I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City

"I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" is a song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Nilsson in 1969. A track from his fourth studio album, Harry, it became his second charting single.

Background

The song was written for, but not included in, the movie Midnight Cowboy. The same recording was reissued in 1972 crediting Buck Earl (Jon Voight's character in the movie was Joe Buck) as the performing artist.

Chart performance

It became Nilsson's second hit record in the U.S., reaching No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 7 on the Easy Listening chart.

The song was a bigger hit in Canada, where it reached No. 25 on the Pop chart and No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Chart (1969–70)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	66
Canada RPM Top Singles	25
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary	3
New Zealand (Listener)	23
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	34
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	7
U.S. Cash Box Top 100	35

Notable cover versions

"I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" was covered by Sagittarius in 1969. Their version reached number 135 on the U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart.
A version by Wayne Newton reached number 28 on the US Easy Listening chart in the fall of 1969.

Popular culture

The track was used in a film – 1971's La Mortadella (US title: Lady Liberty), starring Sophia Loren.
Both the original track and a cover by Sinéad O'Connor were featured in the 1998 movie You've Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
The song was featured in the 2009 Off-Broadway and 2010 Broadway musical "Everyday Rapture", a semi-autobiographical musical about (and starring) Sherie Rene Scott.

References

"secondhandsongs.com". secondhandsongs.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
RPM Top Singles, December 6, 1969
RPM Adult Contemporary, December 6, 1969
RPM Top Singles, December 6, 1969
RPM Adult Contemporary, December 6, 1969
"flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 177.
Cash Box Top 100 Singles, December 6, 1969
Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 175.

External links

Nilsson - I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City on YouTube

v t e Harry Nilsson
Studio albums	Spotlight on Nilsson Pandemonium Shadow Show Aerial Ballet Harry Nilsson Sings Newman The Point! Nilsson Schmilsson Son of Schmilsson A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night Pussy Cats Duit on Mon Dei Sandman ...That's the Way It Is Knnillssonn Flash Harry Losst and Founnd
Soundtracks	Skidoo The Point! Son of Dracula Popeye
Remixes	Aerial Pandemonium Ballet
Compilations	Early Tymes Nilsson The RCA Albums Collection
Singles	"All for the Beatles" "Sixteen Tons" "Without Her" "You Can't Do That" "River Deep – Mountain High" "One" "Everybody's Talkin'" "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" "Me and My Arrow" "Without You" "Jump into the Fire" "Coconut" "Spaceman" "As Time Goes By" "Subterranean Homesick Blues" "Save the Last Dance for Me" "Many Rivers to Cross" "A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)" "Sail Away" "Just One Look/Baby I'm Yours (medley)"
Other songs	"Gotta Get Up" "Old Dirt Road" "The Puppy Song" "Ten Little Indians" "This Could Be the Night" "You're Breakin' My Heart"
Collaborations	Pussy Cats Every Man Has a Woman Ringo Son of Dracula Walls and Bridges Goodnight Vienna Ringo's Rotogravure Stop and Smell the Roses Two Sides of the Moon Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films
Related articles	Discography The Monkees Richard Perry The Hollywood Vampires The Telephone "Pussy Cats" Starring the Walkmen For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)?

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