[Intro]
Nineteenth floor
[Verse 1]
Headed back to where I started
Past the fireflies of Rizla burning bright
Lost the tower where my heart is
Cinema skylines that I don't recognise
Strip the life out of these streets
It's a daylight robbery
You'll never take the London out of me
[Chorus]
I was raised by the river, nineteenth floor
We never got this high before
We were lost so long, look how far we've come
Down by the river, I remember where I belong
Ooh, I remember where I belong
[Verse 2]
Nothing same but nothing different
Hear the people cry concrete lullabies
I never thought I'd say I miss it
See it speaking when I walk
Don't test the waters
[Chorus]
I was raised by the river, nineteenth floor
We never got this high before
We were lost so long, look how far we've come
Down by the river, I remember where I belong
[Bridge]
Bopping down Walworth Road, bubblegum blow
Sliders and Sunday clothes
Doing like my Nani, 70s steez
Cardamom stain my teeth
I see the things you've seen
But you don't speak, you leave the traces
Like I picked up a parcel handed down through generations
[Chorus]
Raised by the river, nineteenth floor
We never got this high before
We were lost so long, look how far we've come
Down by the river, I remember where I belong
Ooh, I remember where I belong
Ooh, I remember where I belong
19th Floor was written by Joy Crookes & Jonny Lattimer & STINT.
19th Floor was produced by Blue May.
Joy Crookes released 19th Floor on Fri Oct 15 2021.
It’s a song about belonging – but it touches on so many subjects. It’s a comment on immigrants, it’s a comment on gentrification, and it’s a metaphor for all the things my grandma and my mum had to go through to give me the life that I have getting this opportunity to be a musician. And I think that...
The spoken bit at the beginning is me saying goodbye to my grandma on the 19th floor of her building in London. This is what I do every time I say goodbye to her, and she always gives me that beautiful ‘Okay, I love you’. The strings were recorded in Abbey Road in Studio Two, which is The Beatles’ r...