For as long as there have been live concerts at Fenway Park, there’s always been some fun in noting the sporting allegiances of the performing musicians (we still see you, Yankee fan John Legend). Last night, Billy Joel — a noted New Yorker and supporter of both the Mets and the Yankees over the years — played in the house of the Boston Red Sox, and you knew baseball was going to come up at some point.
When it did, it was in the most touching way possible. Joel, with the help of 13-year-old singer Emma Stanganelli, changed the title and lyrics of “New York State of Mind” to “Boston State of Mind,” giving the Fenway faithful an eight-minute tribute to our town that referenced everything from Mike’s Pastry to the MBTA Orange line. The new lyrics were written by New Hampshire resident Pat Garrett after the Boston Marathon bombings last year, and were performed by Joel on piano and Stanganelli on vocals.
And it came after a bit of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” When that wrapped up, Joel addressed the crowd.
“I know there’s a big rivalry between the Red Sox and Yankees, New York and Boston,” he began to a smattering of light boos. “It makes for a good game. Well you know, we’re from New York, we know how you feel after what happened in Boston, and we just wanted to say our hearts are with you.”
From there, Fenway took on a true “Boston State of Mind.” Watch the video below, via YouTube.
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