in clear view as you walk past. Valentine refers to Valentine Avenue, which is a cross street in the neighborhood. Depending on which route you took, you'd have to pass the statue in order to walk up to Valentine Av. I hope all that made sense!

[Sitar]

I keep on walking in the daytime, and in my eyes it’s always night time,

And I like it when it’s midnight,

‘Cause that’s when all the stars come out.

 

One of my favorites.

 

Oh, thanks. I was really fixated on hearing "it's nighttime", but that's likely just her accent.

 

I love, love, love this song so much because I feel really personally connected to it. I grew up near Fordham Road, so I can offer my take on the geography, at least. I'm almost certain the "bad neighborhood" she's talking about is on one side of Fordham, which you would have to pass through if you were walking up to Fordham Road from downtown (Harlem/South Bronx). The other side, going uptown, is a decent neighborhood. In the vicinity is a Catholic girls' high school, which has a stone statue of the Virgin Mary on a rocky hill in their garden, which is in clear view as you walk past. Valentine refers to Valentine Avenue, which is a cross street in the neighborhood. Depending on which route you took, you'd have to pass the statue in order to walk up to Valentine Av. I hope all that made sense!

 

Wow, thanks for that insight! Really cool to hear.

[10milestereo]

^My pleasure! I was literally on edge for months waiting for this song to leak and I was so happy it finally did. I think it's a really good indicator of where she was in 2007/2008. I can picture her walking around the neighborhood coming up with the lyrics.

[Greenwich]

Was near Fordham last week, oh my! It's a pretty bad neighborhood....... did not feel safe at all. If you live in NY don't u dare go near E 180 st lol 

[ultraviolenced]

I'm quickly falling in love with this song 

[99centlips]

[Alison by Slowdive]

I'm not gonna do what I hear me say

I'm just gonna walk, I'm gonna walk away

 

this is SO interesting. does she walk away? or is she saying, i'm not going to walk away? it's intentionally unclear, which is what's so genius about it.

[Super Movie]

Confession: when I was applying to colleges, I almost applied to Fordham just because of how much I liked this song 

[Lindsay Lohan]

This song is so beautiful lyrically and melodically - I really really hope there's a studio version of this in existence because it's just too good to just be left alone