You may not think that Billy Joel and Nostradamus have much in common at first glance, but certain people reckon that one of music's biggest-selling artists has a touch of the prophet about him.
More specifically, that his 1976 song 'Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)' is a harbinger of what's to come this year.
The song, originally taken from his album 'Turnstiles', was Joel's idea of a 'science fiction song' which spoke about an apocalypse in New York, with the title referring to the narrator in 2017 telling his grandchildren what happened back in the day.
Of course, with all that's going on in the world today - as well as the fact that many believed it referenced the 9/11 attacks with the line "I saw the Empire State laid low / I watched the mighty skyline fall" - some people are now taking it as an anthem for how potentially messed-up 2017 might get, particularly as he played it in concert on New Year's Eve in Florida.
With lines about the Mafia taking over Mexico and of course, multiple references to New York - where Trump is based - people are getting antsy...
Was just listening to Miami 2017 by Billy Joel and wondering how his apocalyptic vision for that year could be so accurate.#trump
— Nick Dubin (@NicolasD1977) December 7, 2016
Billy Joel's 1976 apocalyptic fantasy, "Miami 2017", now sounds like a prophecy of sorts. #trump https://t.co/pXIVrnioQU pic.twitter.com/9okoEGsnK9
— Wilson da Silva (@wilsondasilva) December 11, 2016
@billyjoel do you worry about "Miami: 2017" becoming reality under Prez Drumpf?
— Elle Tee (@LToy) December 25, 2016
What if Billy Joel's 'Miami 2017' was a premonition the whole time?
— Lindsay (@Born2Shop9831) December 18, 2016
Hear the song and read the lyrics below:
"Seen the lights go out on broadway
I saw the Empire State laid low
And life went on beyond the Palisades
They all bought Cadillacs
And left there long ago
They held a concert out in Brooklyn
To watch the island bridges blow
They turned our power down
And drove us underground
But we went right on with the show
I've seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the ruins at my feet
You know we almost didn't notice it
We'd seen it all the time on Forty-second Street
They burned the chuches up in Harlem
Like in the Spanish civil war
The flames were ev'rywhere
But no one really cared
It always burned up there before
I've seen the lights go out on Broadway
I've watched the mighty skyline fall
The boats were waiting at the battery
The union went on strike
They never sailed at all
They sent a carrier out from Norfolk
And picked the Yankees up for free
They said that Queens could stay
They blew the Bronx away
And sank Manhattan out at sea
You know those lights were bright on Broadway
That was so many years ago
Before we all lived here in Florida
Before the Mafia took over Mexico
There are not many who remember
They say a handful still survive
To tell the world about
The way the lights went out
And keep the memory alive"
