The New York City taxicab is almost as famous as the city it serves, having been immortalized in film, literature and music throughout its relatively brief existence. Scroll down for an example.

Taxis in Song

Taxis have also become iconic through music. Over the past few decades, some of the biggest names of music have written about the taxicab, usually as part of a song for their love of New York City. Scroll down to see a few examples from The Boss, Cher, Joni Mitchell, and others.

Taxi
by Harry Chapin
*Note While the song takes place in San Francisco, it is believed that it is based upon Chapin's attempt to become a New York cab driver.

It was raining hard in 'Frisco, I needed one more fare to make my night. A lady up ahead waved to flag me down, She got in at the light Oh, where you going to, my lady blue, It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain. She just looked out the window, and said "Sixteen Parkside Lane". Something about her was familiar I could swear I'd seen her face before, But she said, "I'm sure you're mistaken" And she didn't say anything more. It took a while, but she looked in the mirror, And she glanced at the license for my name. A smile seemed to come to her slowly, It was a sad smile, just the same. And she said, "How are you Harry?" I said, "How are you Sue? Through the too many miles and the too little smiles I still remember you." It was somewhere in a fairy tale, I used to take her home in my car. We learned about love in the back of the Dodge, The lesson hadn't gone too far. You see, she was gonna be an actress, And I was gonna learn to fly. She took off to find the footlights, And I took off to find the sky. Oh, I've got something inside me, To drive a princess blind. There's a wild man, wizard, He's hiding in me, illuminating my mind. Oh, I've got something inside me,

Not what my life's about, Cause I've been letting my outside tide me, Over 'till my time, runs out. Baby's so high that she's skying, Yes she's flying, afraid to fall. I'll tell you why baby's crying, Cause she's dying, aren't we all. Tehre was not much more for us to talk about, Whatever we had once was gone. So I turned my cab into the driveway, Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns. And she said we must get together, But I knew it'd never be arranged. And she handed me twenty dollars, For a two fifty fare, she said "Harry, keep the change." Well another man might have been angry, And another man might have been hurt, But another man never would have let her go... I stashed the bill in my shirt. And she walked away in silence, It's strange, how you never know, But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for, Such a long, long time ago. You see, she was gonna be an actress And I was gonna learn to fly. She took off to find the footlights, And I took off for the sky. And here, she's acting happy, Inside her handsome home. And me, I'm flying in my taxi, Taking tips, and getting stoned, I go flying so high, when I'm stoned.