[JOE]
I stand on 64 in the middle of the fall
Right outside the diner from Annie Hall
Or where it used to be, anyhow
P.J. Clarke’s, I see, is what’s there now

I dream about a time many years ago
Where I could drink at McHale’s then sober up at a show
At the Hellinger or the original Helen Hayes
Back when things were better in many ways

I walk toward Lincoln Center now
Just like when I was a kid
At least we still got one thing
That looks the way it did

When life was unsafe and whoa, so hectic
And not so oh-so-antiseptic
They tell you that it’s better now
But, don’t you let ‘em fool ya
Cuz after all

It might be safer for you to walk to school
But you’ll never ever be as cool
As Raul Julia
Heading to rehearsal in the fall
(Whistle)

Cuz New York at the moment is a troubling place
I recognize its heart but can’t make sense of its face
There’s no Hawaii Kai, but there’s Applebees
And I can’t identify, with Applebees

And I think about my life in the theater and then
I think of how much easier it must have been when
People understood courage pays off in spades
When the neighborhood, was full of renegades

I’m walking up the steps now
And with each step I feel
The history and legacy
Of when the theater and the city were real

When it was unsafe and whoa, so hectic
And not so oh-so-antiseptic
They tell you that it’s better now
But, honey, let me school ya
Cuz after all

You think that you’re just where you want to be
But you will never ever be as free as Raul Julia
As Raul Julia
Heading to rehearsal in the fall
Oh, Raul Julia
Heading to rehearsal in the fall
Take me back to the Way Back When
Cuz I know that life was better then
Take me back to the Way Back When
And you’ll never hear me ask again

[JASON]
It’s 1976 in the middle of the fall
I’m on 64 and walk to the rehearsal hall
I’m Raul Julia
So heading to rehearsal’s what I do

I walk up the steps, I get a little chill
As I think about the neighborhood of San Juan Hill
How they knocked it down, swept it all away
To build this town, where I’ma do my play

Change is good, but at what price?
Sometimes, I’m just not sure
I know we’re better for the progress made
But I still dream of when the city was pure

When it was unsafe and oh, so hectic
Undeveloped and eclectic
Better now or better then?
How do you compare?
I see the fountain, and pride fills up my chest
But will I ever feel as Wild West
As Jose Ferrer
Heading to rehearsal in the fall?
[JOE]
Heading to rehearsal in the fall

[JOE & JASON]
It wasn’t all perfect, last I checked
I know that things look different in retrospect
And with every cause comes so many effects
Good Lord, nostalgia’s so complex
But when Jose Ferrer/Raul Julia
Was walking to rehearsal in the fall
It musta been the only good time to be alive in this city at all

[JOE]
Take me back to the Way Back When
Cuz I know that life was better then
Take me back to the Way Back When
And you’ll never hear me ask again to

[ALL]
Take me back to the Way Back When
Cuz I know that life was better then
Take me back to the Way Back When
And you’ll never hear me ask again to
Take me back to the
Way Back When
Cuz I know that life was better then
Take me back to the
Way Back When
And you’ll never hear me ask again to
Take me back to the Way Back When
Cuz I know that life was better then
Take me back to the Way Back When
And you’ll never hear me ask again to

[ROB, simultaneous with above Chorus]
I’m Jose Ferrer
And I remember Lincoln Square
And the Vanderbilt
And the Hippodrome
New York is fine right now
But back then it was home
Oh

[ALL]
Take me back to the Way Back When
Cuz I know that life was better then
Take me back to the Way Back When
And you’ll never ever have to hear me ask again to

Take me back to the Way Back When
Cuz I know that life was better then
Take me back to the Way Back When
New York was better then